UvA bids farewell to a patient accountant
After eight years, Vice-President of the Board Jan Lintsen is leaving the UvA this week. He is leaving his office on the Roeterseiland Campus at a turbulent time, but also looks back on what has been achieved. “The new University Library is an icon for the UvA and the city.”
Jan Lintsen is sitting comfortably on a sunny afternoon in his office on the sixth floor of the Roeterseiland campus. He has always found it “a very attractive place to work”: with a view of the campus, “nice colleagues”, as he puts it, and students everywhere. But after almost eight years, it was time for something new, and that turned out to be aerospace research: starting next week, he will be the chief financial officer of the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre.
You were initially supposed to leave on 1 September, just in time to help prepare for the new UvA budget year, the so-called Framework Letter. But with major cutbacks ahead, you must be glad to leave earlier.
“Glad is not the word, but I am looking forward to leaving. I have been completely immersed in the UvA over the past few years and have really enjoyed it. The UvA is a very dynamic working environment with many nice people who are cooperative but also critical. That’s a well-kept secret: the UvA is not nearly as much of a snake pit as some people claim.”
“As for the Framework Letter, I was able to have a say in that: the framework for next year’s UvA-budget has been finalised and approved and can now be submitted to the formal representative bodies and other participation platforms within the UvA for approval. I don’t expect any major problems with that. Last year was very difficult because the central student council in particular added topics to the consultation process that, although important, had little to do with finances. We have made good agreements about this for this year, so I think the consultation cycle will end well.”
How do you see the UvA’s finances in the near future?
“Despite all the cuts that are coming to higher education, I think the UvA budget for 2026 will be in order. The uncertainty lies beyond that. Services and faculties must therefore make plans: reduce costs where possible and look for ways to increase income. For example, institutional tuition fees will continue to rise, depending on the faculty. We will also hire fewer external agencies and consultants, reduce the amount of office space we occupy and harmonise logistical work processes.”
And after 2026?
“Let’s say we’ll get through the period 2026-2028, but after that it will be difficult if the number of international students really does fall due to legislation – and we’re talking about possibly eight to ten thousand fewer students than we have now. That would have major financial consequences, and we need to anticipate that now, take the right measures now, cut our coat according to our cloth, so that we can avoid reorganisations. That’s why it’s good that the UvA is already paying closer attention to costs.”
You originally studied business administration, but you have long been involved in higher education, previously at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, for example. What attracted you to (higher) education?
“Education is the most important thing you can do to get ahead. It is a special way of dealing with the future, offering young people opportunities. And I feel at home in the world of research, the scientists, the people who walk around here, who contribute to breakthroughs. We all want a more sustainable, safer world. I have always enjoyed creating the conditions to make that possible.”
Every year, you gave accessible lectures on the UvA budget for everyone involved. Did all those scientists have difficulty drawing up or understanding their departmental budgets?
“Well, I don’t think so, but it’s always good to explain an annual exercise such as the UvA budget, highlight the current issues and give people the opportunity to ask questions. It’s a lot of paper, but there are no major technical or financial difficulties involved in drawing up the budget. In a sense, the UvA budget is just like the annual King’s Speech: it comes back every year.” Laughing: “Although it doesn’t quite contain a plea for mercy.”
The new University Library has undoubtedly been the most difficult (accommodation) project, if only because of the escalating costs. Am I right?
“The new University Library in the University Quarter is set to become an icon for the UvA and the city. When I came to the UvA, the decision to build it had already been made, so in that sense I jumped on a moving train. It has been a fairly dynamic project with a lot of people involved and also some setbacks. The costs alone, initially estimated at 68 million, but now amounting to 140 million, were partly caused by the fact that the building turned out to be in much worse condition than we had thought before the restoration. We had to encase the entire building in a steel ‘skeleton’.”
But it was still worth it?
“Definitely. We would all have been unhappy with a new building in the end; restoring the old hospital buildings is really the best and most beautiful solution. No matter how expensive the project has become, it will become the heart of the UvA in the city centre, a meeting place, a place to study, and it will also play an important role in the use of AI. It has also been a learning project that will be very useful for future renovation projects, such as the Oudemanhuispoort.”
Students want to keep their library in the PC Hoofthuis.
“All the functions of the current library in Spuistraat will also be available at the new location. I think people will get used to that quickly. Incidentally, we will still need the PC Hoofthuis for a few years before it is rented out or sold. So for the time being, students will still be able to go there.”
The last year of your career at the UvA was marked by strikes, occupations and violence. How did you experience that?
“Very unpleasant. Actually, the worst thing I've ever experienced in my career. A divide has also become apparent within the UvA; people are angry with each other. Previous occupations had a playful character, but now there was real violence, which we as the UvA Board often felt powerless to stop. We saw and heard that there were tensions. Initially, we tried to channel those tensions, but we did not expect them to escalate in this way and to this extent.”
Students (and staff) continue to demand that the UvA sever all ties with Israel (including non-university ties). Why has this not (yet) happened?
“This is a national and European issue that must be addressed at that level. I don’t think we should cancel and reject entire countries. If we start judging entire countries, we also have to look at what is happening in China and currently in the United States. That would lead us nowhere. We should look much more at how we conducted the debate on the fossil fuel industry, namely by looking at the ethical aspects of individual projects. Because we did that, we were able to understand each other on substantive grounds. That is not working so far with regard to Israel and Gaza, which means that it remains a raw nerve and I fear that this will continue as long as the hostilities there continue.”
Meanwhile, the student council is becoming increasingly activist.
“If that is the students’ choice, we will of course accept it. Incidentally, we have had quite constructive discussions with them over the past year, for example about the UvA’s financial plans. The student council elections also went well, with a higher turnout than in previous years. Perhaps we also handled it better by asking lecturers to draw attention to the elections in their lectures and by donating one euro to Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders for every vote cast. We also reached agreement on a long-standing point of discussion: the free provision of menstrual products. In the short term, every UvA building will have a free dispenser in the most frequently used toilet block.”
What do you look back on most fondly, and what would you rather not be reminded of?
“I don’t want to be reminded of last year’s riots. That was really unpleasant. What I would like to be remembered for, and what I am proud of, is the logistical progress that the UvA has made in education. That includes finding your timetable, booking rooms and registering for courses. When I arrived here, each faculty worked in its own way. Registering for minors was a disaster, like the Lowlands festival ticket sales, with all the students sitting there at 8 a.m. with two laptops, stressed out. The organisation of exams was very inefficient, with constantly changing distances between tables and chairs in the exam rooms. and the reservation system was often overloaded, resulting in a lot of stress, overtime and dissatisfaction. Without centralising, but by working together effectively, we have implemented some fairly IT-like measures that have proved useful for all faculties and work very well. I am really proud of that.”
You will be succeeded by PwC accountant Richard Goldstein. What advice would you give him?
“Take the time you need to change the UvA. Don’t go too fast, otherwise you’ll create resistance. You still have a little time before the real cutbacks come into effect and have an impact. Take that time, Richard.”
