Portraits of the Philip Eijlander Diversity Fellows

Portrait Series 'Women in Academia'

Emancipation

Emancipation has played an important role at Tilburg University from its very beginning in 1927. The Roman Catholic School for Business and Society, as the institution was called then, was itself a product of catholic emancipation, that emerged in the middle of the 19th century. After centuries of disadvantages from a Protestant national government, it became possible for Catholics to establish their own educational institutions. This was to put an end to the marginalization of the Catholic part of the population, which was quite large at the time.

This development mainly benefited men: the School almost exclusively employed male teachers and female students were few and far between. The students usually came from what was referred to as more privileged social backgrounds, often with parents (i.e., a father) who had enjoyed higher education. This changed after World War II when, in the period of reconstruction of the country, education was seen as driving economic development. Higher education played an important role and student numbers have soared since the 1950s. Many students came from families in which they were the first to go to university and thus contributed to a second wave of emancipation: that of the middle class.

Universities have since played a vital part in various forms of emancipation, including that of women and of students from a non-Dutch background. Our university has been transformed into a pluralistic institution of education and research with staff and students representing more than 130 nationalities. More than half of the students are female and moreover their study pace and grade average are higher. However, when looking at the top of the institution, at professors and leaders, there are still significantly more learned men than learned women.

Philip Eijlander Diversity Program

Tilbury University strives for a better balance between male and female academic staff, especially in senior positions. One of the ways to achieve this is the Philip Eijlander Diversity Program (PEDP) – named after the law professor who was Rector Magnificus between 2008 and 2015. This program has increased the inflow of women in higher academic positions, by creating extra positions on the level of assistant, associate, and full professor. Quality, inclusion, and commitment go hand in hand here. The achievements of female scholars in the fields of research, education, and impact are of great value and showcase the benefits of the movement towards inclusion.

Philip Eijlander Diversity Program

Portrait series 'Women in Academia' by Ivo van Leeuwen

Ambitions and developments like those set-in motion by the Philip Eijlander Diversity Program are not always instantly visible. In almost a century of education and research at Tilburg University, emancipation has proved to play a vital role. This is one of the reasons why, in the academic year 2021-2022, a portrait series has been made of the Philip Eijlander Diversity Fellows, created by the Tilburg-based artist Ivo van Leeuwen (1969). He is a graphic artist, painter, and illustrator, specializing in portraits and pictograms. His technique is the linocut, in which an image is cut out of a sheet of linoleum. The linoleum is re-used leftover material from an educational institution; a great way to recycle material.