Ruud de Moor
Ruud Alphons (Ruud) de Moor (1928-2001) was Rector Magnificus in 1968 and from 1983–1991. From 1985 to 1988, he was also President of the Executive Board.
De Moor graduated as a sociologist in 1952 (cum laude) from the then Katholieke Hogeschool Tilburg. In 1956, he became the first director of the KHT-affiliated Institute for Social Research (Instituut voor Arbeidsvraagstukken, IVA). The IVA* conducted policy-oriented (contract) research and can be regarded as one of the first institutes of the university in the field of valorization: the social or economic utilization of knowledge.
In 1961, De Moor obtained his PhD cum laude with the thesis De verklaring van het conflict (The explanation of the conflict). A year later, he was appointed full professor of general sociology. As a scientist, he became particularly well known as one of the driving forces behind the European Values Survey* (EVS). This large-scale sociological study into the development of values and norms in Europe was conducted for the first time in 1981 in ten different countries. In the last round, in 2008, 45 countries or regions participated.
De Moor is without doubt one of the most important administrators the university has known. When student numbers began to rise sharply in the 1960s, he pleaded with the government for more resources to guarantee the quality of education. In 1986, when budget cuts by then Minister Deetman threatened to close down the Faculty of Arts and the sub faculty of Psychology, De Moor took the lead in opposing this. And with success.
De Moor believed that the university should be accessible to the children of “ordinary” Brabanders. The same idea underlay his efforts to establish an Open University, where anyone would be able to study—regardless of age, background, or previous education. The OU was established in 1984, and De Moor was its first chair. He was also chair and member of a large number of advisory committees in the field of (higher) education and research. He was also a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences* (KNAW).
De Moor received many decorations for his achievements, including Commander of the Order of Oranje Nassau and Commander in the Order of St. Gregory. The latter he received for his merits as a (critical) member of the Catholic Church. The OU awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1994.
Photo: De Moor, at his farewell on June 20, 1991.
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