Leuven(The Brussels Morning Newspaper): KU Leuven one of Europe’s oldest universities will celebrate its 600th anniversary in 2025. Virologist Marc Van Ranst urged the university to elect its first female rector noting its lack of women leaders historically.
In 2025 KU Leuven a famous university will turn 600 years old. They’ll have lots of parties and special events all year to celebrate. In May they’ll be looking for a new leader called a rector. It’s a big deal for them. At a cool event in Leuven called ‘De Spreekbeurt,’ they started the campaign for the new rector elections. A famous virologist Marc Van Ranst was there and helped kick off the campaign. He talked about how important it is to have a good leader for the university’s future. This event is just the beginning of an important time for KU Leuven as they celebrate their history and plan for the future with new leadership.
Has KU Leuven ever had a female rector in 600 years?
At the event ‘De Spreekbeurt’ in Leuven, Marc Van Ranst talked about something important. He said that in 600 years KU Leuven had 617 rectors and they were all men. The university has never had a female rector unlike other universities in Flanders. Marc Van Ranst mentioned that other universities in Flanders are doing better with gender equality in leadership. For example, the University of Antwerp had a female rector in the 1970s. Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Brussels had two female rectors. Els Witte and Caroline Pauwels. Ghent University also had a female rector. He said it’s important for the university to have more women in top positions. His comments ask for thinking about this and maybe making a change as the university gets ready for its 600th anniversary and the upcoming rector elections.
Will Marc Van Ranst’s support help elect KU Leuven’s first female rector?
Marc Van Ranst a famous virologist from Belgium is backing women who are running for positions. It has been said that he is well-known and respected in public health his support can make a big difference. By supporting all women candidates he is showing his belief in fairness and women being part of politics. He might help by publicly supporting them joining campaign events and using his influence to highlight the voices and ideas of these women candidates.
Van Ranst wants to make a change by encouraging women to join the race for the rector position. He feels it’s important to have a female rector after so many years. Van Ranst plans to support all women running for the position. Currently KU Leuven doesn’t know who the candidates are but the rector elections will happen in May 2025. The current rector Luc Sels won’t run again because he has already served the maximum of two 4-year terms.
