Professor Andy Nelson handed over the Head of Department position for the next three years to Professor Wieteke Willemen, after a smooth six-month transition. This handover is also parallel to a transition in the NRS Management Team. Lisette Meulman, Roshanak Darvishzadeh, and Raymond Nijmeijer are taking up the roles of Project & Impact, Research, and Education Portfolio holders of the NRS Department respectively.
Around 30 members of the Department of Natural Resources gathered on the Monday morning of September 1st at the Langezijds garden next to the Department to celebrate the appointment of Wieteke Willemen as the new Head of Department.
“It’s been a privilege to serve as Head of Department. I tried to come up with a few words that described the HoD job and Exciting and Gratifying is the closest I can get. Seeing the pieces fall into place, learning about everyone’s work and passion, and seeing people grow is the gratifying part. The exciting part is never really knowing what is coming next” shared Andy with the NRS Department members. After his years in the Head of Department role, Andy will take a professor position in his research domain; sustainable agriculture and food security.
“I start this role in a department that is strong, successful, relevant, organized and full of nice people. Andy had a large role to play in shaping this department into what we are today, so he deserves a big 'thank you' for that” stated Wieteke as the new Head of Department. As a welcoming surprise, her new office was filled with balloons and nice messages.
The big thank you to Andy Nelson was expressed through a round of applause. As a gift, every NRS Department member contributed a typical food from their home country to a food basket for Andy. These bites were shared at the picnic table to top off the day which marks a new stage for the Department of Natural Resources.
