Fifth holder of the Chair (2022)
Prof. dr. Jan Rath is currently serving as full Professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam, with a focus on the cities and their ethnic and cultural diversity. Rath studies migrants’ integration in the urban environment, with a specific interest in the political and economic dimensions of this process. His research revolves around migrants’ entrepreneurial activities and their embeddedness in, and impact on, sectors and neighborhoods from a comparative perspective.More recently, Rath has concentrated on the development of small businesses that initially and primarily focus on members of the new middle class. “Rath is a successful and productive researcher, who emphatically lays connections between academic research and issues in our society,” says Prof. Romke van der Veen (EUR), who presides over the Council responsible for the Van Doorn Chair. “As such, his work aligns very well with Van Doorn’s professional approach and method of working.”