The Dutch Open University has awarded an honorary doctorate to Professor Kim Putters, extraordinary professor of Policy and Management of Care in the Changing Welfare State at Erasmus University Rotterdam and, until recently, director of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). He receives an honorary doctorate because of the appealing way in which he makes complex social issues accessible to a wide audience with a scientific basis. The honorary doctorate will be conferred during the celebration of the dies natalis of the Open University on Friday, September 23, 2022 in Heerlen.
Social debate
Kim Putters made a name for himself as director of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) in particular through his open, inquisitive and analytical style of action and his contributions to the social debate. Under his leadership, the Social and Cultural Planning Office has become more visible as one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable source of information for science and policy in the broad field of living conditions.
Influential
Apart from his scientific publications, Kim Putters also writes columns and books for a wide audience, such as the recently published 'Het einde van de BV Nederland'. This way he has an influential role as a disseminator of scientific knowledge. An example is his book 'Veenbrand' (2019). In it he deals with four 'smouldering issues': broad prosperity, lifelong development, new social inequalities and the democratic constitutional state. These are themes that have long been debated in the Netherlands, but which Kim Putters places in a clear and often empirical research-supported perspective.
Advocate
Rector Magnificus Professor Theo Bastiaens: 'As the Dutch Open University, we would like to express our appreciation for his contribution. Kim Putters is a consistent advocate of education as an essential instrument for tackling social inequality and as a driving force in the knowledge society. There are few in our country who have more convincingly pointed out the importance of education and, more specifically, the importance of lifelong development'.
Awarding
The honorary doctorate will be conferred during the celebration of the 38th dies natalis of the Open Universiteit on Friday 23 September 2022 in Theater Heerlen. Honorary supervisor is Prof. Ronald Janse, Professor of Encyclopaedias of Law and Dean of the Faculty of Law.
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This article is a translation of the news item from the website of the Open University.
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