Benoeming College van Bestuur: Frank Kresin en Jeroen Visser

As President, Kresin will be responsible for education and research at ArtEZ and will ensure a strong connection between research processes and the educational practice within the academies. His career has unfolded at the intersection of art, technology and education. Since 2019, Frank has served as Dean of the Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (9,500 students, 825 staff). There, he developed an integrated educational and research practice in which creativity, digitalisation and social relevance reinforce one another. Earlier, Frank worked at Waag Futurelab as Research Director, where he developed innovation programmes at the intersection of art, science and technology. He later became Director of the DesignLab at the University of Twente, where transdisciplinary collaboration is central to addressing societal challenges.

Kresin: “Especially when everything is shifting, we need the arts to question, disrupt and imagine, so that new perspectives can emerge. ArtEZ is positioned at the heart of a changing society and plays a key role through its leading education and research. I look forward to working with students, staff and partners to continue building this unique university of the arts from a place of strength and confidence.”

Visser will hold the operational management portfolio, lead strategy, policy and organisational development, and oversee ArtEZ’s housing ambitions. Jeroen combines a strong background in operational management with a creative and inquisitive approach as a maker and entrepreneur. Since 2020, he has been Director of Operations at the Faculty of Business & Economics at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In that role, he oversees HR, finance, IT, housing, communication and education logistics (10,000 students, 700 staff). Previously, he held several positions at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, including Manager of the Faculty Office, team leader and programme manager. He also worked for several years as a lecturer-researcher at AMFI.
 

Visser: “At ArtEZ, art is given the space to do what systems cannot: create the unexpected. The freedom to think, make and inquire is not a luxury but a quiet force that moves our society forward. I want to contribute to this by ensuring that everyone here can work and study well-supported and with autonomy.”

Louise van Deth, Chair of the Supervisory Board, is pleased that these appointments secure an important step towards continuity and stability in ArtEZ’s governance: “We conducted an extensive and careful process, shaped by the input and involvement of many staff and students. In Frank Kresin and Jeroen Visser, we have found leaders who are well equipped to guide ArtEZ in all its uniqueness and diversity.”