New Executive Board member Richard Wielinga to guide Saxion through cutbacks with ‘a cool head and a warm heart’

Richard Wielinga can still remember it well. As primary school pupil in Hindeloopen, Friesland, he was certainly sent out of the class from time to time. Not a good idea, when your father is a teacher at the very same school: “In the long school corridor I always pushed myself against the wall as much as I could, to be out of sight of my father when he opened his classroom door further along and walked into the corridor. I didn’t want him to spot me, of course. But... (laughing) other than that, I was pretty used to being at the same school as him and having him as my teacher for two years.”

Father and daughter

This week a similar coincidence is starting at Saxion. While Richard was starting his first working week at the Executive Board, his daughter took the train from their family home in Naarden-Bussum for her first day studying at Saxion. “Applied Psychology. This week was an exciting and fun start for me, but it was certainly that for her too. The name Saxion was often mentioned at the dinner table in recent weeks. We make jokes about it. I tease her with the fact that her father is now walking around here too. Not perhaps something she is wanting or expecting at her age, but I’m confident we won’t get in each other’s way. And that's how it should be. She needs her freedom,” he says with a broad smile.

First, back to the Opening of the Academic Year last week at the Deventer Schouwburg. It was also Richard’s baptism of fire at Saxion, on stage. “That was a truly wonderful and lively gathering. The students brought loads of energy into the auditorium, it was a very rich programme, Anka Mulder made a valuable appeal about the position of applied university education. Quite right too. For me, it was the perfect moment to introduce myself and afterwards shake hands and talk to lots of people. I’ve noticed already this week that many colleagues stop for a chat with me in passing. I appreciate that. It also characterises the culture in a public organisation like Saxion. And it is a culture that suits me because, after my first five years at an organisation consultancy, I have always worked in the public sector.”

An enjoyable student life

Was it a conscious choice, to work in the public sector? “Yes, the public sector is really my thing, as you say. I studied public administration and I’ve always wanted to work in organisations that are socially relevant. Over the course of 20 years, I’ve worked at five municipalities, as a director of operations and as a municipal secretary. I also worked for the municipality of Deventer.   After that, I decided it was time to join a different type of organisation. My choice fell on the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (Social Insurance Bank), as a member of the Board of Directors.  I was also responsible for the operations portfolio.  Following that, two sectors seemed interesting to me: healthcare and education. Higher professional education is a very dynamic sector. So when Saxion came into the picture, I felt that it was an interesting and challenging step that I wanted to take. My children are students. I really enjoyed my own time as a student. And, in light of all my family members involved in education, I was delighted to be offered a position at Saxion.”

This position will be a demanding one for Richard, certainly now as Saxion is faced with cutting costs. How does he feel about that? “Cost cutting is not new to me. In almost all the organisations where I have worked, I’ve had to deal with shortages. In doing so, I have had to implement major cost-cutting projects. I don’t really mind money being scarce. It means that you need to look closely at what you can and can’t do. That you need to look closely at quality. And that is very much in line with my personal motivation, to work in the public sector all these years. In this sector, the money that we work with is the money that belongs to all of us as citizens. I feel I have a great responsibilityto do this job properly. To utilise budgets in such a way as to ensure maximum public value for those same citizens, for all of us.  A lack of resources helps you make clear decisions and focus on quality. You have to do that together. With a cool head but a warm heart.”

Behind the till

Someone with a cool head and a warm heart. Is that who Richard wants to be at work? “I’m motivated by the desire to make improvements. My aim is to leave things in a better state than I found them. When talking about operations, it is incredibly important to first learn everything you can about the place and the people who work there. This is why I am looking forward to the many conversations I’ll be having with colleagues in the coming period. To hear what’s going well, but also where they see opportunities. I don’t just want to hold those conversations at my desk. I will also be looking around: at the service departments, in the schools and in the labs. I want to see, understand and feel how Saxion works as an organisation. Right to the deepest fibre of Saxion’s being. Operations always support the primary process. I want to get to know the process well so that we can take the right steps together. So I’ll be out and about at Saxion but I also like to be invited to spend an hour with colleagues, to learn about their work. Feel free to ask me to sit behind the till in the cafeteria.  That’s both enjoyable and educational.”

Richard says that you’ll find him out and about on the work floor a lot in the coming period. This means that he will not only visit Apeldoorn, but he’ll also be back in his old university town of Enschede and see the familiar skyline of Deventer looming up as he travels east from Naarden-Bussum. “The city is very familiar to me because of the time I spent working for Deventer city council. I know my way around.” This also applies figuratively, to the entire Stedendriehoek, Salland and Twente region, Richard explains. I have worked in the region for a long time. Even when I was director of operations in Epe, the Stedendriehoek was close by. The Eastern Netherlands feels familiar to me. In several ways I know many people in the public sector and the business community, partners who are also well-known to Saxion And, as a Frisian, I understand the regional character of the people here.” How do you characterise that parallel? “That together you give people enough time and space to have their say and achieve their potential. It isn’t a bad thing if people are sometimes quite reserved. The story will come out in good time. People here take a great deal of pride in everything Saxion has achieved, in the good name of our applied university. That pride is appropriate. You don’t need to shout for the sake of shouting. You want to have something to show. And it is exactly that regional character that is so familiar to me as a Frisian.

Equality

Is Richard looking forward to working as a member of the Executive Board? “Yes, we have only been together for a few days, but I like to draw inspiration from my own background. Anka and Timo both have a great deal of experience in the education sector. I will gain experience of the sector and learn from them, but I will also share what I bring myself. I am a positive-minded person, but also a balanced and driven one. I enjoy tackling a challenge, entering discussions on things that really matter. And I am a firm believer in equal opportunities. That is something I definitely want to bring to my dealings with people at Saxion.  Round the table, we focus on what has been said and not on who said it. So that’s how I am!”

A man with a mission, and a great deal of enthusiasm. Does a busy and responsible position as member of the board leave Richard any room for relaxation? “Definitely. However, I don’t have any special hobbies because I’ve always had jobs that took up a lot of time during the week. So I found and find, it important to be there for my family at the weekend. Furthermore, my wife and I have always divided the tasks equally, since the children were young. I do keep fit a couple of times a week. This evening I’m going with my daughter to do a ‘boost’ course at the gym. I’ve noticed that this kind of thing is good for me. Get out of my head and into my body for a while. Also nice to do this kind of thing together, as father and daughter. Do you know, there is a really good side to the fact that we both started at Saxion last week. She is getting to know Saxion as a student. Me, as an executive board member. It is great to bring these worlds together. I can get a glimpse of what she sees, through her stories. What is the real story of a student? That’s what I want to know. Since ultimately, everything we think up in the board room concerns the primary process, concerns our students. The ones for whom we do it all. That makes the circle complete for me.”

Photography: Thomas Busschers