New candidate for KU Leuven rector: We have become ‘too arrogant’

Sels, 50, is both the youngest and the longest-serving dean at KU Leuven. He has led his faculty since 2009.

De Standaard describes Sels as a rational decision-maker, bridge-builder and manager. He is credited with his leadership in the integration of Antwerp and Brussels campuses into the KU Leuven structure.

“Rik Torfs has the intrinsic quality to win an election, but I think I have more assets to lead a university,” said Sels. He referred to his experience in managing the four campuses of his faculty, in Leuven, Antwerp, Brussels and Kortrijk.

The new candidate said he would like to see more international collaboration with top institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. He also wants a bigger focus on quality than on quantity in scientific research, he said.

Sels criticised Torfs’ celebrity spokesperson status and former role as a politician, saying that he was too involved in various public debates. “The university is too focused on one person,” he said, and has become “too arrogant” under Torfs command. “I want to be the rector that reaches out to the four other universities.”

Photo: Rob Stevens/KU Leuven