21 November 2023
In the Autum of 1948, the first cohort of students arrived at the then Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences in the Koningslaan in Amsterdam. By now, 75 years further down the line, we are called the School of Business ad Economics. In these 75 years, much has changed, but in the core we are still what we were back then – a community close to society.
In 1948, there was a fundamental debate about the course the new Faculty should take, with a “normative” and a “positive” camp. The second emerged from this battle as the winner. Since then, neutral science, to the extent this can exist, is being combined with much attention to impact in and on society. Back then, the question was what a Christian economy should look like. Today, different forms of sustainability have taken center stage.
It was and is a community to be proud of – a community that combines mind and heart: the mind of the scientific toolkit with the heart of the societal interest. And so we will continue in the next 75 years!
Arjen van Witteloostuijn