The deans of the Science faculties at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) are pleased to announce the appointment of Bruce Mutsvairo as interim dean of Amsterdam University College (AUC), effective 1 October 2025 for a period of two years.
Mutsvairo is a professor of Media, Politics and the Global South in the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University, a role he will now combine with his position as interim dean. At the AUC, he will work towards developing a vision for the coming years that builds on AUC’s existing strengths and ensures a future-proof position within the evolving educational landscape.
Mutsvairo: ‘Having studied and taught within the University College framework, I understand the unique value that liberal arts and sciences bring to fostering critical thinking, interdisciplinarity, and global citizenship. Returning to AUC represents a deeply personal and professional aspiration to collaborate with staff, students and the college’s partners along with colleagues at UvA/VU in building a shared vision that helps us collectively respond to the challenges and opportunities ahead.’
About Bruce Mutsvairo
As professor of Media, Politics and the Global South at Utrecht University, Mutsvairo studies how media, technology, and disinformation influence politics, journalism practice, and social relations, particularly in non-Western contexts.
Before joining Utrecht University in 2021, he was a full professor and member of the executive council in the School of Journalism and Communication at Auburn University in the US. He also served as an associate professor in Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, where he directed the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' Early Career Researcher programme. Prior to that, he taught journalism at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. Early in his career, he taught at Amsterdam University College for two years, becoming an assistant professor at Leiden University College in 2013.
About AUC`
Amsterdam University College (AUC) offers a liberal arts and sciences programme with a strong science profile leading to a joint Bachelor's degree from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). AUC is based on the residential liberal arts and sciences model, with students studying and living together on an international campus located at Amsterdam Science Park.
Bruce Mutsvairo succeeds Martin van Hees, whose term as dean ended on 1 March 2025, and Marianne Riphagen, who has since served as acting dean.
The recruitment and selection was done jointly by the Faculty of Science deans of the VU and UvA, Peter van Tienderen and Alette Kraneveld, with close involvement and participation of AUC students and staff.