Tesse Stek new Scientific Director of KNIR

It is with great pleasure that we, the Board of the University, announce that we have appointed Dr Tesse Stek as the new Scientific Director of the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR). The appointment will take effect on 1 October 2021 and will be for a period of five years. Due to his appointment at the KNIR (which is managed by the UG), Stek will simultaneously transfer to the UG, where he will be appointed as a professor later this year.

Stek already has a long history at the KNIR as an archaeologist. As he himself describes it, the KNIR has shaped him: as a student, as a PhD student, as a (senior) researcher, and since 2018, as Head of Antiquities at the Institute.

Stek’s outstanding qualities as a researcher and lecturer, his years of experience in teaching and research in Rome, Italy, and other Mediterranean areas, and his extensive network in the Dutch, Italian, and rest of the international academic world make him a more than suitable candidate for this position.

The Board of the University of Groningen is confident that Stek, with his great involvement in and love for the KNIR, as well as his open attitude aimed at cooperation and connection, will inspire and convince staff, colleagues, researchers, and students of his plans and ambitions for the Institute and bring to it further prosperity.

We wish Dr Stek much success in his new position and look forward to working with him.