Simone Buitendijk
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Simone Elisabeth Buitendijk is a Dutch academic and the
vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
. Her research considers women's health and innovations in education.


Early life and education

Buitendijk was born in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. She studied
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
at
Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
. She earned a Master of public health at
Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...
in 1990 where she evaluated the prevalence of medication in early pregnancy and how it related to maternal characteristics. She found that women who use more
over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...
and prescription drugs are more likely to be white, smoke more than 30 cigarettes a day and smoke marijuana. She joined the
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO; en, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is an independent research organisation in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science. The organisat ...
where she worked as a Senior Researcher in
perinatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...
epidemiology. In 2000, she completed her doctorate in
epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...
at Leiden University. Her work considered
IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
pregnancies and their follow-up.


Research and career

Buitendijk was appointed Head of the
Perinatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...
Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...
section at the
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO; en, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is an independent research organisation in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science. The organisat ...
. She worked on fetal and infant health, and the ability of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
to produce indicators to assess perinatal health. She was appointed Professor of
Preventive Healthcare Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...
for Children at the
Leiden University Medical Center Leiden University Medical Center (Dutch: ''Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum'') or LUMC is the university hospital affiliated with Leiden University, of which it forms the medical faculty. It is located in Leiden, Netherlands. LUMC is a modern un ...
in 2011. She was the first person to hold a Chair in
Primary Care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care ...
Obstetrics in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. That year she was also made Vice Rector Magnificus and joined the Executive Board at Leiden University. Buitendijk led several strategies to improve the educational experiences of students, encouraging innovative teaching practises. She was responsible for the education, policy and diversity initiatives. Under Buitendijk's leadership, Leiden University became one of the first universities in Europe to comprehensively develop
massive open online course A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, man ...
s and small private online courses. At Leiden University Buitendijk was made Professor of Women's and Family Health, and started to work on gendered research and innovation. She studied
home birth A home birth is a birth that takes place in a residence rather than in a hospital or a birthing center. They may be attended by a midwife, or lay attendant with experience in managing home births. Home birth was, until the advent of modern medic ...
in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, finding that home births were as safe as hospital births. She has studied changes in the height and weight of children in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and how
perinatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...
factors impact the birth experience. She called for an evaluation and introduction of minimum standards into midwifery in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. Buitendijk called for academia to become more empathetic in an effort to embrace diversity. She co-authored the
League of European Research Universities The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a consortium of European research universities. History and overview The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 2002 ...
' ''Women, research and universities: excellence without gender bias'', a call-to-arms for universities looking to address the underrepresentation of women in academia. In the report, Buitendijk suggests committed leadership from the top, as well as introducing concrete measures that are targeted to specific career stages, transparency, accountability and monitoring, as well as active promotion of a gender dimension in research. Buitendijk called for
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...
to require analysis of sex and gender when selecting papers for publication. In 2016, Buitendijk joined
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
as a Vice Provost for Education. There, she hosted the first
Microsoft Campus The Microsoft campus is the corporate headquarters of Microsoft, located in Redmond, Washington, United States, a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. Microsoft initially moved onto the grounds of the campus on February 26, 1986, shortly before ...
Connections Summit to be held outside America. Buitendijk partnered Imperial College with
Coursera Coursera Inc. () is a U.S.-based massive open online course provider founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses ...
, creating a series of online courses around
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...
. She launched the College's new teaching and learning strategy. Buitendijk described the
Teaching Excellence Framework The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) is a controversial government assessment of the quality of undergraduate teaching in universities and other higher education providers in England, which may be used from 2020 to determine ...
as a "godsend" for university education. Buitendijk has presented at the Gender Summit and Transform MedEd. She is a member of the
League of European Research Universities The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a consortium of European research universities. History and overview The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 2002 ...
Gender Steering Group. She has written for the
Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
. On 14 February 2020 it was announced that Buitendijk would succeed
Alan Langlands Sir Robert Alan Langlands FRSE FRCP (Hon.) FRCGP (Hon.) FRCS (Edin.) (Hon.) FRCPSG (Hon.) FFPH FCGI FIA is a former vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds. He is notable for past service as the fourth chief executive of the National ...
as Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds on 1 September 2020.


Controversy

Buitendijk was the subject of controversy in May 2022 when students at the University of Leeds staged a five-day occupation of the Council Chamber of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building in protest over treatment of staff. Their demands were: # No pay deductions for staff taking part in the marking boycott # The Vice-Chancellor commits to resolving the Leeds UCU and Unison disputes by supporting their demands. The Vice-Chancellor met with the occupying students on the first day and was recorded in a video posted to Twitter asking "Why do you think it's so terrible?" and "Why are you striking?" in response to questions about what she would do about the working conditions of staff at the University. This was allegedly despite not meeting with representatives from the UCU or Unison in over a year or responding to emails from them. Students highlighted the contrast in conditions of staff being threatened with 100% pay deductions for taking part in a marking boycott to demand fair pay, and of the Vice-Chancellor whose salary was £336,000 in 2020-21, a £42,000 rise from her predecessor. On the fourth day of the occupation, students put out a request on Twitter for staff members to send in their personal experiences at the University to a padlet and then played them over a speaker outside senior management's offices which included Buitendijk's. On the 10th June 2022, the Leeds UCU announced that members had accepted an offer negotiated with the University which led to no pay deductions for those who took part in the marking boycott.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buitendijk, Simone Dutch women academics Leiden University faculty Utrecht University alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni Academics of Imperial College London Dutch epidemiologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Vice-Chancellors of the University of Leeds Women heads of universities and colleges