By Elea Jürß
On 12 May 2026, AUC’s dean, Bruce Mutsvairo, presented the progress of the AUC Future Scenarios Taskforce to the public. In the final stages of the project, the Dean discussed possible consequences of the best and the worst case scenarios being chosen by the executive boards of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA) and the Vrije Universiteit (VU). The consequences of a “doom” scenario took the centre stage.
In the last progress meeting, the taskforce leaders had presented possible new structures for AUC’s programme, including making AUC a Bachelor of Science only programme. Many students were worried about the College dissolving or cutting further courses in the Humanities.
The dean explained that his submission to UvA and VU, per the assignment, will consist of multiple scenarios for AUC, including two extreme options. A best-case scenario will conclude that there is no need for drastic changes. What Mutsvairo called a “doom” scenario, would recommend that AUC be closed. “I know that a lot of students are anxious, but the students who are currently here and the ones incoming next year will not be affected by this decision. By law, the graduation requirements at the time of enrolment remain,” explained Mutsvairo.
Even if the doom scenario is chosen, the dean does not see AUC closing down entirely. He wishes to ensure “some form of continuity in AUC and its legacy, both for students and staff”. One possibility would be a collaboration with another programme. “I understand the anxiety, because worst comes to worst, who wants to be an alumnus of a college that does not exist?” said Mutsvairo.
The dean, as well as lecturer and taskforce member Thijs Etty, reminded students and staff that even once a decision has been made, its implementation will remain a process. The more radical the proposed changes, the longer they will take to be acted on, and the more approval rights the Student Council and the Works Council will have. “It is just a given that we will definitely protect current students. One way of ensuring that is by involving the student council in all decision-making processes,” said the dean.
At this stage, the three themed clusters consisting of students and faculty members tasked to report on and develop strategies for issues regarding AUC are no longer needed. Their research has been given to the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) to review and synthesise into proposals. Here, the Dean reemphasised that preparing the scenarios will involve the SAG, consisting of staff and a student, heavily, and is not only reliant on his opinion.
After the SAG provides scenario recommendations by 22 May, Mutsvairo will draft a report by 5 June. This will be reviewed by the AUC Management Team, the Student Council, the Board of Studies, and the Works Council by 12 June. While initially only the Student Council and the Works Council were meant to provide feedback, the Dean decided to extend this invitation in “fairness and in the spirit of collegiality”.
The report will be reviewed by the AUC Board and submitted to the Executive Board (EB) at the end of June. While the dean has proposed a timeline to the EB to meet and discuss the Future of AUC, he is reliant on their availability. He hopes that he will have an indication of which scenario will be chosen by August. It is possible for a combination of scenarios to be chosen. Mutsvairo does not yet know whether the scenarios will be submitted ranked, but he might highlight a preference.
In September, the UvA will be taken over by a new Rector Magnificus. Mutsvairo specifically expressed interest in wrapping up the taskforce quickly, as to facilitate a scenario being picked by the current Rector Magnificus Peter-Paul Verbeek. This is because he is familiar with the assignment and AUC. “I know that the current rector thinks highly of [AUC],” the dean said, but it is unclear whether there will be a decision by August.
When asked whether students would receive information on what scenarios would be presented to the EB, Mutsvairo responded that while he will not publish the full report until a decision has been made, students will have the opportunity to receive further updates at the third progress meeting on 16 June.
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