Global colleagues in support of Prof. Patrick Schrauwen

A year ago, the decision was made by Maastricht University to break ties with Prof. Schrauwen and place him on forced leave. In the twelve months since then, procedures were activated aimed at terminating the employment contract of Prof. Patrick Schrauwen and thus directing him on his way out. We are unpleasantly surprised and disappointed to learn that a few weeks ago, Maastricht University submitted the official request for the dissolution of his employment contract. What is especially disappointing is that this step was taken without him having yet been able to arrange alternative employment elsewhere, knowing very well that this process is very difficult and takes time, given the unique infrastructure that Dr. Schrauwen uses in his research. In a previous letter to the board of Maastricht University, we made a plea to the board to consider alternative options and embrace mediation. We find it surprising that nothing was done with this suggestion. Curiously and regrettably, an internal transfer, for instance to the institute Carim, was never given serious consideration by Maastricht University, nor was there serious effort invested into external options.

Strangely, we haven't been able to find anybody who can explain why Prof. Schrauwen needs to leave Maastricht University. We all have had or still have very productive and pleasant collaborations with Prof. Schrauwen. He has been a great mentor and colleague to us. We see his foreseen dismissal as a huge loss for Maastricht University and highly damaging to its reputation. 

The impact this decision has had on Prof. Schrauwen is more than devastating. We care about Prof. Schrauwen. It hurts to see him broken down to the ground, not being able to defend himself, correct any obvious misinformation, and share his side of the story with his colleagues. Any efforts that Prof. Schrauwen is undertaking to defend himself and salvage his career are construed negatively and abused to further tarnish his character and reputation. It is painful that there has not been any compassion or empathy from the employer to whom he dedicated his professional life for 30 years, leaving a huge positive mark in the field of type 2 diabetes on behalf of Maastricht University. 

This decision will reverberate through the academic community and will take Maastricht University years to recover from, both internally and externally. Numerous colleagues at Maastricht University have been working in fear and several are at home on sick leave as a result of the unbending stance of Maastricht University and the arctic climate it has created by aiming for the dismissal of Prof. Schrauwen. This has devastating consequences for many scientific projects and investigators. In our view, some options have not been given sufficient consideration. It is not too late to reconsider these options and avoid the damage that will undoubtedly ensue following his dismissal. We urgently ask Maastricht University to stand up and look at the situation with an open view and to show a willingness to take remedial action by actively contributing toward finding a reasonable solution.