Frank van Eekeren appointed as professor in Sport & Society

Frank van Eekeren has been appointed as professor of Sport & Society at the Utrecht University School of Governance as of 1 September 2022. He will focus on public value creation by sport organisations, such as contributing to social cohesion in neighbourhoods and promoting participation of hard-to-reach target groups. He is also interested in issues of integrity, good governance and corporate social responsibility in sport. 'Sport is a mirror of society, and that is what makes it so fascinating. That is why my research is not so much sports research but research in sports', says Van Eekeren. For more than twenty years, the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) has a tradition in education, research, consultancy and impact regarding governance and organisation issues with sport as the research context, says professor and fellow researcher in sport, Maarten van Bottenburg. Since the beginning, Frank van Eekeren has contributed to this by linking education, research and consultancy, and by entering into partnerships with involved citizens, professionals and organisations in society Moreover, he is known to make nuances and he considers offering alternative perspectives as essential and meaningful as the scientific analysis on which they are based.