Confidential advisor staff

Getting in touch 

• Send an email to vertrouwenspersonen [at] ru.nl (vertrouwenspersonen[at]ru[dot]nl) in which you indicate that you want to request an appointment; you do not need to provide further details. Within two working days you will be contacted for a brief phone intake interview. 
• Call us on 06 43 58 38 73 (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday between 8:30am - 3pm). Here, too, you will first have a brief phone intake interview.

What does a confidential advisor do for you? 

A confidential advisor offers you a safe place to share your experience. A confidential advisor thinks with you and advises you in your search for a solution. Together you can explore what steps you feel comfortable with, such as: 

• Well-prepared conversation with the person who is making you feel uncomfortable, possibly together with the confidential advisor.
• Finding a mediator if that seems suitable.
• Filing a complaint with the independent Complaints Committee, with support of the confidential advisor during the process. 

Your story stays confidential, and you always stay in control of what happens in the process. You have all the time and space available to think about what steps you want to take and when. This means that you also have the freedom to decide that sharing your story is enough for now and you do not (yet) want to take further action.

Advisory and signalling role

In addition to a guiding role, the confidential advisor also has an advisory and signalling function. We regularly discuss trends and developments with management and HR, always focusing on the broader context without addressing individual cases. Furthermore, we give advice on policies related to social safety and undesirable behaviour. Do you have a question or want to discuss something? Feel free to reach out to us.

Who are the university's confidential advisors? 

The confidential advisors of Radboud University are independent. We are certified members of the National Association of Confidential Advisors (Landelijke Vereniging van Vertrouwenspersonen). 

Confidential advisors for undesirable behaviour and integrity for staff and PhD’s 

Caroline Bakkerus, Pascalle de Vos, Ton Stokkermans and Katja Laumans-Bakers   

Confidential advisors for undesirable behaviour students 

Alessandra Aoki dos Santos, Peter van Oorschot, Anne van Sluijs and Marieke van der Burgh 

Confidential advisors for academic integrity

Wilbert Spooren and Judith Prins

Confidential advisor whistle-blowers

Roel Willems

Management assistant team confidential advisors

Wil Rustenhoven 

Support in other difficult situations

It is possible that you feel uncomfortable, frustrated or thwarted in your work due to other causes, such as:  

• overwork;
• conflicts regarding your tasks or relationships at work;
• stress;
• personal circumstances that impact your job;
• working conditions that impact your (mental) health.

In these situations, you can talk to HR, a company social worker, campus psychologist or coach.

Contact persons for Jewish and/or Israeli students and staff

For Jewish and Israeli students and staff who feel unsafe or have concerns, two special contact persons with specific knowledge on antisemitism are available, separate from the team of confidential advisors. You can contact them confidentially if you need someone to talk to, want to share your experiences or are looking for advice on how to deal with difficult situations. In addition, they bring signals, experiences and concerns from the community to the attention of the Executive Board. You can always contact them contact.jism [at] ru.nl (by email), whether you want to share something, have questions or need support.

Feedback, questions or suggestions

Carefulness and integrity are core values for our confidential advisors. Where possible, efforts are made to de-escalate, promote collaboration and encourage open communication.

We welcome your tips, ideas, compliments, suggestions and feedback. If there is something you are less satisfied with, we would appreciate hearing about it so we can work together towards a solution. You can contact the Head of the Confidential Advisors Team, Caroline Bakkerus, at caroline.bakkerus [at] ru.nl (caroline[dot]bakkerus[at]ru[dot]nl).