Prof. Ritzen retired from the Presidency of Maastricht University in February 2011 after a period in which this University gained worldwide prominence as a research university dedicated to first class problem based education in an international setting. Before assuming that position in February 2003, Dr. Ritzen was VP of the World Bank’s Development Economics Department. In July 2001, he assumed the position VP of the World Bank’s Human Development Network, which advises the institution and its client countries on innovative approaches to improving health, education and social protection. He joined the Bank as Special Adviser to the Human Development Network in September 1998. Prior to joining the Bank, he was Minister of Education, Culture, and Science of The Netherlands. During his term, he enacted a series of major reforms throughout the Dutch education system. Dr. Ritzen has also made significant contributions to agencies such as UNESCO and OECD.
Dr. Ritzen obtained a master’s degree in physics engineering in 1970 from the University of Technology in Delft, and a PhD in economics in 1977 from Erasmus University in Rotterdam. His dissertation on education, economic growth, and income distribution earned him the Winkler Prins Prize. He has written or co-authored eleven books. Many articles written or co-authored by him are published in the fields of education, economics, public finance and development economics.
His book "A Chance for European Universities" has been translated in German, Russian, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic. The ideas of the Manifesto: "Empower European Universities" which is by and large based on the analysis of this book are pursued through the NGO Empower European Universities with a network of correspondents in the Member States of the EU, aimed at scoring higher education policies.
He is an honorary professor at Maastricht University (School of Governance) and Senior Policy Advisor of IZA (Bonn, Germany) engaged in the development of an implementable vision for Europe through the Vibrant Europe Forum, which brings politicians, business and academics together. This has resulted in the book “A Second Chance for Europe” (Springer Publishing, Sept. 2017), in the process of a popularized translation in eight European Union languages. He is also the Chair of the Conflict and Education Learning Laboratory engaged in relieving textbooks from divisive stereotypes.