Louise O. Fresco reappointed President of the Executive Board at Wageningen University & Research

Within the organisation, she has forged the various science groups together under the motto ‘One Wageningen’, which has more effectively connected social issues with research and education. She has also played an active role in the collaboration with the three other technical universities and the formation of the 4TU partnership.

Career

Louise Fresco is a graduate of Wageningen University and earned her PhD here with distinction. On 1 July 2014, she was appointed President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research as successor to Dr Aalt A. Dijkhuizen. At that time, she was a university professor at the University of Amsterdam and fulfilled a number of social roles. Prior to that, she worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, the last six years as Assistant Director-General responsible for agricultural production and, later, food as well. Before joining the FAO, Fresco worked as a professor of plant production systems at Wageningen University.

Societal positions

In addition to her main role at WUR, Fresco holds several societal positions, many of which are closely related to her work in Wageningen. For example, she is a member of the Trilateral Commission. She is also a member of the editorial board of Dutch literary periodical De Gids, and a member of the advisory board for the American World Food Prize. In addition, she is a member of the UN Steering Committee (IV) of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (CFS-HLPE), a columnist for the NRC Handelsblad newspaper, a member of the steering committee and chair of the programme board for Innovation Expo 2018, a member of the Board of Ambassadors for the National Holocaust Museum (in formation) and a member of the National Opera & Ballet Fund.

Ancillary positions and honorary doctorates

Louise Fresco also has a number of ancillary positions in academia. She is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry in Stockholm. She is also a corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain in Madrid, a member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, a foreign member of the French Academy of Agriculture, and a foreign member of the Natural Sciences class of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels. In addition, she is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Academy of Agricultural Science of South Africa. She is also a professor at Wageningen University and a corresponding member of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences in Belgium. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Liège and KU Leuven.