The
Roosevelt Academy, as it was then called, was established in 2004 by
Hans Adriaansens, its founding dean. Adriaansens first experienced the ground principles of the
liberal arts education during his brief time as a visiting professor at
Smith College, USA, in the 1980–1981 academic year. He started to develop the idea of a small scale and academically intensive undergraduate college in the Netherlands, which led Adriaansens to the foundation of
University College Utrecht in 1998, the first liberal arts college in the country. After the success of the first University College in
Utrecht, Adriaansens started preparations for a sister college in his hometown,
Middelburg. Middelburg and the whole of
Zeeland did not have a
research university, although
William of Orange had considered Middelburg as a possible venue when establishing the first university in the
Netherlands in 1575, before ultimately settling for
Leiden. Based in Middelburg's former Gothic
City Hall, this first college in Zeeland was to be following the same principles of liberal arts education as the Utrecht counterpart. It was named after the
Roosevelt family, particularly
Franklin,
Eleanor and
Theodore, due to their ancestry originating in the Dutch province of Zeeland. The Roosevelt Academy was officially founded on 23 January 2004 and the first students enrolled in August of that year, after
Queen Beatrix performed the official opening of the university. It was the third
University College to be established in the Netherlands, after
University College Utrecht and
University College Maastricht. In its first few years, the Roosevelt Academy consistently ranked high among University Colleges: the magazine
Elsevier ranked RA as the top liberal arts college in the Netherlands for three times in its first four years, and in 2011 the Keuzengids Onderwijs also ranked it as the number one University College in the Netherlands. Hans Adriaansens retired as dean in November 2011, and was replaced by Prof. Barbara Oomen in April 2012. On 5 February 2013, Roosevelt Academy changed its name to
University College Roosevelt, to avoid ambiguity on the nature of the institution and to present itself explicitly as a university college. UCR kept developing as it entered its second decade. An important milestone was the opening of the Common House Elliott, a building housing classrooms, a student restaurant and a basement bar. After many obstacles, including resistance from the local residents, Elliott opened its doors to the first party on 28 November 2013 and was formally inaugurated in April 2014. In the same year, a Teaching and Learning Centre for excellence in education was established and officially opened by
Queen Máxima. In August 2016, Bert van den Brink became the new dean of UCR. Under van der Brink, UCR expanded its curriculum by establishing a new Engineering Department, piloted from 2019 and officially started in fall 2020. This led to new campus expansions: a new building was acquired to house the new department, and a Joint Research Center (JRI) opened in 2021 in cooperation with the
HZ University of Applied Sciences and Scalda, housing labs to be used in the fields of engineering, data sciences, chemistry and ecology. In 2025, University College Roosevelt underwent a major reorganization in response to declining student enrollment and proposed national funding cuts. The number of incoming students fell below the college’s target, creating an estimated future annual budget shortfall of approximately €2 million. As a result, UCR announced a series of austerity measures, including the reduction of more than 25 percent of its staff positions. As part of the restructuring, UCR overhauled its Liberal Arts and Sciences program, notably cutting many traditional humanities and social science disciplines in favor of business studies and data science. The new curriculum, implemented in the 2025–26 academic year, was reorganized around six interdisciplinary clusters: Business & Entrepreneurship; Media, Culture & Communication; Government & Society; Data Science & Intelligent Systems; Health, Cognition & Behavior; and Environment & Sustainability. The changes were intended to increase the institution’s appeal to both Dutch and international students, and to strengthen ties with the Zeeland region through community-based learning projects. The reorganization prompted widespread protests from students, parents, alumni and faculty, including strikes in early 2025. Some students raised concerns about disrupted study plans and the potential impact on graduate school applications. Several faculty dismissals stirred additional controversy, particularly the case of anthropology professor John T. Friedman. After 21 years at UCR, Friedman was dismissed in February 2025 as part of the layoffs, reportedly tied to the elimination of the anthropology program. He publicly criticised the restructuring in a video and in social media posts defending the role of the humanities, and carried on teaching in the streets; the content went viral globally, amassing tens of millions of views and igniting international debate about the future of anthropology and liberal arts education. Despite the controversy, UCR leadership maintained that the measures were necessary to safeguard the college’s long-term viability. In April 2025, Professor Gerda Andringa was appointed dean to oversee the implementation of the new strategy.
Deans •
Hans Adriaansens (2004–2011) • Willem Hendrik Gispen (Interim Dean, 2011–2012) • Barbara Oomen (2012–2016) • Bert van den Brink (2016–2022) • Edward Nieuwenhuis (2023–2024) • Sjef Smeekens (Interim Dean, 2024–2025) • Gerda Andringa (2025–present) ==Academics==