Johannes Gerardus Franciscus (Jan) Veldhuis (born 4 October 1938 in Hengelo) is a Dutch administrator/governor in the fields of scientific education and research, healthcare and culture, nationally and internationally.
After two additional years philosophy study at the Philosophicum Dijnselburg in Huis ter Heide, he in 1959 started (modern) history, economics and constitutional and administrative law in Utrecht.
He graduated in July 1967, and got a Fulbright scholarship for a comparative study of the Dutch 'Plan of the Labor' and the American 'New Deal' at the University of Minnesota, this in the politically dramatic year 1967–1968.
He was among the 10 signatories of the manifesto of 1970, that led to 'the uprising of the young officials ' ('de opstand van de jonge referendarissen') and then to the integration of the ministry (binnendienst) and the diplomatic service (buitendienst).
In these positions he was faced with difficult policy issues: as DG with Minister Pais especially the mergers of teacher training colleges, and with Minister Wim Deetman(1982–1989) the significant budget cuts of the Lubbers cabinet, including the lowering of teachers' salaries; and as IGO with the implementation of the new organization of the inspectorate, the setting up of an inspectorate for the universities, and with the pupils fraud, especially in primary schools, connected with the very rapid decrease of the birth rate, 28% in the years 1969–1977.
His reporting led to a notorious publication in the leading Dutch newspaper NRC, and to a separate chapter – of his hand - on the quality of education in the explanatory memorandum to the O & W 1985 budget.
And despite strong resistance —with a strike, an occupation of the main administrative building and a short cause in court in May 1988—the Board under his leadership carried through a major reorganization of the university: 'Bestuurlijke Vernieuwing/Governance Renewal 1987-1991'.
They were supported by an administrative office of increasing quality (under the direction of Wim Kardux, Maarten Rook, Erwin Vermeulen, Joop Kessels).
These strategic operations had many results, among which some remarkable ones, also nationwide: Modernization of the educational process by requiring from students basic involvement, and for university teachers basic and senior qualifications (wp-flow; bko and sko): this 'Utrecht education model', sharpened with the introduction of the European Bachelor-Master-model, led to 20% higher outputs than the national average; foundation (initiative prof. Hans Adriaansens), and especially administrative and financial implementation of the University College Utrecht bèta-marketing: increasing the inflow of students into the science departments; About 15 new programs, a.o.
full-fledged Economics, Public Administration, and Physiotherapy Science; the formation of the UMC Utrecht (University Hospital) with insertion of the famous Eye Hospital, the Ooglijdersgasthuis, and the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, WKZ (together with Gerlach Cerfontaine and Willem Hendrik Gispen [nl]); formation of the Academic Biomedical Cluster, ABC (initiative Willem Hendrik Gispen); and the establishment of TNO-NITG (with rector Harry Voorma); university professors Frits van Oostrom, Herman Philipse, Paul Schnabel and Peter van der Veer.
On behalf of the Association of Dutch Universities, VSNU, Veldhuis for many years chaired te Education Committee, StOA, in charge of among others the reduction of the number of academic courses (by 50%), the preparation of the replacement in the secondary school curriculum of the 270 different 'packages'(pakketten) by 4 'profiles'(profielen) and the renovation of the history curriculum in the secondary schools (restoration of chronology according to the proposals of the committee of Roel de Wit and that of Piet de Rooy) Veldhuis in 1995 was conferred a doctorate h.c. by the University of Florida, USA, and in 1997, 1998 and 2001 he was decorated by respectively the governments of France, the Netherlands and Spain.