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cOAlition S Executive Director, Johan Rooryck, to leave cOAlition S in July 2025

30/06/2025

Having led cOAlition S during a six-year period of significant growth and impact, Prof. Johan Rooryck will leave cOAlition S as Executive Director on 3rd July 2025. We are grateful for his contributions to the Plan S implementation and for his role in positioning cOAlition S as an influential voice in the Open Access landscape. He has worked with our Experts Group to build a strong foundation which supports our continued vision of a rapid, open, trustworthy and equitable scholarly communication system.

Prof. Rooryck joined cOAlition S in 2019, initially as Open Access Champion, before becoming its Executive Director. Under his leadership, cOAlition S expanded its international footprint to encompass 28 research funding and performing organisations, successfully renewed attention on Open Access to research across diverse stakeholders, and championed the principle that authors should retain the rights to their publications.

As a strong advocate of Open Access, Prof. Rooryck helped cOAlition S become an influential force within the scholarly publishing ecosystem, enabling the coalition to effectively respond to and shape critical developments related to the Plan S principles. His work was instrumental in advancing Diamond Open Access initiatives, notably through his contributions to the major EU-funded projects DIAMAS, CRAFT-OA, PALOMERA and ALMASI. Prof. Rooryck played an important role in developing the Action Plan for Diamond Open Access, and in creating the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH), which he co-coordinates. He also contributed to establishing the Global Diamond OA Framework, supported by UNESCO, and served as co-chair of the CoARA Working Group on Recognizing and Rewarding Peer Review.

Reflecting on his time at cOAlition S, Prof. Rooryck remarked: “I would like to thank the cOAlition S Office members for our productive collaboration over the years. My gratitude also extends to the members of the Executive Steering Group, the Leaders, and the Experts, for the trust they placed in me, and especially the successive Presidents of the Leaders Group, Dr. Marc Schiltz and Prof. Mari Sundli Tveit, as well as interim President Dr. Lidia Borrell-Damián, for their support and thoughtful leadership. I am confident that the cOAlition S efforts will continue with novel ideas and a refocused mission. As for myself, I will now be able to focus more fully on Diamond Open Access in Europe and beyond – the future of equitable scholarly communication.”

Prof. Mari Sundli Tveit, Chief Executive of the Research Council of Norway and Chair of the cOAlition S Leaders Group stated: “Prof. Rooryck has successfully guided cOAlition S through a period of substantial growth and increased influence within the scholarly publishing community.  On behalf of all the funders within cOAlition S, I extend our sincere gratitude for his valuable contributions and our best wishes for his Diamond Open Access work.”

Following Prof. Rooryck’s departure, the Executive Steering Group, in close collaboration with all cOAlition S organisations, will provide oversight and guidance to ensure the seamless continuity of operations and all ongoing initiatives. Meanwhile, cOAlition S is advancing its strategic planning to determine its future direction. This process draws on extensive member consultation, stakeholder engagement, and analysis of global trends in scholarly communication, with implementation expected to unfold over the coming months. “The strength of cOAlition S has always been its collective voice and shared purpose,” emphasized Prof. Rooryck. “I am confident that the coalition will effectively tackle the evolving challenges in scholarly communication.”