History of CPT
The CPT section comprises three chair groups: Strategic Communication (COM), Philosophy (PHI), and Knowledge, Technology and Innovation (KTI). CPT as a section was established in 2012, but the three groups have a long history that goes back to 1964.
The story starts with the Communication and Innovation Studies group, which was established as the Extension Education group (Vakgroep Voorlichtingskunde) in 1964. This chair was officially renamed Communication and Innovation Studies in 1998, but had used that name in English since 1992. Successive chairs were Anne van den Ban (1964-1983), Niels Röling (1983-1989), Cees van Woerkum (1989-2002) and Cees Leeuwis (2002-2012).
In the period that Cees van Woerkum was professor of this group, he managed (in 2002) to establish a second chair in the field. He shifted to that chair, which was later named the Communication Strategies chair. From 2012 on the chair is named Strategic Communication.
The Knowledge, Technology and Innovation group is a merger between the Communication and Innovation Studies group and the Technology and Agrarian Development group. The latter group was founded in 1992 with the appointment of Paul Richards as Professor of Technology and Agrarian Development. Paul Richards retired in 2010.
The Philosophy group was originally established in 1980. Initially the group did not have a professor, but in 1992 Michiel Korthals was appointed as professor of Applied Philosophy. Since 2013, Marcel Verweij is chair group holder of the Philosophy group.
