In 1978, Professor Homes was honorary supervisor of the first honorary doctorate in the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW): Dr. Hilda Verwig Juncker. Furthermore, this was the first honorary doctorate awarded to a female scientist in the history of NHH/NEH/EUR.
She was already oriented towards environmental issues early in her scientific work and career. In 1988 her teaching assignment changed to environmental sciences, particularly environmental sociology. Ena Homes was the spiritual mother of the Erasmus Study Center for Environmental Sciences (ESM), which she founded in 1984 jointly with two of the founders of the School of Economics. Initially as an institute among faculty members funded by the Executive Board. ESM taught the course “Introduction to Environmental Science” and had to earn money through research for third parties. At its height, the lectures attracted 400 students and employed 30 people, including biologists and technicians. ESM has done a lot of research for ministries, the Port Authority of Rotterdam and Rijkswaterstaat and has received funds from the European Union. Between 1991-1993, ESM was affiliated with ESSB and transferred to the Department of Environmental Sciences, headed by Ina Hommes. I retired in 1993.
Ina Hommes was one of the first scholars at EUR to focus on environmental issues in her work. With ESM, it has built a multidisciplinary institute, focused on society, in order to make a contribution from science to improve the environment. Ina Homes was ahead of its time.
We wish her family and friends all the best with this loss
Professor Dr. Dr. Victor Beckers
Deccan Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Professor Dr. Dr. Romke van der Veen
Head of the Department of Public Administration and Sociology
