​Twelve years of "sustained outstanding service" to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) earned Mr Eben Mouton, the Director: Business Management, the coveted Chancellor's Award.

"Mr Mouton has served Stellenbosch University with distinction since 2004. As a member of the Dean's Management Team, his outstanding contributions extended across diverse areas, including strategic planning, financial management and human resource development," FMHS Dean, Prof Jimmy Volmink, said. The award was presented at last year's December graduation ceremony.

Mouton is very grateful for the award: "The Chancellor's Award recognises employees whose careers testify of sustainable excellence, and within this context, it is a great honour for me. Although I am the recipient of the award, it was made possible by many of my colleagues," Mouton said.

Volmink continued: "Amongst others, he was instrumental in establishing a faculty managers' forum for the university, and was appointed by the National Deans' Committee to a team to investigate the countrywide utilisation of the clinical grant for health sciences. He also designed an executive leadership programme in collaboration with the Stellenbosch University Business School for senior academics in the faculty and contributed to skills transfer by lecturing general management to the faculty's postgraduate diploma students. His extensive influence on all SU's core functions has won him Rector's awards annually since 2011."

"My work ethic is based in my Christian values that involves treating others the way that you would like to be treated. Honesty and respect for others are also values that I ascribe to," said Mouton.

Since his appointment to the Dean's Management Team (DMT) in 2004, Mouton has put in place systems to track the performance of academic and business units at the faculty. This system allowed him to distribute annual budget allocation on the basis of performance. Recently he also developed a Faculty Management Information Dashboard that provides business information that can aid the DMT and other management staff in aligning their activities with the faculty and university's strategic plans.

In the recommendation for his Chancellor's Award, Mouton was commended for his astute management of the faculty's finances. "With a net income of approximately R700 million and several thousand cost centres, proper financial control measures are required at the faculty. Mouton plays a key role in insuring adherence to financial policies, proper budgeting and disciplined spending," reads the recommendation.

Mouton spearheaded the development of a tailor-made Leadership Development Programme for the FMHS targeted at new managers and other staff recognised as having leadership potential. The programme trains participants in diversity and cultural issues, leadership and people management, among other topics.

Shortly after his appointment Mouton started showing mettle with a restructuring process at the faculty, where he remodelled management and financial structures helping to achieve a R5.4m cost saving without any job losses. 

"It was a very challenging time, but also an opportunity for the faculty to gear up for new challenges in the health sciences," recalled Mouton.

Mouton has been instrumental in bolstering the faculty's teaching platforms to accommodate larger numbers of students. He was the project manager overseeing the construction of the Rural Clinical School in Worcester, which considerably expanded the faculty's clinical training platform in rural areas. Recently he coordinated the construction of two new lecture halls, and facilitated the construction of three new residences on the Tygerberg campus (two have already been completed) to accommodate increasing student numbers and provide housing for students, particularly from designated groups, who live outside the Western Cape.

Mouton also drove the installation of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure system, known as Bring Your Own Device or BYOD, that enables students to take tests on their own electronic devices, thereby accommodating a larger number of exams a day and reducing the demand for technical support.

In order to expand the faculty's research capacity, Mouton has been purposely working towards the replacement of the 40-year old Fisan building, where the majority of the research at the faculty is conducted. A modern, fit-for-purpose research facility will boost the faculty's research output and potentially increase the faculty's income for research funding.

"My vision is for the faculty to build a world class research facility in the foreseeable future that will increase its research capacity," says Mouton.

The FMHS is currently completing a R350 million maintenance upgrade initiated by a facilities audit by Mouton. He has been overseeing the project for several years, ensuring that it is completed within budget and on time, while at the same time making sure that the Faculty's academic activities are able to continue without significant disruption. "This requires careful project management by Mouton and ongoing effective communication with multiple role players."