Stellenbosch University
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Opening of new and improved Van der Sterr building celebrated
Author: Pia Nanny
Published: 31/07/2017

A phoenix rising from the ashes.

This is how Prof Johan Malan, acting dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Stellenbosch University, described the new and improved Van der Sterr complex at a function celebrating its official reopening.

Role players involved in rethinking, redesigning and rebuilding the Van der Sterr building – including senior university and faculty management, representatives from the university’s Facilities Management division, lecturers, students and sponsors – gathered in the foyer of the building on Friday, 28 July for this auspicious occasion.

A significant part of the building, which houses the School of Accountancy and the Departments of Logistics as well as of Statistics and Actuarial Science, was destroyed by a fire on 22 February 2015.

“We were fortunate that the fire occurred on a quiet Sunday morning and not during the week when up to 2000 people use this complex every hour. No-one was hurt, but the damage was extensive,” recalled Prof Stan du Plessis, SU’s Chief Operations Office (designate) and Dean of the Faculty at the time of the fire.

After many offers of help by other faculties as well as the broader community and countless hours of hard work, the faculty management managed to minimise the disruption to the academic programme.

Lecture facilities as well as offices of staff members of the School of Accountancy were destroyed by the fire and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) launched its own investigation at the time to ensure that the School would be able to present its programme.

It is a testimony to the Faculty’s and School of Accountancy’s efforts that the BAccHons class of 2015 ended up achieving the best pass rate – 94% – among 14 SAICA-accredited universities in SAICA’s Initial Test of Competence (ITC) early in 2016.

After the fire, stakeholders decided to not just rebuild the Van der Sterr building, but to modernise, improve and increase its capacity. This was done by expanding the building to accommodate more people, equipping it with 21st-century technology and minimising its environmental footprint in the interest of environmental sustainability.

A triple-volume building was constructed in the building’s courtyard with two new auditoriums – one with 300 seats and one with 250 seats – and an 80-seat lecture hall. It also has a number of smaller classrooms.

These new auditoriums greatly improve the Faculty’s capacity to teach and serve as catalysts for the introduction of the latest information and communication practices, such as blended learning, mobile-friendly classrooms and the large-scale expansion of Wi-Fi technologies.

Elevators were installed to ensure full access to all the floors and staff wellness was taken into account, with shower facilities installed in the bathrooms to allow staff to incorporate fitness into their daily routines, as well as nursing rooms for mothers.

The air-conditioning system of the Van der Sterr building was changed to a water-cooling air-conditioning system, which operates at a significantly lower pressure and uses much less energy.

Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector of Stellenbosch University, said that every problem can be seen as an opportunity to come up with innovative solutions.

“That is exactly how our Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and our Division of Facilities Management responded to the devastating fire.

“Out of the ashes was born the plan to not only fix the damage but to improve the University’s ability to be a place of discovery and excellence for both students and staff."

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  • Photos (by Hennie Rudman):

  1. Main photo: F.l.t.r.: Prof Stan du Plessis, SU's COO designate; Faculty Manager MJ Brooks, Marie Malherbe of the Dean's Office, Vice-Dean Prof Ronel du Preez, and Prof Wim de Villiers, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of SU stand in front of the restored Van der Sterr complex.

  2. Photo on the right: Members of the student committee of the SU Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences also attended the reopening of the Van der Sterr. F.l.t.r. are Waylon Wentzel (treasurer), Tayla Steyn (chair) and Sefako Mathibe (vice-chair).