Dean's Advisory Committee on Transformation – a brief update on progress

As you will be aware, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) is committed to building an inclusive and welcoming environment where all students and staff are able to develop to their full potential. One of the initiatives to support our efforts in this regard was the establishment of the Dean's Advisory Committee on Transformation (ACT) in mid-2016.

The ACT comprises a broadly representative group of undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as staff from various environments: Faculty Management, Academic Departments, Student Administration, Student Support, Residence Management and Tygerberg Hospital Management. 

Having agreed its terms of reference and rules of engagement, the committee has met quarterly over the past 18 months. It has held robust and illuminating discussions on a range of topics, such as “Fees Must Fall", “Men are Trash", “the Anglo-Afrikaner movement", “Tygermaties Confessions", Bullying and Rape Culture and the need for strengthening student and staff wellness services.

One of ACT's first discussion points was the faculty's core values. This resulted in a recommendation to replace 'commitment' with 'compassion'. After further consultation, the values were amended to the following: excellence, integrity, compassion, inclusivity, innovation and accountability. The committee has since begun to explore how these faculty core values can be made more visible and how we can ensure they are more fully reflected in our day-to-day decisions and actions.

Linked to Human Rights Day this year, a ceremony was held in which three plaques were unveiled in the foyer between the Clinical and Education Buildings displaying the preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. This serves as a constant reminder of the central importance of the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, as a guide to our engagement with each other as South African citizens. More recently, a Faculty Transformation Charter has been proposed and a task team has been set up to work on this. 

I trust you find this update helpful. If there are any matters related to transformation at the Faculty you would like to bring to the committee's attention, or if you would like to join the committee as a member, please contact us at email: deanfhs@sun.ac.za.
 

Kind regards 

Prof Jimmy Volmink
Dean