Rector's Site
Welcome to Stellenbosch University

The Rector and Vice-Chancellor

Awards and Professional Affiliations

Prof Russel Botman is more than the chief executive officer and academic leader of Stellenbosch University (SU); he is also actively involved in the cultural and business community, well known in church circles and an acknowledged community leader. For these reasons he is held in high esteem, locally as well as internationally, as is apparent from the list of awards he has received and his involvement in various corporate and academic entities.

Awards

2011

  • Prize for Academic Leadership from the Turquoise Harmony Institute.

2010 (for 2013)

  • Announcement that the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life (Princeton, USA) will be awarded to Prof Botman in 2013.

2007

  • Eden District Municipality's George Lily Award for Leadership in Arts and Culture.
  • Acknowledgement by the Board of Trustees and President of Bethel University (USA) for remarkable accomplishments in the fields of education, theology, social justice and reconciliation.

1994

  • Honorary certificate from the Western Cape Provincial Council of Churches for his commitment to ecumenism and the poor.

1989

  • A special award from the City Council of Milwaukee (USA) for his contribution to justice and human dignity.

Professional Affiliations

  • A vice‐president of the Association for African Universities (AAU).
  • A director of Higher Education South Africa (HESA).
  • Chairperson of Cape Town's World Design Capital 2014 implementation company.
  • Chairperson of the Church Development and Dialogue Community Trust, which is driving a large‐scale project in the poorest communities of South Africa on behalf of the Global Fund.
  • Board member of Media24, the largest media company in Africa.
  • Member of the board of trustees of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS).
  • Member of the board of trustees of the Sanlam Unit Trust and the Cape Development and Dialogue Centre (CDDC), respectively.
  • Chairperson of the Ecumenical Ministry for Labour and Industry in the Western Cape and member of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, the Ethics Institute of South Africa, the International Academy for Practical Theology and the South African Academy of Religion.
  • Honorary member of the United Nations Association of South Africa in recognition of his commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.
  • Honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, the world's largest academic honour society.
  • Research fellow of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton and the Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta (USA).
  • A patron of SU's Wordfest and a former chairperson of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival.