Biography: Prof H Russel Botman
Prof Hayman Russel Botman has been Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU) since 2007. In 2012 he was reappointed for a second five-year term.
Prof Botman obtained his academic qualifications at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) – a BA, an MTh (cum laude) and a doctorate in theology. Subsequently he was minister of the Uniting Reformed Church's Wynberg congregation in Cape Town, where he made his mark as a church leader and a champion of socio-economic rights. Later he became Dean of UWC's Faculty of Theology, and in 2000 he joined SU. From 2002 to 2007 he was Vice-Rector (Learning and Teaching).
Prof Botman currently serves as a vice-president of the Association for African Universities (AAU), a director of Higher Education South Africa (HESA) and Chairperson of Cape Town's World Design Capital 2014 implementation company.
From 2003 to 2007 Prof Botman was President of both the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and the Southern Africa Alliance of Reformed Churches (SAARC). He was the founding director of the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology at SU and has been the Executive Chairperson of the Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa (EFSA) since 1998.
Prof Botman is the driving force behind SU's HOPE Project as a vehicle for the University's transformation and positioning in the 21st century. It is his conviction that SU can use its scientific practice in the search for solutions for national, continental and global development challenges. Under his leadership, SU has already made three rankings of the world's top universities.
Download Prof Russel Botman's complete CV here.