The Stellenbosch University (SU) Council had its second scheduled meeting for the year on Tuesday 18 June.
Council discussed developments in higher education and at SU, and took a number of important decisions. Matters discussed included the controversial article on race and cognition, the potential reappointment of the rector, the new School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, as well as a new anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy. Please read on for more.
Kind regards,
George Steyn
Chair: SU Council
Article on race and cognition
Council discussed the recent controversy surrounding an article on race and cognition published by SU researchers. It welcomed the fact that the University took a firm stance against the use of racial categorisation in the article, the institution's unconditional apology, as well as the extensive inquiry launched by SU.
Council noted the Senate motion on the matter, as well as the referral of concrete proposals to specific structures. The three Senate members in Council who had tabled the motion with colleagues were thanked for their contribution to courageous and inclusive dialogue. The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and other stakeholders were also acknowledged for their participation in the unfolding open dialogue.
The Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers, pointed out that the University was using this opportunity to conduct critical introspection and examine its research ethics approval processes. He pledged his support to a call for the institution to “think big" by, for example, developing guidelines on how to deal with “race" in knowledge production. This could have a positive impact far beyond SU due to the universal nature of the issue.
Process for potential reappointment of the Rector
At the recommendation of its Human Resources Committee, Council resolved that a shortened procedure would be followed to consider the reappointment of Prof Wim de Villiers as Rector and Vice-Chancellor for a second term from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025. Prof De Villiers's potential reappointment will now be submitted to the Institutional Forum, then Senate, and ultimately to Council for a final decision at its next meeting on 25 September.
The Rules of Procedure regarding the Appointment of a Rector and Vice-Rectors, which Council approved on 26 June 2006, provide that a shortened procedure may be followed once. On Tuesday, Council considered the Rector's curriculum vitae, results achieved since his appointment on 1 April 2015 as well as his vision for a potential second term. In the subsequent vote, Council unanimously opted for the shortened procedure.
School for Data Science and Computational Thinking
Council adopted Senate's recommendation that SU establish a School for Data Science and Computational Thinking. All SU faculties as well as the institutional Academic Planning Committee and Research Committee are equally supportive of the idea. This now paves the way for the official launch of the School.
The Rector emphasised that rapid developments in the field of big data and artificial intelligence were causing fundamental change in the world of work as well as in knowledge production and transfer across academic disciplines globally. This means the time is ripe for SU to set up the School. It is also a tangible way of giving effect to the University's Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024, which is in favour of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration.
The School will be a type-3 academic entity – the only one of its kind at SU. This follows Council's approval of the new Rules for Academic Entities Within and Alongside Departments and Faculties in September last year, which replaced the Policy on Centres, Bureaus and Institutes. The School will not be located in any particular faculty, but will engage with all faculties. And, like the faculties, the School too will report directly to the Vice-Rector: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies.
The School itself will not award degrees, but Council noted that Senate recently approved the implementation of new bachelor's degrees in Data Science in the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Science and AgriSciences with effect from 2021. Next year already, the Faculty of Engineering will start training data engineers as a new specialised stream of the existing Electrical and Electronic Engineering bachelor's programme (BEng (E&E)).
New research chairs
In the Rector's report to Council (click here to read the report in full), he announced that three new research chairs had been established at SU.
The Macrocomm chair in smart utility solutions is an endowed research chair in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and is held by Mr Christo Nicholls. The chair will focus on research in the fields of smart metering, big-data analytics, internet-of-things technologies, low-power wide-area networks, smart capacity building, hosted enterprise software solutions and utility performance forecasting.
The new SARChI chair in urban modelling and metabolism assessment is a trilateral tier-1 chair with South Africa, Kenya and the United Kingdom as participants. The chair is located in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences' School of Public Leadership and is led by Prof Josephine Musango.
The Hans Merensky Foundation has made available ten years' funding for the Hans Merensky chair in xylogenesis (the scientific name for wood formation). The lead researcher is Dr David Drew, a senior lecturer in the Department of Forest and Wood Science. The chair will conduct research on how trees, particularly eucalyptus trees, grow and form wood.
SU joins Global Alliance of Universities on Climate
Council welcomed the news that SU had been invited to join the prestigious Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC). This makes us the only African university in the structure. The other founding members are the Australian National University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Cambridge; Imperial College London; the London School of Economics and Political Science; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Tokyo; and Tsinghua University in China.
The GAUC aims to collaborate on promoting measures to support the United Nations conventions on climate change and sustainable development goals. Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategy and Internationalisation Prof Hester Klopper recently represented SU at the inaugural executive meeting in Beijing. Dr Tsakani Ngomane, SU Council member and South Africa's deputy director-general of climate change and sustainable development, played a key role to support SU's admittance into the GAUC based on the University's research record and capabilities.
Integrated annual report and financial statements for 2018
Council approved SU's integrated annual report for 2018, including the University's consolidated annual financial statements, at the recommendation of its Audit and Risk Committee (ARC). The 2018 external audit of the University had yielded no material findings.
Also at the recommendation of the ARC, and in line with applicable regulations and legislation, Council confirmed that SU was a going concern and financially sound. In November 2018, Council approved the University's 2019 integrated budget and 2020–2024 financial planning at the recommendation of its Executive Committee.
The integrated annual report and financial statements will now be submitted to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology by the deadline of 30 June. An electronic copy will then be posted on the SU website, after which the report will be printed and distributed. It will be available in English and Afrikaans.
Moreover, SU has completed its second Governance Indicators Scorecard for Councils of South African Public Higher Education Institutions, a newly introduced requirement of the Department of Higher Education and Training. This document too will be submitted by 30 June.
Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy
Council noted that the ARC had approved an Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy as part of the University's overarching Financial Policy. The ARC has the necessary power of decision in this regard. The Social and Business Ethics Committee of Council had also provided input.
The policy will be implemented in accordance with SU's values, which include accountability. It forms part of the University's commitment to the highest ethical standards and legal compliance. The policy commits SU to professional, honest, transparent, fair, equitable and ethical conduct, and a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and bribery.
It applies to all SU staff and students, including volunteers, temporary staff and part-time students, as well as to associated structures, entities and businesses. The policy contains guidelines for recognising and dealing with corruption and bribery, definitions of key terminology, and guidance on issues such as when gifts and other tokens of hospitality would be deemed acceptable and when not. It also deals with facilitation payments, kickbacks and donations. A useful annexure to the policy outlines red-flag circumstances for potential corruption and bribery, along with illustrative examples.
SU's Chief Operating Officer (COO) is the policy owner, while the Chief Director: Finance will be responsible for policy implementation, monitoring and enquiries.
Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel
This time around, Prof Nico Koopman, Vice-Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel, was afforded the opportunity to present an annual report on his responsibility centre (RC). (Click here for the report in full, and here for the PowerPoint presentation.) He pointed out that his RC is a major contributor to the University's aim of changing the world, while being open to change itself.
In terms of social impact, it is encouraging to note that volunteerism is growing in popularity among staff and students alike. The University's institutional partnerships and cooperation agreements are also being expanded.
With regard to transformation, the University's staff and student corps are systematically becoming more diverse, and visual redress on SU's campuses is also making steady progress. A challenging yet rewarding task is addressing people's unconscious biases. In this respect, the Siyakhula sessions for staff, and similar events for students, such as during welcoming and leadership training, are achieving good results.
On the matter of personnel, Prof Koopman assured Council that the University regarded employees' health and wellness as a priority. To this end, a strategy is currently being drafted for campus-wide consultation. Furthermore, the Human Resources Division will be undergoing an extensive external evaluation to ensure optimal agility and efficiency.
Appointments
Council appointed Mr Charl Cillié to the Social and Business Ethics Committee. Mr Cillié had been elected by the Convocation.
The Human Resources Committee of Council (HRC(C)) reported that Dr Kelebogile Choice Makhetha had been appointed as Senior Director: Student Affairs with effect from 1 August. She will be replacing Dr Birgit Schreiber, who has resigned. Dr Makhetha holds a PhD in Political Science and has vast experience in higher education, including student affairs.
In addition, Ms Nicolette van den Eijkel will be reappointed as Chief Director: Facilities Management for another five-year term with effect from 1 January 2020. Council noted that the HRC(C) had taken this decision at the recommendation of the Rector and COO, based on a favourable assessment of Ms Van den Eijkel's first term as well as her compelling vision for the term ahead.
Dean appointed for Faculty of Education
(This item was not finalised in time for the communication from Council issued on 21 June 2019, and is therefore being added here after the initial release of this communication, and will also be released on its own.)
At its most recent meeting, the Stellenbosch University Council appointed Prof Mbulungeni Madiba as Dean: Education with effect from 1 September. The appointment is for an initial term of five years, with the possibility of a second term.
Prof Madiba is currently serving as the director of the Multilingual Education Project (MEP) in the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He has been deputy dean and acting dean of the CHED a number of times, chairs UCT's Senate Language Committee and serves on the UCT Council.
A full professor of Multilingual Education, Prof Madiba holds a DLitt et Phil (Linguistics) degree from the University of South Africa (Unisa). He has also received research fellowships and study awards from a number of higher education institutions abroad, including the universities of Cologne, London (Oppenheimer fellow), Birmingham and Harvard (Mandela fellow).
As an established researcher with a C-rating from the National Research Foundation, his main research interests are language planning and policy, with a special focus on multilingual education. He has over 30 years' teaching experience – the first three at a secondary school, one at a teachers' training college, and the rest as a university lecturer.
Prof Christa van der Walt, Vice-Dean (Research), will serve as Acting Dean until Prof Madiba's arrival. On 1 July, she will take over from Prof Johan Malan, who has been acting in the position since 1 April 2018, but will now be retiring.
Next meeting
The next meeting of Council is scheduled for 25 September 2019.
