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08 August 2024 | Story Received from Lacea Loader
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Following the resignation of Prof Francis Petersen as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State (UFS) as from 30 September 2024, the Council will be appointing an acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal until the position is filled. This appointment will commence at the beginning of September 2024 to ensure a smooth handover from Prof Petersen to the acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal and to maintain continuity with a view to ensuring a smooth transition when the new Vice-Chancellor and Principal takes office, possibly as early as 1 January 2025.

An announcement about the acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal will be made soon.

During June 2024, the Council embarked on a process to recruit a Vice-Chancellor and Principal for the university through external advertisements in the national and social media. A recruitment agency was also appointed to headhunt for a suitable candidate nationally and internationally. 

The closing date for applications was 31 July 2024. The selection committee will be constituted as per the university’s Employment Policy and Procedure.  This is expected to be finalised in the week of 12 to 16 August 2024.

The schedule for the appointment is as follows:

  • Week 26 to 30 August 2024:
    The Selection Committee meets to discuss the suitability of candidates who have applied and to compile a shortlist based on the inherent requirements for the position.
  • Week 2 to 6 September 2024:
    Candidates on the interview shortlist are invited for interviews.
  • Week 9 to 13 September 2024:
    The university community is informed about the names of the shortlisted candidates.
  • End of September 2024 to beginning of October 2024:
    Interviews are conducted with candidates on the interview shortlist.
  • End of September 2024 to beginning of October 2024:
    Introduction of shortlisted candidates to the UFS community.  The following members of the UFS community will be invited to the university presentation:  Council members, Senate members, Selection Committee members, Institutional Forum members, Convocation members, and other staff members and registered students.
  • Date to be confirmed:
    Senate meets to vote on the appointability and preference of candidates.
  • Date to be confirmed:
    The Selection Committee meets to consider candidates, taking into account Senate’s preference, the post requirements and applicable criteria, and the recommendation of the Institutional Forum. The Selection Committee votes by way of secret ballot on the appointability and the order of preference of candidates. The Selection Committee makes a recommendation to the Human Resources Committee of Council.
  • Date to be confirmed:
    The Institutional Forum and Senate have separate meetings to finalise the recommendation / advice to Council on the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor and Principal. 
  • Date to be confirmed:
    Meeting of the Human Resources Committee of Council to consider the recommendations of the Selection Committee, Senate, and the Institutional Forum for the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal. The Human Resources Committee of Council makes a recommendation to the Council.
  • Date to be confirmed:
    Meeting of Council:
    The UFS Council will consider the recommendation of the Human Resources Committee of Council, together with the Selection Committee’s recommendation, Senate outcome, and advice from the Institutional Forum. The Council makes a decision to appoint the Vice-Chancellor and Principal. The Council members vote by secret ballot on the recommended candidates in accordance with the post requirements and relevant criteria and in line with the Procedure for the Appointment of a Vice-Chancellor and Principal. Once a decision has been made, an engagement will take place between the Chairperson of the Council and the successful candidate to confirm his or her acceptance of the position.
  • Date to be confirmed:
    A statement will be issued by the Chairperson of Council via the Department of Communication and Marketing to inform the UFS community about the outcome of the process and the successful incumbent.

    Further media statement/s will be issued to the external media via the Department of Communication and Marketing.
  • 1 January 2025:
    Appointment date of the successful candidate.

For more information: Vice-Chancellor Timeline Infographic.

News Archive

In January 1, 2003, the Qwa-Qwa campus of the University of the North (Unin) was incorporated into the University of the Free State (UFS).
2003-02-07


FREDERICK FOURIE

IN January 1, 2003, the Qwa-Qwa campus of the University of the North (Unin) was incorporated into the University of the Free State (UFS).

While this is merely the beginning of a long and complex process, it does represent a major milestone in overcoming the apartheid legacy in education, realising the anti-apartheid goal of a single non-racial university serving the Free State.

The incorporation is also part of the minister's broader restructuring of the higher education landscape in South Africa - a process which aims to reshape the ideologically driven legacy of the past.

In contrast to the past educational and social engineering that took place, the current process of incorporating the Qwa-Qwa campus of Unin into the UFS is informed by three fundamentally progressive policy objectives, clearly outlined in the education white paper 3: (A framework for the transformation of higher education):

To meet the demands of social justice to address the social and structural inequalities that characterise higher education.

To address the challenges of globalisation, in particular the role of knowledge and information processing in driving social and economic development.

To ensure that limited resources are effectively and efficiently utilised, given the competing and equally pressing priorities in other social sectors.

Besides informing the way the UFS is managing the current incorporation, these policy objectives have also informed the transformation of the UFS as an institution over the past five years.

In 2001, former president Nelson Mandela lauded the success of the UFS in managing this transformation, by describing the campus as a model of multiculturalism and multilingualism. This was at his acceptance of an honorary doctorate from the UFS.

Indeed our vision for the Qwa-Qwa campus as a branch of the UFS is exactly the same as it is for the main UFS campus - a model of transformation, academic excellence, community engagement and financial sustainability, building on the histories and strengths of both the Qwa-Qwa campus and the UFS (Bloemfontein campus).

Realising this vision will be a giant leap forward in establishing a unified higher education landscape in the Free State.

In more concrete terms, the UFS is working towards this vision by focusing on the following areas of intervention: access and equity; academic renewal; investment in facilities; and sound financial management.

These interventions are being made not to preserve any vestiges of privilege or superiority, but precisely to increase access for students from poor backgrounds and to promote equity and representivity among all staff.

The current growth phase of the UFS has seen student enrolment almost double over the past five years, in particular black students, who now constitute approximately 55 percent of the student population of nearly 18 000 (including off-campus and online students).

But it has not just been a numbers game. Our approach has been to ensure access with success.

Our admissions policy, coupled with the academic support and "career preparation" programmes we offer, have resulted in significant successes for students who otherwise would not have been allowed to study at a university.

This will be continued at Qwa-Qwa as well.

Our academic offerings too have undergone dramatic change. We have become the first university in the country to offer a degree programme based on the recognition of prior learning (RPL).

This is not just a matter of academic renewal but of access as well, especially for working adults in our country who were previously denied a university education.

As for the sound financial management of the UFS (including the Qwa-Qwa campus), this is being done not for the sake of saving a few rands and cents, but for the greater value to our society that comes from having sustainable institutions.

It is sustainable universities that can make long-term investments to fund employment equity, provide information technology for students, upgrade laboratories, construct new buildings, develop research capacity, and provide a safe environment for students and staff, as is happening now at the UFS.

As a result of such management, a practical benefit for prospective students at the Qwa-Qwa campus of the UFS will be lower academic fees in some cases compared with the Unin fees.

As is the case with all these processes, there are concerns from staff and students at Qwa-Qwa and the broader community of the region that the Qwa-Qwa campus serves.

To get the campus viable and to ensure its continuation in the short term, tough choices had to be made by the minister of education regarding which programmes to offer and fund.

But we have been encouraged by the community's understanding that these concerns can be addresed over time as the campus becomes financially viable.

Meetings between the top mangement of the UFS and community representatives, staff and students at Qwa-Qwa have laid the basis for building a climate of trust in such a complex process.

We should not be captives of the past divisions but build this new unified higher education landscape that can meet our country's developmental needs.

It should be a higher education landscape that is based on broadening access, promoting equity and social justice, developing academic excellence, and the effective and efficient management of scarce resources. This should be our common common objective.

Professor Frederick Fourie the rector and vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS)

 

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