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UFS Council appoints Prof Anthea Rhoda as acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal as from 1 October 2024

20 August 2024 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Kaleidoscope studios

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Prof Anthea Rhoda, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, as acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal as from 1 October 2024 until the position has been filled.

Prof Rhoda’s acting appointment comes after the resignation of Prof Francis Petersen as Vice-Chancellor and Principal, which will come into effect on 30 September 2024. He will assume the position of Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria on 1 October 2024.

The decision to appoint Prof Rhoda as acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal was made at the special Council meeting on 19 August 2024, following consultation with the Senate and the Institutional Forum on 15 August 2024.

“On behalf of the UFS Council, I would like to thank Prof Rhoda for availing herself for this role. She has extensive experience in the higher education sector and will be able to lead the university during this interim time. The Council looks forward to working with her and the university’s executive management,” says Mr David Noko, Chairperson of the UFS Council.

Before her appointment at the UFS, Prof Rhoda was Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (CHS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She holds a professorship in the Department of Physiotherapy at UWC and has completed a BSc and a PhD in Physiotherapy at UWC. She also completed a BSc Honours in Physiotherapy (Neurology) and an MSc in Medical Sciences (Rehabilitation) at Stellenbosch University.

As an NRF C1-rated researcher, Prof Rhoda is an established leader and scholar. Her research activities have been supported by grants awarded by both the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). She conducts research in faculty development and interprofessional education. Her research output includes publications in international and local journals and books, as well as presentations and conferences both locally and abroad.

Prof Rhoda’s interest in building capacity in African scholars has seen her supervise a number of PhD and master’s students from across the African continent. She is an associate editor for the African Journal of Health Professions Education and completed her term as Chair of the South African Committee of Health Sciences Deans. Prof Rhoda completed a number of fellowships, including the Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI) fellowship programme for health professionals, as well as a Strategic Management Programme at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Click to view document Click here for the schedule for the appointment of the UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

News Archive

New SRC constitution for UFS main campus agreed upon by all organisations

2005-07-20

University of the Free State Fact Sheet

1. The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) unanimously approved an amendment to the SRC constitution for the main campus to allow for the introduction of proportional representation (PR) alongside a first-past-the-post electoral system.

2. This decision was taken by the UFS Council on 10 June 2005 at the same meeting where it also approved the establishment of a Central SRC for the three campuses of the UFS.

3. The new main campus SRC constitution is the result of consensus reached during a lengthy negotiation process involving diverse student formations such as Sasco, the ANC Youth League, the Young Communist League, the ACDP, HEREXVII, KovsieAlliance, as well as the democratically elected SRC members of the main campus. Independent persons such as Mr Jack Klaas and Mr Kobus van Loggerenberg facilitated the negotiation process.

4. The consensus reached during this process, and the subsequent decision by Council, represent a major breakthrough for student governance and transformation of the UFS main campus and constitutes a legitimate basis for the democratic participation of all students at the UFS main campus in the governance of the university.

5. The introduction of the proportional representation system follows earlier calls by some student formations, notably Sasco and the ANC Youth League, for such a system to be introduced at the UFS main campus in Bloemfontein.

6. In terms of the amendments to the main campus SRC constitution, nine of the 18 SRC members are to elected by means of proportional representation and nine on the basis of an direct, first-past-the-post election.

7. The following portfolios of the main campus SRC will be contested by individual candidates on the basis of “first past the post”:
• president
• secretary
• academic affairs
• legal and constitutional affairs
• student development
• arts and culture
• men’s internal liaison
• ladies internal liaison
• media, marketing and liaison

8. The following nine portfolios will be contested by affiliated organizations on a proportional representation basis.
• two vice-presidents
• treasurer
• dialogue and associations
• transformation
• campus affairs and recreation
• sport
• international affairs
• community service

9. These two decisions regarding student governance represent a breakthrough in that, for the first time in many years, all SRC constitutional changes were processed and approved by the June meeting of the Council, well in time for the scheduled August SRC election; in addition, all relevant student organizations have been part of the process and all have accepted the outcome of the process.

20 July 2005

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