Photo: Congratulations, Prof Russel! The Minister of Education, Ms
Naledi Pandor (far left) congratulates Prof Botman. With them is the
chancellor, Prof Elize Botha.
From success to significance – a university of hope
Amidst a festive atmosphere on the Stellenbosch campus Hayman Russel
Botman, the University’s 11th head, was installed as the new rector and
vice-chancellor in the Kruiskerk in Stellenbosch on 11 April.
"Stellenbosch University is known widely for its academic excellence in
all our key functions. Our dilemma, as well as our challenge, is how to
move from success to significance, given the changing socio-political
milieu in which this University has to operate and within which it has
to attain greater meaning for all our people.”
This is how Prof Russel Botman spelled out his term as rector during his inaugural address.
According to him the University, as one of the foremost research
universities, has much to be proud of. The teaching programme is
synonymous with good quality and Stellenbosch University attracts the
"cream of the crop”. "However, we would not be honest if that is all we
say about ourselves. The University still faces many challenges.”
He also said the University had already taken the important step of
acknowledging the injustices of the past and that he would dedicate his
term of office to the realisation of the self-declared commitment to
redress those injustices. "We wish to be a University of meaning and
significance for South Africa and Africa.”
In his address he specifically referred to credibility, relevance,
student success, people management and Afrocentricity. "We suffer from
a lack of credibility, despite our excellence. We also do not display
enough relevance, despite our ability to produce sought-after students
for the industry. We also do not radiate enough of a spirit of
Afrocentric expertise, despite our strong international profile.”
To face these dilemmas head-on, "we need to understand the core of our
own institutional strength and establish a new pedagogical framework –
A Pedagogy of Hope,” he said.
"It is my endeavour to gear up the University, using the existing
vision as point of departure, to an institution in Africa that does not
only want to be significantly ‘different’, on the basis of our past,
but also wishes to be significantly ‘better’, as viewed against our
commitment with regard to the future of the people of our country and
the continent.”
He wants to achieve this through a closer connection to the
international development agenda and, more specifically, with the
United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. One of the
prerequisites for success is flourishing tertiary education systems, he
believes.
Relevance and credibility
Gearing up the University’s vision requires concurrent and intense
attention being paid to facets of our activities that relate to the
questions of relevance and credibility, said Prof Botman.
In order to achieve this, the University should be fully
multicultural: "A home for everyone, a home where cultures meet.
To achieve this, we need to make a credible effort
to improve the racial profile of the University. I wish to lead the
University to increasingly becoming a multicultural home for all. We
can only feel satisfied that there is fair access when the daughter of
the farm worker has the same future opportunities as the son of the
farmer.”
The diversity of the University’s staff corps, particularly at the more
senior levels, leaves much to be desired. "I aim to take concerted
steps in this regard – including aspects such as strategic recruitment,
scholarship and well-managed career and succession planning, as well as
knowledge-transfer programmes.”
Student success
The academic success of students is very important to Prof Botman and
he believes that the improvement of the participation of black people
in higher education should be improved purposefully so as to
sustainably support the economy and the country’s human resource needs.
However, financial realities are a major hindrance. "The University
already makes a significant portion of its resources available to
enhance access for prospective students from poor communities and will
need to find even more resources for this purpose. The challenge of and
claim to resources is so great, however, that we cannot achieve this
without the active and real support of our various stakeholders.”
Afrocentricity
To build a multicultural university with a pedagogy of hope, Prof.
Botman said, requires the establishment of an Afrocentric approach to
higher education. "The University should be a relevant and respected
role-player, both locally and globally. Yes, we need to further
develop our footholds in the international arena, but we also need to
develop our strategic partnerships and enter into new ones in Africa,
Asia, South America and Australia. The University’s South-South and
particularly African relationships have to become the flagship in which
European successes and intellectual capacity will sail further.”
According to Prof Botman the University is inseparably part of the
realities of South Africa and Africa. "Our future success depends on
the success of South Africa and Africa.”
Afrikaans
On the topic of Afrikaans Prof Botman said that for a long time, and
rightly so, Afrikaans was viewed as the language of the oppressor. In
the process, the emphasis was placed on the pain of Afrikaans. "But
what about the hope of Afrikaans? Afrikaans is the hope for a better
life for a very large number of people across our country.”
As a developed academic language it also represents hope for the
development of all our other indigenous languages. "Stellenbosch
University therefore takes seriously the place and promotion of
Afrikaans in a multilingual context.
"Afrikaans is not a condition in which the University finds itself. It
is one of its vision statements. We have decided to promote Afrikaans
in a multilingual context and it is also our intention to broaden the
racial profile of this University. And between these apparent fields of
tension lie our challenges of hope for the future.”
Not here simply to do a job
Prof Botman concluded by saying that he is not at the University
"simply to do a job”. "I am here to answer a calling, because I do not
really belong to myself. My highest loyalty is to the One who called
me.
"This is the idea for which Stellenbosch wants to be stand for from now on – a centre for Hope for Africa.”
:: Read the speeches of Prof Botman, the Chancellor, Prof Elize Botha,
and that of the Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor
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