UWC Rectors Inauguration

Professor Tyrone B Pretorius Inauguration as Rector & Vice-Chancellor FROM HOPE TO ACTION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE. www.uwc.ac.za

of the University of the Western Cape

16 February 2015

FROM HOPE TO ACTION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE.

Contents Programme N ational A nthem Short biography of Professor Tyrone Pretorius EXCERPTS FROM THE RECTOR AND VICE-CHANCELLOR’S ADDRESS

P rofessor Ty rone B P retorius

FROM HOPE TO ACTION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE.

P rogramme The audience will rise as the procession enters the Main Hall and will remain standing until the National Anthem is sung, after which the Chancellor will take his seat. The audience will then be seated.

National anthem Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, constitutes the congregation Prayer Chairperson of Council, Mr Mthunzi Mdwaba, announces the Rector and Vice-Chancellor which is followed by the robing of Prof Tyrone Pretorius

N ational A nthem / V olkslied / U mho b e wesi z we Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo, Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Musical interlude Prof Tyrone Pretorius delivers his Inaugural Address

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,

Musical interlude Congratulatory messages: Chairperson of Council, Mr Mthunzi Mdwaba Senate representative, Prof Jose Frantz President of Convocation, Mr Brian Williams Chairperson of Nehawu, Winnifred Roos SRC President, Mr Vuyani Sokaba

O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,

O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes,

Musical interlude Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Mduduzi Manana Former President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe

Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

The Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, closes proceedings.

The audience will stand as the Creative Arts Choir leads the procession out of the Main Hall

Sounds the call to come together,

Guests are invited to enjoy refreshments on the Main Square after the ceremony.

Let us live and strive for freedom,

And united we shall stand, In South Africa our land.

Professo r Tyro ne B Pre t or i us• U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e W e s t e r n C a p e • P a g e 2

Pr ofessor T yr one B Pr etor i us• U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e W e s t e r n C a p e • P a g e 3

Short bi ography of

Professor T y rone P retorius Professor Tyrone Brian Pretorius is appointed as the 7th Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the

Tyrone Pretorius was born in Sterkspruit in the former Transkei and

Western Cape (UWC).

grew up in King Williams Town. He is an Emeritus Professor at Monash University in Australia. He is also President of University Sport South

His career history speaks of an individual with extensive leadership experience in higher education. At UWC he

Africa and Chairman of the Board of University Sports Company.

moved through the ranks from being an Academic Assistant, to being appointed as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer,

Professor Pretorius is blessed with two daughters and in his spare time

Associate Professor, Professor, Head of Department, Senior Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Community

he enjoys reading, watching sport and listening to music.

and Health Sciences. In 2001 he was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, a position which he held until 2005.

He returns to UWC with a career in higher education that spans 33 years, of which almost 26 has been spent in a range of senior lead-

His leadership experience and qualities were also recognised by others and, following his career at UWC, Prof

ership positions. His deep understanding of UWC, its history, achieve-

Pretorius was appointed as President and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash South Africa, the local campus of

ments and challenges is supported by his broad experience at other

Monash University, Australia. In 2013 the University of Pretoria appointed him as Vice-Principal (Academic),

institutions, which prepared him for his return to his alma mater as its

responsible for Teaching and Learning as well as planning and resource allocation.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

Prof Pretorius is a Behavioural Psychologist by training who earned his BA, BA (Honours) and Master of Arts (Psychology) degrees from UWC. He has published extensively in respected national and international journals in the fields of career psychology, coping, stress, statistics and research methodology. In addition he has served as a journal editor, and authored and co-authored a number of books, monographs and chapters in books. He has been honoured by the Psychology Society of South Africa for his contribution to the discipline He also participated in the Yale Southern Africa Fellowship programme (Yale University) and completed a Strategic Leadership Programme at Oxford University. In addition, he holds two Doctoral degrees, a DPhil from UWC and a PhD from the University of the Free State.

P rofes so r Tyro ne B Pre t or i us• U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e W e s t e r n C a p e • P a g e 4

Pr ofessor T yr one B Pr etor i us• U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e W e s t e r n C a p e • P a g e 5

E XC ER P T S FR O M T H E V ICE - CHA N C EL L O R ’ S A D D R ES S How do we build on our strengths to develop UWC’s intellectual project and the strategic vision necessary for us to play our role with distinction as a public South African university in the current national and global contexts?

Universities are only dynamic in so far as they are engaged with their context in time and space and are responsive to it.

For research, teaching and learning to be functionally interdependent we have to undertake them in the context of engagement.

In 1978 the University Council rejected the ideological basis upon which the university had been founded, providing the basis for developing a university-wide partnership of staff and students, which gradually (and at times painfully) found its form over the next 15 years.

As the old ways of knowing and understanding are being contested and reinterpreted, persistent, unsettling and very, very rapid change continues in the physical world, society and the economy.

What was good for yesterday may not be good for today. We have to adapt or go under in a very dynamic environment.

Science and technology are vital drivers of human progress, but it is also vital to think critically and imaginatively about the challenges of our time and place.... Arts and science are complementary and I ask colleagues and students to commit to enriching the perspective of their disciplines by making connections with other areas of knowledge.

To get where we need to be as a nation, we have to deal appropriately with the question of access [to higher education]. However, for access to be real, there can be no compromise on the aspiration to excellence. We need to tone up our whole higher education system so that no student or academic is left feeling that second rate is good enough.

Transforming the apartheid landscape by appropriately developing the [railway marshalling yard between UWC and Bellville station as a modern city centre] has remarkable potential. It would revitalise the Bellville CBD,

Professo r Tyro ne B Pre t or i us• U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e W e s t e r n C a p e • P a g e 6

bring three universities and TVET colleges within walking distance of one another, vastly improve the educational experience of 60 000 students [each year], and, through stimulating innovation, build the regional economy and improve the lot of surrounding communities.

We need to ignite our collective imagination, take a long-term view of what our universities can be, and plan accordingly. We may find ourselves running against forms of planning that are obsessed with immediate gratification in compliance with performance reporting regimes. We must take that risk.

In the absence of an external challenge we tend to turn in on ourselves, with UWC gaining publicity for all the wrong reasons. We cannot afford to have that happening. It is a mark of failure not to take imaginative hold of the huge challenges of our country and world, and of the large opportunities which our standing as a research-based institution presents.

An ongoing and pressing challenge is to attend to the scale and quality of our research and educational environment so that it supports deeper national and international collaboration and is conducive to attracting the scale of investment needed.

No single university research team, however good, can hope to match the productive capacity of an excellent multilateral international partnership.

Society has entrusted us, you and me, collectively with a special university. It is our duty to future generations to pass on the gift we have received in an even better state than it was in when we received it.

Professor Professo r Tyrone Tyro ne BBPre Pretorius t or i us• U •n U i vNeI rVs Ei tRyS o I TfY t h OeF W T Hees tW e rEnS TC Ea RN p eC•A PP a Eg•eP 8 age 6

Pr ofessor T yr one B Pr etor i us• U n i v e r s i t y o f t h e W e s t e r n C a p e • P a g e 9