MEDIA RELEASE
6 OCTOBER 2014
No of Pages: 3
DYNAMIC NEW ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT FOR WSU
The aesthetics of Walter Sisulu University’s (WSU) academic architecture are changing fast in rapid
response to an ever-shifting scholastic design brought about by the University’s new divisional
management system.
As part of the eight pillars of the University’s Turnaround Strategy imperatives, the continuing success
of the overarching Institutional Governance Project has paved the way for effective and successful
implementation of the rest of the other imperative projects thanks to strong management and
accompanying policies.
Work on the Academic Enterprise has seen major developments occurring recently with the previous
campus director positions being replaced with four rector positions to provide a more strategically
academic and administrative leadership foundation.
The campuses will operate independently under the institutional umbrella of the University as
business units with the newly appointed rectors as the academic and administrative heads. They will
be responsible for promotion of quality education, research and community engagement, as well as
provision of academic and administrative leadership at a campus level.
“As a member of the Institutional Management Committee the rector has a very strategic role to play
and at campus level will be responsible for rolling out the divisional management system as Chair of
the Campus Management Committee. The rectors will further take full responsibility for the
development of a vibrant academic culture at campus level, in support of the university reaching its
strategic objectives,” says WSU Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic Affairs and Research Prof Sandile
Songca, the academic enterprise project leader.
Three of the four rector positions have been filled at the Mthatha, Butterworth, and Queenstown
campuses whilst the University is unrelenting in its efforts to fill the Buffalo City campus position,
where an experienced academic has been placed in an acting position.
The four campus rectors are:




Prof Mlungiseleli Jadezweni - Mthatha
Prof Carlson Anyangwe – Butterworth
Prof Adriaan Coetser – Queenstown
Mr Ferdie Gerber – (Acting in Buffalo City)
One of Prof Songca’s biggest challenges was to scrutinize the integrity of the University’s programme
qualification mix (PQM) and its viability in terms of quality, socio-economic relevance and financial
sustainability heading into the near future (with the institution’s geographical spread a mitigating
factor). An even bigger challenge was to find solutions to deal with any anomalies pegging the
University’s academic endeavours back.
Months of research into national and international higher education best practices in offering winning
formulae in terms of academic enterprise saw the University making notable alterations to the makeup of its PQM.
A cleaner, leaner and meaner approach would see the four previous inter-campus faculties being
divided into 11 smaller faculties, each allocated to a specific campus.
The faculties at the Mthatha campus are Commerce and Admin; Educational Sciences; Health
Sciences; Humanities, Social Sciences and Law; and Natural Sciences.
Management Sciences; Education and Engineering and Technology make up the faculties in
Butterworth; whilst Buffalo City will house the faculties of Business Sciences, as well as Sciences,
Engineering and Technology. Queenstown campus will be home to the Faculty of Education, Finance
and Management.
The vast numbers of departments and schools have been dramatically shrunk and in the case of the
latter, completely done away with, again in line with the new design to try and manage the academic
enterprise more stringently and effectively.
“A significant and historical milestone has now been achieved in the rolling-out of the new academic
architecture and structure with the appointment of these deans for the new 11 campus-based
faculties.
“These appointments mark the establishment and inauguration of the faculties. As campus-based
deans, reporting directly to the campus rector, they form a critical component of campus
management,” says WSU Vice Chancellor and Principal Prof Khaya Mfenyana.
The new deans are:
MTHATHA
Dr S. Rajkan (Faculty of Commerce and Administration)
Dr JM Molepo (Educational Sciences)
Dr WW Chitha (Health Sciences)
Prof PN Makiwane (Humanities, Social Sciences and Law)
BUTTERWORTH
Prof R Sonn (Faculty of Education)
Dr SP Jaca (Engineering and Technology)
Ms B Nguza-Mduba (Management Sciences)
BUFFALO CITY
Mr CS Novukela (Business Sciences)
Dr M Siswana (Science, Engineering and Technology)
Prof ND Jumbam (Natural Sciences)
QUEENSTOWN
Dr D Gumbi (Education, Finance and Management)
Ends.
Issued by:
Thando Cezula
WSU Senior Communications Officer
(043) 702 9378
079 015 6285