The Walter Sisulu University’s (WSU) search for a new Vice Chancellor has finally ended following the announcement on Tuesday of Prof Rob Midgley as the institution’s new Vice Chancellor and Principal.
The appointment is made following a two-part interview process held on 29 January.
Staff, students and community members were afforded an opportunity to engage with the candidates as they delivered a 20-minute presentation live from the Buffalo City Campus’s Potsdam Site and streamed to all the other campuses during the latest interviews.
A 20-minute question-answer session then ensued before the candidates were put through their paces during the last round of formal interviews with the Vice Chancellor selection panel, headed by Council chairperson Judge Nambitha Dambuza.
This latest round of interviews was preceded by an unsuccessful recruitment process that saw four candidates vying for the position in 2015.
Prof Midgley is a Rhodes University Professor Emeritus, an advocate of the High Court of South Africa; and a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.
He obtained a B Com LLB at Rhodes University and a PhD from the University of Cape Town. He’s an author of over 100 academic publications, including three books: (a) Lawyers’ Professional Liability (1992); (b) Principles of Delict (2nd ed, 1997; 3rd ed, 2005), co-authored with J C van der Walt; also published as the Delict section in The Law of South Africa (First Reissue, Vol 8 part 1, 1996; 2nd ed 2005); (c) The Law of Delict in South Africa (2010, 2nd ed 2012), co-edited with Max Loubser.
The Professor has served on most academic and management committees at faculty, senate and council levels; at three different universities in South Africa. He has experience as a Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) at two universities, providing insights into university strategic development and management.
He will assume his new role as Vice Chancellor and Principal of WSU on 1 April 2016.
“We are confident that Prof Rob Midgley will prove to be a distinguished Vice Chancellor and a worthy successor to the Interim Vice Chancellor Prof Khaya Mfenyana” said WSU Spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo.
Source: http://www.rnews.co.za/article/8112/walter-sisulu-university-appoints-new-vice-chancellor