POLITICS

Cheryl de la Rey UP's new VC

Announcement by the University of Pretoria on new principal, July 27 2009

University of Pretoria appoints new Vice-Chancellor and Principal

The University of Pretoria is pleased to announce that, at an extraordinary meeting held on Monday, 27 July 2009, the University Council resolved to appoint Dr Cheryl de la Rey as the University's new Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

This follows the resignation of Prof Calie Pistorius in March this year. The exact date on which Dr de la Rey will assume duty in her new position is still to be agreed with her.

The appointment was made in terms of an exhaustive process set out in the Regulation and Procedure for the Appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal. The process included, among other things, two rounds of voting by the Senate and Institutional Forum and interviews with the seven short listed candidates by the Standing Committee of Council. Thirteen candidates applied for the position, one of whom withdrew his application.

Dr de la Rey was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) from 1 May 2008 and before that served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Psychology at the University of Cape Town for a term of six years. She also served as the Executive Director: Research Promotion on secondment to the National Research Foundation (NRF) from 2000 to 2002.

Dr de la Rey has an outstanding record of scholarly achievement and leadership in the tertiary education environment. Thanks to the senior management positions she has held at the University of Cape Town, the NRF and the CHE, she has excellent in-depth knowledge and a strategic understanding of the higher education environment, including the challenges facing universities and the operational environment within which universities function.

Her peers recognize Dr de la Rey as a professional, hard working person of integrity who builds sound human relations.

In her declaration of intent, Dr de la Rey states that "there is a sound base from which an exciting future can be built to realise a vision to be South Africa's leading academic institution renowned for the quality of its teaching and student life, outstanding research, diversity, innovation and public engagement."

Statement issued by Mrs Futhi Mtoba, Chairperson of Council, University of Pretoria, July 27 2009

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