Prof Barney Pityana elected to lead UCT Convocation

26 February 2015

On 17 December 2014, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Convocation at the University of Cape Town voted Professor Barney Pityana to the office of President of Convocation. Professor Pityana succeeds Ms Mary Burton, who has served as President of Convocation for the last four years.

All graduates of UCT are members of Convocation, along with the academic staff of the university and its emeritus professors, and have the right to attend the AGM. There are now about 100,000 members of Convocation around the world. As the new president, he will lead Convocation in its guardianship role, to ensure that members of Convocation remain connected and involved with UCT matters as they honour the university's good traditions and also craft a new and exciting path for UCT into the future.

Convocation may also discuss and state its opinion on any matter relating to the university. It elects six of its members to serve on the University Council, the institution's highest governing structure. The President and 21 members of Convocation serve on the electoral college that is assembled to elect the Chancellor of UCT.

Dr Max Price, Vice-Chancellor of UCT, said: "Professor Pityana is known worldwide for his work as a human rights lawyer and anti-apartheid activist, his scholarly contributions to black theology and his leadership of the University of South Africa, as Principal and Vice-Chancellor from 2001 to 2010 - the first black person to hold this position. Since 2011 he has been the Rector of the College of the Transfiguration (Anglican) in Grahamstown. I am confident that his term of office will benefit the university and its alumni."

Commenting on his role as President of UCT Convocation, Professor Pityana said that UCT held a special place in his heart and that it was an honour to serve in this capacity. "My fondest memory of UCT was the frank and open if challenging debates we conducted among ourselves as staff; the amazing relationships we had with the students especially our graduate students - all of which gave one encouragement about what was possible in South Africa if we were to be a great university. In many respects I carried much of that with me to Unisa years later," he said.

Dr Price added: "On behalf of UCT I also wish to thank Ms Burton for her successful term of office, during which she contributed to the life of the UCT community's discussion of critical matters, such as the change in UCT's admissions policy."

Statement issued by UCT Communication and Marketing Department, February 26 2015

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