Rhodes University Name Change
- 1 Rhodes University Council StatementCouncil decides about the future of the name of Rhodes University
At its meeting held on 30 November 2017, the Rhodes University Council considered anumber of issues, the most pertinent of which being that of the
University’s name
.It is necessary to reflect upon the context and process of the consideration and decision byCouncil on the name of the University.In 2015, Council initiated a process to advance transformation at the University and to solicitviews of all stakeholders on the future of its name within the context of its long-termsustainability.
Following a number of delays in implementing the initially agreed process,Council resolved that the transformation of Rhodes University was ultimately the responsibilityof the Rhodes University community and that an inclusive process had to be pursued througha broad Institutional Transformation Summit. The aim of the Summit was to consolidate, andprovide impetus to,
the University’s transformation journey and devise a less cumbersome
process to address demands regarding the name of the University. The desired outcome of
the Summit was to focus the University’s attention to the impera
tive of transformation with aview to building a stronger, more resilient and sustainable University that could inspire pridein all its stakeholders.Rhodes University held its very successful Transformation Summit at the end of July 2017.One of the recommendations of the Summit was that Council should devise a mechanism todesign, within a six-month timeframe, a process that would enable the University to resolvethe issue of the future of its name. Council was mandated to deal with the matter, taking intoaccount inputs from stakeholders and all related factors, which were pertinent to such adecision.The University is facing a number of challenges which we must address while striving tomaintain and enhance our academic endeavour and social responsibility agenda.First, the University continues to grapple with its
financial sustainability
. The situationrequires that we remain focussed on building and deepening a culture of fiscal prudence andausterity to ensure that the University remains on a sustainable path. The balance betweenour income and expenditure remains untenable and unsustainable. Government funding is onthe decline, thus placing pressure on our finances and creating uncertainty concerning thefunding framework for universities in general. Various initiatives are being undertaken to deal
with this significant challenge. We continue to rely on everyone’s participation in this regard.
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Second, our
staff remuneration
is not competitive and as a result we lose academic staff toother universities and private and public sector employers who can make better offers. Inaddition to
remuneration challenges, we recognise that some aspects of the University’s
institutional culture
are experienced as alienating by segments of our community.Third, is a critical issue of
employment equity
which we must address. Rhodes Universityand the higher education sector in general, face a serious challenge of the scarcity of blackacademics, particularly at professorial level. Our University has invested significant resourcesto address this challenge. We have at some stage received funding from the MellonFoundation and Kresge Foundation to recruit black staff and in particular, women, to give theman opportunity to develop their careers so that they are able to rise through the academicranks at a pace faster than they ordinarily would without dedicated support. The intention is,partly, to address staff equity. We have also invested our own resources to advance thisobjective.The new government initiative, the
‘next Generation Academics Programme” (nGAP)
, ishelping us to recruit young black and aspiring academics to Rhodes University.Fourth,
Student Financial Aid
continues to be
one of the University’s biggest challenges.
There are many academically capable young people who, through no fault of their own, cannotafford to access a quality higher education. Every year our University invests about R38m toassist academically deserving students who are in financial need.Fifth, we have an important contribution to make in the
upliftment of our local community
.Grahamstown has some of the best schools in the country interspersed with some of the mostdysfunctional schools educating mo
st of our town’s youth. Alongside this, we have Rhodes
University, which produces some of the best graduates in the country and continent. Wecannot sit and watch when young people are condemned to a life of hopelessness anddespair because of the failure to provide them with the education they need and deserve.The University continues to seek new ways through its community engagement programmeto embed itself in the life of our local Municipality and Province. We appreciate the need toremain, simultaneously, locally responsive and globally competitive.Sixth, in terms of
infrastructure
–
more capital is required for maintenance. In the past wehave had to balance our budgets by deferring capital expenditure. In addition, there is anurgent and pressing need to modernise outdated university systems to ensure that we remainat the forefront of advancing our knowledge endeavour and social responsibility.Seventh,
the University’s
capacity to grow is, to a significant extent, constrained by thecapacity of our Local Municipality to provide basic services. We are heavily dependent on theMunicipality. We therefore have to work closely with it to create the necessary capacity for itto provide the basic services.Eighth, is the need to create and sustain an
institutional culture
that is welcoming, supportiveand affirming of all. Institutional culture includes residence life, teaching, research, socialinteraction, working life and many other areas. The challenge is the pervasive discriminatory
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practices that are often reproduced at the level of everyday life in ways that may seemintangible and difficult to notice. We have to find ways to surface and challenge these practicesin our institutional life to enable everyone to thrive, benefit and contribute in equal measure.Part of the need to create and sustain an institutional culture that is welcoming and affirmingof all is the need to respond to cal
ls for ‘decolonisation’.
It follows therefore that in a financially constrained context, with a multiplicity of pressing andcompeting needs, all decisions have to be taken with due regard to the above context andchallenges. Given the financial strain that the University has experienced over the past twoyears, following the #FEESMUSTFALL campaign, Council has had to approve a deficit budgetfor two consecutive years. We continue to press on Government to factor, in its fundingdeterminations, amongst others, the peculiar challenges faced by universities in poorcommunities and away from the major economic hubs. We continue to reach out to our Alumni,current and future donors and generally to the corporate sector for support.Since the issue of the name of the University came to the fore in 2015, strong views havebeen expressed in support of, and in opposition to, its retention. It cannot be disputed thatCecil John Rhodes was an arch-imperialist and white supremacist who treated people of thisregion as sub-human. There is also a general consensus that there is not much to celebrateabout him and the way he went about doing things.Centuries after the proponents of oppression and injustice have been laid to rest, theirshameful legacies linger. This much can be seen in the lives of institutions whose values andcontributions to society far exceed the desires and imaginations of those they were namedafter. Among such institutions are the likes of Brown University, a reputable Ivy Leagueuniversity in the United States that bears the name of the Brown family, some of whosemembers had traded in slaves; the University of Fort Hare, which counts amongst its alumnisome celebrated liberation heroes, which was built on a site of a military fort of the period ofthe frontier wars and named after Colonel John Hare; and Rhodes University.It is worth noting, however, that there is consensus about what Rhodes University has cometo represent in terms of academic excellence and the brand it has developed to stand outamongst the best universities in the world. This point is held both by the proponents andopponents of the name change. Indeed, it cannot be disputed that Rhodes University has,over its 113-year history developed and sustained an enviable reputation for academic andresearch excellence. Among other things,
Rhodes University has the best pass and graduation rates of any other South Africanuniversity;
We have outstanding postgraduate success rates and enjoy one of the highestresearch outputs per academic staff member of any South African university;
Each year our university produces PhDs of the highest calibre;