Professor Crain Soudien to head HSRC

Dear colleagues and students,

I write to inform you that Professor Crain Soudien will be leaving the University of Cape Town to take up an appointment as the Head and Chief Executive Officer of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on 1 September 2015. We are very proud that our Deputy Vice-Chancellor has been head-hunted for this prestigious and important post, and on behalf of Professor Soudien's executive colleagues, and I'm sure all of you, I want to congratulate him on being selected for this position.

It was in February this year that Professor Soudien first informed me that he had been approached by the HSRC search committee to request that he make himself available to be considered for this post. Although that selection process happened quite quickly, and I was kept informed that he was the preferred candidate, the decision of the HSRC Council had to go to the national Cabinet before it could be finalised. This has only happened today and we can now make the announcement.

Professor Soudien is a loyal, bone-and-marrow UCT person – often commenting how this institution has shaped his scholarly and academic identity. He was a student at UCT, majoring in Economics and Comparative African Government and Law, in the 1970s, and then joined as a staff member in 1988. He was promoted to full professor in 2001, was the director of the School of Education, and was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (in an acting capacity in 2008, with his formal appointment in 2009).

He will continue his association with UCT through the Centre for African Studies and the School of Education, and will continue to supervise postgraduate students.

We are confident that Professor Soudien will steer the HSRC in new directions in humanities and social science research that will have a critical impact on such research, not only within the HSRC, but in all the universities of the country. We look forward to closer partnerships with HSRC researchers and projects through our affiliation with Professor Soudien.

In anticipation of Professor Soudien's departure, I have been consulting regarding the appointment of an acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor to take over from 1 September. I am pleased to inform you that Council has approved the appointment of Professor Anwar Mall to this post. Professor Mall's abridged CV is available here. Of key relevance here is that he is a senior professor and member of Senate; he has been Head of the Department of Surgery Research Laboratories; he has been a warden for many years, and was the Chair of the College of Wardens from 2007 to 2012; through his warden activities and other student support roles, he is very familiar with the Department of Student Affairs and enjoys dealing with students. (Professor Soudien's portfolio has accountability for these areas.) Professor Mall has also been deeply involved in transformation activities in residences and in the Faculty of Health Sciences over many years. I am delighted that Professor Mall has agreed to join the executive team in an acting capacity until the post is filled.

Sincerely,

Dr Max Price
Vice-Chancellor