Feedback from Senate meeting and other updates

Dear students and colleagues

This campus announcement aims to inform members of the University of Cape Town community about:

1. Feedback from Senate meeting

The UCT Senate has agreed to a more consultative process on the proposal calling for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions in occupied Palestinian territories. Senate also agreed that the UCT executive would determine how the consultation process should be carried out. The matter was tabled at the UCT Senate meeting held on Friday, 10 May 2019, having been referred back to Senate by Council. At its March 2019 meeting, Council did not adopt Senate’s resolution and its view was that a number of issues required clarification, including a full assessment of the sustainability impact of the Senate resolution, and that a more consultative process was necessary before the matter could be considered any further. The UCT executive will work on the implementation of the consultation process.

2. Temporary move of Survivor Support and Respondent Management services

The Office for Inclusivity and Change has announced that Survivor Support services and Respondent Management services will move temporarily from The Cottage on Lover’s Walk to the Ivan Toms Building. It will be for the period from 1 June 2019 to 1 June 2020, while The Cottage is being refurbished.

3. Extension of call for naming of buildings proposals

Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng has invited the UCT community to submit proposals to the Naming of Buildings Committee (NoBC) for the renaming of buildings that are currently named and the naming of buildings that are not currently named, such as the New Lecture Theatre. The NoBC has resolved to extend the deadline for proposals to 17:00 on 30 June 2019 and will make a final recommendation to Council on naming/renaming after comments, based on specific criteria, have been considered.

Proposals should be sent to namingproposals@uct.ac.za. Please note that the committee will likely receive many proposals and as such it might not be possible for them to reply to all emails received.

• Read the VC Desk and relevant criteria.
• Access the register of UCT building names.

4. Engaged scholarship course-development grants

Academics are invited to submit an application for teaching grants that are to be used for developing or revising courses that demonstrate evidence of community-engaged teaching and learning. Four grants of R5 000 each are available for academics to develop or revise a service learning, community-based education or community-based participatory research course.

• Read the DVC Desk: Engaged scholarship course-development grants.

5. Employment Equity Plan 2019–2021

One of the key outcomes of UCT’s Transformation Report for 2018 is the new three-year Employment Equity (EE) Plan (2019–2021). The new EE Plan, which incorporates the EE strategy, comes as a response to a request by Council in 2017 to develop stretch targets for employment equity. It is simultaneously the result of an Employment Equity Act compliance assessment and review by the Department of Labour in February 2018. The main objectives of the EE Plan are to proactively pull together as a university community and ensure that all departments and faculties know where to find the plan and, more importantly, how to use it.

• Read the DVC Desk: Employment Equity Plan 2019–2021.

Communication and Marketing Department

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements