Vision 2030: targeted strategies to redress inequality

While having a critical mass of people from designated groups on campus and in the university community is key to realising the institution’s transformation goals, it is not enough, said the University of Cape Town (UCT) Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng. Excellence will only be achieved when there is also equity in participation.

Professor Phakeng was speaking at the fourth virtual Vision 2030 staff engagement session, which addressed the new institutional strategy titled Vision 2030 and was hosted by the vice-chancellor and members of the executive.

Based on the proactive need for change, the strategy aims to “unleash human potential to create a fair and just society”, and its drafting involved more than 100 members of the university community, including academic, and professional, administrative support and service (PASS) staff.

Primary objectives of transformation

Among the important questions posed during the development of the strategy were those that interrogated what transformation and social responsiveness should look like in the future and how this would inform the objectives of transformation.

“Redressing inequality will also ultimately have the effect of restoring dignity.”

“We want to continue to redress inequality as it manifests at the university and redress inequality through the work we do – whether in teaching, research or service in partnership with communities – because it is also about redressing inequality in broader societies on the continent,” said Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Transformation Professor Loretta Feris.

“Redressing inequality will also ultimately have the effect of restoring dignity.”

Amplifying the different voices on campus and beyond is central to the transformation goals of Vision 2030.

“These include the voices that come from PASS [staff], academics and students,” Professor Feris said. “We want to amplify these voices and provide agency as a community to reach our goal. Ultimately, it is about achieving social justice.”

A question posed during the question-and-answer session was how the executive proposed strengthening the voices of lower-ranked academics at UCT who might find it “career limiting” to question, debate and freely disagree with senior colleagues.

Feris responded: “On one hand, we place a high premium on academic freedom, but on the other some academics feel voiceless. We are aware of this, which is why the idea of amplifying voices and agency is important across Vison 2030. We all have to work on it … [so that] people can freely express themselves and engage. When we silence one another, we are not enabling growth.”

Looking at racism differently

Addressing the many profound challenges around transformation not only requires continual engagement, but also clearly defined strategies. Among these is a different slant on racism, informed by, among other things, the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Our proposed anti-racism approach speaks to four different areas,” said Feris. “We look at white accountability and the need to have bold and honest conversations about it. We also centre on blackness at UCT and ask what it means to be a black academic or student on campus and what needs to be done to amplify your voice. We will continue the anti-oppression dialogue and will acknowledge the emotional trauma, response and containment of racism.”

The anti-racism initiative, she said, is just one example of the transformation strategy UCT has planned. Her colleagues reiterated the importance of weaving the transformation thread throughout all activities, undertakings and departments.

With regards to teaching, DVC for Teaching and Learning Associate Professor Lis Lange said that the first goal of the strategy was to provide holistic, innovative and future-orientated education, which includes new and transformative pedagogies, and curricula that are constantly renewed and transformed.

“We know that research needs to be socially relevant and address the transformative principles.”

“Focusing on the complex problems of today and the future, we know that research needs to be socially relevant and address the transformative principles that Loretta spoke of,” said DVC for Research and Internationalisation Professor Sue Harrison. “We recognise that for our research to contribute to these complex problems, it will need to be cross-cutting and focus on Afrika with global benefit.”

It was agreed that the realisation of UCT’s transformation goals relies on integration and discussion across the campus and university community. This underpins the consultative nature of the work done in drafting the Vision 2030 strategy.

“The development of the vision has deliberately not been undertaken in silos,” said UCT’s chief operating officer, Dr Reno Morar. “All the task teams have been integrated to include members of the executive, academics and PASS staff because we knew that if we wanted to have new ways of doing, thinking and being, then we have to live that in the development of the dream.”

Phakeng concluded the session by appealing to everyone to think critically and carefully about where they would like to see the university in the future and how best to invest their time and resources to craft a sustainable future for UCT.

Visit the Vision 2030 website.