Talking UCT legacy with VC

The six-month mark of his tenure presented the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) vice-chancellor, Professor Mosa Moshabela, an opportunity to speak about legacy and what it means from a historic point of view, and its custodian: the future.

He delivered his lecture during UCT’s Summer School series on Thursday, 30 January. “One of the things that became clear to me is that UCT has a bigger stakeholder group than I had imagined. It’s become clear that UCT presents a beacon of hope for people in our country,” said Professor Moshabela.

“There is a great deal of public interest that exists around UCT. There is a lot of accountability that is expected of people at UCT. We have great influence, not only in the country, but the world over and that to me is an important lesson. This is important so I can frame my thoughts on where we go from here. We must think about the legacy of UCT over the last 100 years and then think about the future of UCT over the next 100 years.”

Moshabela argued that once the university has attracted the right students, those students must be given an environment for them to flourish.

“I know I’m in my term for five years and therefore I am mindful that every decision I make will echo into the future of UCT and so I do feel the weight of having to make decisions – wondering, thinking and having to consider what the possible implications for UCT 30 years from now will be.”

He continued, “I have taken the time since I have been here to reflect on some of the patterns that I observe today and where they come from and it has been interesting to me that some of the things we see can be traced back to decisions made 10, 20 and 30 years ago and perhaps even longer. And if we are benefitting from decisions made 30 years ago, what is the responsibility that we have today that is going to benefit the generations that will be here 30 years from now? I would be lying to myself if I did not consider that.”

Best interests of UCT

He is mindful that he took over the position at a time when the higher education sector is scrambling for answers to some of its old, pressing issues, which include funding, harnessing student access and success and embracing vast differences in a way that breed solutions, among other matters.

“If I accept that my decisions have short-term, perhaps medium-term, but certainly long-term ramifications for UCT then how do I think about my strategy, vision and contribution to UCT in the five-year term I have? Because if I make decisions that come across as short, expedient decisions, then they are not in the best interest of UCT. The future of UCT and its legacy is going to be protected by the resilience we can demonstrate as the leadership of UCT. Decisions we make will long outlive us. As they should.”