Dr Ian Mackintosh

For the next couple of months Dr Ian Mackintosh will be a very busy man. Not only will he face the responsibilities of his position as director of Student Housing and Residence Life, he will now also carry the load of an additional portfolio following his appointment as acting dean of students.

Following the early retirement of the previous dean, Dr Loveness Kaunda, Mackintosh will focus on the major and urgent issues requiring attention until a replacement has been found.

In addition to ensuring that the findings of UCT's Organisational Climate Survey are discussed with his staff, Mackintosh will attend to a number of urgent student and staffing issues, some of the latter related to a restructuring process that was initiated in the department about 18 months ago.

"It would not be appropriate for me to initiate a restructuring process as an interim caretaker," he explained. "My focus will rather be on supporting the heads of sections within the department in ensuring service delivery to students, as well as on the current planning and budget cycle that the university is going through."

As Kaunda's deputy dean (the post was discontinued due to restructuring), Mackintosh is no stranger to the devoirs of the department.

"I worked very closely with Loveness and got to know about the issues the department faced. There was a handover period before Loveness left and she has promised that I can contact her at home at any time."

And when Mackintosh isn't meeting the demands of both his roles, he can be found walking with his family, reading or watching movies.

"I like to use some weekends to get out of Cape Town and visit the wilderness - it's restorative."