Habib plans to refocus Wits
NEWLY installed University of Witwatersrand vice-chancellor Adam Habib plans to position the institution as a research intensive, postgraduate university over the next decade.
NEWLY installed University of Witwatersrand vice-chancellor Adam Habib plans to position the institution as a research intensive, postgraduate university over the next decade.
One of the country’s leading opinion formers as a political scientist, Prof Habib was officially installed as vice-chancellor and principal of Wits on Saturday, succeeding Loyiso Nongxa.
Prof Habib said Wits had already embarked on a huge cam- paign to recruit postgraduate students for the next year. Over the next five years, it wants to double its existing cohorts of postdoctoral fellows and grow the value of its postgraduate scholarships to about R300m.
Postgraduate enrolments boost the country’s research output, but local universities have battled to increase enrolment and graduation.
The university has started a global search for a new director of its business school following the resignation this month of Wendy Ngoma. The Wits Business School has faced a number of challenges over the past decade, including governance and inability to attract enrolment for its MBA.
Wits Business School has had five directors since 2003. This year, the school has only 14 fulltime MBA candidates, well below the minimum of 20 the UK-based Association of MBAs requires for it to retain international accreditation for the programme.
Prof Habib said two main issues had troubled the school. “One of them is the issue of leadership. It’s been a challenge at multiple levels. The second has been the issue of autonomy. We’re going to address both.
“The first thing is to find a good director. (Opening globally) we’re advertising next week and I’ve spoken to a number of candidates. We’ll resolve the leadership challenges and as soon that is done we will provide the kind of autonomy that is required for a business school to flourish,” Prof Habib said.
Though Wits Business School is separate from the main campus, it is a school within the faculty of commerce, law and management. That means the dean of the fac- ulty, or the university’s senior management at times, have to approve its decisions. Wits Business School directors have complained about this, especially when speedy action is required.
But Prof Habib said the school would not get blanket autonomy.
“It’s a business school of the University of the Witwatersrand. The autonomy has already been benchmarked. We’ve got benchmarks with other universities, both in this country and around the world.
“I would imagine it can make appointments quicker, recruit stu- dents faster and brand better. But all of that (must be) within the broader parameters of Wits, like every other business school that operates within the framework of (a) university.”
The university has been saddled with many challenges, including an exodus of top researchers and academics for better salaries. Last year, it experienced an unprecedented strike by lectures and support staff for better salaries.
Prof Habib said the salaries issue was being addressed through a multiyear pact being negotiated with unions.
The institution has also been battling with transformation issues at staffing level. But its student body broadly represents the demographics of SA.
Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom implored the university to continue with its focus on fundamental research, in which has been doing very well.
“The role of fundamental research may run the risk of being overshadowed by the demand for solutions of the more immediate challenges,” he said.