UCT student affairs gets a seasoned new executive director
UCT has announced the appointment of Pura Mgolombane as the institutions new executive director for the Department of Student Affairs (DSA)
This is the fourth senior leadership appointment at UCT this year, of which three are black and two are female. The others are Dr Catherine Duggan (Director: Graduate School of Business), Dr Linda Mtwisha (Executive Director: Research) and Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson (Dean: Health Sciences).
UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng announced Mgolombane's appointment yesterday, taking over from Dr Moonira Khan, who will retire at the end of the year.
“With over 20 years of experience working with students, he is an ideal person to lead such an integral department. He joins us from the University of the Free State, where he holds the position of Dean: Student Affairs,” said Phakeng.
Mgolombane is well versed in higher education, having worked in student affairs at no less than six institutions. After starting his career in higher education at the then Technikon Pretoria ( now Tshwane University of Technology) as a facilitator in student governance, he was later appointed Dean: Student Affairs at UFS in 2016.
“During his time at UFS, among other things, he was responsible for creating humanising conditions for students in their daily lived experiences that are critical for social justice, social cohesion and academic success. As a university that aims to help build leaders of the future, these experiences and insights are invaluable to UCT,” said Phakeng.
Having held positions such as Director: Student Affairs; Head of Department: Student Ethics and Judicial Services Department; Project Manager: Transformation and Diversity; and Manager: Diversity, Ethics and Social Justice at various top universities across the country, Mgolombane also has a keen understanding of what it takes to manage a department responsible for students, who are the key stakeholders of a university.
Mgolombane holds numerous academic qualifications, including a Postgraduate Diploma in corporate law, a PGDip in applied ethics for professionals, an honours degree in employment relations, a Master of Commerce in business management and a Master of Arts in diversity studies.
Mgolombane also played a role in the development of the student affairs profession through serving as the Deputy President of the National Association for Student Development Practitioners and, currently, as the Secretary General of the South African Association of Senior Student Affairs Professionals.
Grant Willis will serve as acting executive director for January 2021, prior to Mgolombane joining in February.