IRTC meets with IRTC Steering Committee and other updates

02 March 2018 | Campus Announcement

Dear students and colleagues

This campus announcement aims to inform the University of Cape Town community about:

1. The joint meeting of the IRTC and the IRTC Steering Committee

The Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC) held its first formal meeting on 26 February 2018. The meeting was held in conjunction with the IRTC Steering Committee, which is made up of 16 constituencies within UCT, in order to get the commission’s work under way. At the meeting the IRTC invited individual and constituent bodies to make initial email submissions of no more than four pages to Candice Amon by 9 March 2018. Hearings of the commission will begin thereafter.

2. Correction to sexual assault 24-hour support number

The number currently displayed on UCT card holders is incorrect. We apologise for this mistake. The correct number for Survivor Support, which is located in the Office for Inclusivity & Change, is 072 393 7824. Please save this number on your mobile device.

Stickers with the correct information will be available from Friday, 23 February 2018. If you do not have a sticker on your UCT card, or if you would like an updated information sticker, you can get one at all libraries; Campus Protection Services (CPS) offices on upper campus; the CPS Burnage Office (behind the Jammie Shuttle Stop) on lower campus; at the barrier-controlled access point to Hiddingh Campus; at the reception of the Barnard Fuller Building at the Faculty of Health Sciences; and at the Clarendon, Rochester, Obz Square, Forest Hill, Harold Cressy and Liesbeeck Gardens residences.

3. VC’s response to BAC statement on DVC: Teaching and Learning

Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price has issued a response to a statement by the Black Academic Caucus (BAC) claiming that a candidate for the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning was appointed “who does not meet our equity requirements nor key criteria as advertised for the position”. Dr Price has called the BAC statement “both ill-informed and incorrect”. In a radio interview earlier this week, a BAC representative claimed that Senate had supported a black candidate with a two-thirds majority, but Council had refused to appoint her. Dr Price refers to the BAC statement as “an attack on the selection committee, the Council, the selection processes and the successful candidate, Associate Professor Lis Lange. As a result I feel I have to respond in some detail and on each of the accusations.”

Read the VC Desk on the executive selection process...

4. How you can help cut UCT water usage in half

In a recent VC Desk, Dr Price urged all members of the UCT community to use 50% less water every day across all campuses. As a major consumer of municipal water, the university needs to set an example in water-wise use and sustainability, not only during the current crisis but far into the future. Please apply the pointers in the VC Desk to help establish UCT as a water-wise and water-sensitive institution that contributes to the welfare of the Cape Town community.

Read the VC Desk on water usage...

5. The February edition of UCT News is available

The first edition of UCT News of the year highlights the community development work of the c*hemroots project and SHAWCO’s Saturday School programme; takes a look at drones, big data and eResearch at the university; reveals surprising research results about predators in the Karoo; and tackles the tricky questions around the Cape Town water crisis and just what UCT is doing to address the issues, both on campus and across the city.