During a series of addresses held on the main campus as well as the Mamelodi, Groenkloof, Prinshof and Onderstepoort campuses of the University in the first week of February, Prof Calie Pistorius, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, welcomed staff to the start of the 2005 academic year. He stressed the notion that University’s organisational culture mandates that all staff, students and visitors should feel welcome in all senses of the word – academically, culturally, socially as well as physically.

In the beginning of 2004, there were a number of challenges facing the University. The most important of these were the then impending budget crisis. The state implemented a new funding framework for the funding of tertiary education institutions in 2004, and the University of Pretoria subsequently received substantially less from state subsidies than it would have, had the old subsidy formula been implemented. The result was that the University faced a very serious potential budget deficit a year ago. During 2004 a major part of management time and effort was required to address this issue. The impending budget crisis overshadowed all other management issues and many of our other plans and initiatives had to be put on the back burner. During the year a special budget committee coordinated strenuous efforts by the entire management cadre of the University, and as a result we not only survived 2004 financially, but made major strides in aligning the budget process with the state’s new funding framework and in developing a budget for 2005. The University is grateful that the subsidy funding we received from the state in 2005 is aligned with our budgetary projections.

On 2 January 2004 the University of Pretoria also incorporated the Mamelodi Campus (which was previously part of Vista University) and welcomed the staff and students of that campus as proud Tukkies. We were also awaiting the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) report on the institutional pilot audit that was performed in September 2003, and were considering the impact of the Maroela incident of 2003.

During 2004, a number of organisational lessons were learned. The success that was attained by focusing – out of necessity – on the financial challenges that dominated 2004, taught us what can be achieved if we focus our energy on one central theme. The establishment of the Department of Residence Affairs and Accommodation and the subsequent grouping of most residence-related issues under one line manager, taught us the value of consolidation. The Mamelodi Campus taught us many lessons with regard to incorporation, particularly with regard to the blending of organisational cultures. The establishment of the Office of Financial Aid illustrated the necessity of creating an empowering and appropriate organisational vehicle to facilitate and execute strategic initiatives.

The value of cooperation with partners was illustrated by the success that was achieved with regard to the combating of crime in the area surrounding the campus in Hatfield. The establishment of the City Improvement District (CID) in Hatfield, in partnership and cooperation with the SAPS, Tshwane Metro and Metro Police, as well as local business and residential communities; and the Hatfield Court, in collaboration with the Department of Justice, gives the University more local control in dealing with crime. Perpetrators in the Hatfield area are brought to book very quickly and effectively, and as a result the crime rate in Hatfield has dropped significantly.

Where we are heading

In anticipation of the year ahead, it is necessary to remind ourselves of where we are headed and what sort of university we want to be. The University’s vision statement is very clear about this. The University of Pretoria strives to be:

•  A leader in higher education that is recognised internationally for academic excellence and a focus on quality. Leadership, whether on the individual or organisational level, brings with it many additional responsibilities. As a leader in higher education, the University of Pretoria must accept these responsibilities. The quality imperative is manifested not only on the academic side as academic excellence, but must also be reflected in a high quality of student life and quality of services and facilities. Above all, we must accept our responsibility as trustees of a quality future. The students on our campuses will be the leaders of tomorrow. We strive to provide them with opportunities to develop intellectual, emotional and social skills that will enable them to become global citizens and lifelong learners.

•  A university that is known for international competitiveness and local relevance through continuous innovation. As a university that aspires to be the premier university in the country – South Africa’s flagship university - the University of Pretoria must necessarily be a national university that addresses national needs, and one that can compete with the world’s best. We can never rest on our laurels, hence the need for continuous improvement and innovation.

• A university with an inclusive and enabling, value-driven organisational culture, that provides an intellectual home for the rich diversity of South African academic talent. The organisational culture of the University encapsulates the unwritten rules of “how we do things around here”, and what is acceptable and what is not. It must be embedded in a value framework. In addition to the obvious academic values that we hold dear, values such honesty, integrity, fairness, human dignity, respect for person, property and privacy, tolerance, diversity and non-alienation are becoming very prevalent on the campus and in the residences. The University can never prescribe to any individual what his or her personal values must be, but the University will make it very clear what the institutional values are that prevail on the campus. The organisational culture must be an inclusive one, where everybody must be made to feel welcome. In fact, our success with regard to the establishment of an organisational culture will be measured by the degree in which we succeed in this regard. We should strive towards actions that unite rather than divide. In the past, the University of Pretoria was a predominantly white, Afrikaans university, and had a particular organisational culture. Today we pride ourselves on being a truly South African university, accessible to all South Africans, with an emerging organisational culture that is aligned with the University’s values, vision and mission. Hence, it would be a mistake to assume that black students and staff, or those who prefer their tuition in English, must merely accept and fall in with the old culture. Our new organisational culture must embrace a culture that emphasises the inclusive diversity on the campus. This new culture will necessarily embody the positive and strong elements of the University’s past, but is one that is at the same time enriched by the positive diversity of all cultures that pervade on the campus. As a national university that strives to be the country’s flagship university, the University of Pretoria must be accessible to all South Africans. As a leader, we must, however, go beyond accessibility. We must ensure that potential students know about the university, are desirous to study here and are actively recruited.

• The university of choice for students, staff, employers of graduates and those requiring research solutions.. Last year, almost one in four of all matriculants with university exemption and almost a third of matriculants with six or more distinctions applied to study at the University of Pretoria. A recent study by the HSRC showed that more scholars prefer to study at the University of Pretoria than at any other university. Even though the University must be accessible to all South Africans, we can unfortunately not accept all who want to study here, nor can the University be everything to everybody. The resource constraints simply do not allow that. But we would like people to think first of the University of Pretoria.

• The premier university in South Africa that acknowledges its prominent role in Africa, is a symbol of national aspiration and hope, reconciliation and pride, and is committed to discharging its social responsibilities. The country needs at least a couple of world-class universities in order to be competitive. The University of Pretoria is extremely well positioned to not only be one of those world-class universities, but to become the country’s flagship university. As such there is a natural expectation to be a symbol of national aspiration and hope, reconciliation and pride.

The challenges for 2005: Moving from good to great

Applying the lessons we learned in 2004, we can now choose to focus on a few areas, and without neglecting our normal tasks, know that we shall be able to achieve remarkable success in moving the University forward.

The vision, mission and strategic plan of the University are comprehensive documents that set out where we want to go, what sort of university we want to be, what our task is and how we plan to achieve our goals. The question arises, though, if there is not a single, simple, phrase or notion that captures the spirit of this triad. Paraphrasing from the title of Jim Collins’ book entitled From Good to Great, we need to move the University of Pretoria from being a very good university to being a truly great university. One in which we cannot make any compromises on quality of whatever nature, one in which there is no place for mediocrity. The notion of moving from good to great provides a backdrop, a leitmotiv and mindset for selecting three strategic areas that  will really move the University forward.

The three focus areas that have been identified for special attention to move from good to great in 2005 are:

•  The academic enterprise;
•  Transformation;
• Positioning the University through marketing and communication initiatives.

Nature of the academic enterprise

The academic enterprise is the University’s core business. We must ensure that we really deliver on our promise and strive towards academic excellence. Very often the problem is not in developing appropriate policies and regulations, but in ensuring that they are executed in the classroom, in the laboratories and the examination halls. 

Transformation

This university has made major strides with regard to transformation during the past decade, and particularly during the past five years. The University’s transformation programme is, however, a journey. Even though we have come a long way, we still have some way to go. We therefore need to make sure that we do not lose momentum, and that we stay on the right track. All universities in South Africa are deploying transformation strategies of one sort or another. These will necessarily have different foci, since all the institutions have different histories and different aspirations. At the University of Pretoria the transformation strategy has a number of different thrusts, the most important of which are:

•  Increased access for students and changing student demographics. We must strive to truly be the home for the rich diversity of South African academic talent. We must strengthen our ability to pro-actively recruit and retain potential students from all regions and backgrounds in the country.
• Employment equity for staff. The University’s employment equity plan is one that we developed ourselves. Although we have progressed significantly in some areas, there are other areas where we have not done so well. In these cases we must make the necessary interventions to ensure that we deliver on our own plan.
• Addressing national needs. The University of Pretoria addresses one of the most obvious and pressing economic needs by delivering more than 7 000 graduates annually. However, as a flagship university, we should also address the need for intellectual capital and knowledge creation through our research programmes. Our social responsibility is addressed by a high level of community engagement and relevant curricula.
• Effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness and efficiency are relevant with regard to teaching, research and services on the one hand, as well as the management and resource allocation areas on the other hand.
• Inclusive and enabling, value-driven organisational culture. The importance of an inclusive and enabling, value-driven organisational culture cannot be over-emphasised. The manner in which the University deals with social evils such as racism, sexism and crime, for example, is also closely related to the organisational culture. The University abhors racism and sexual harassment and will actively seek to eradicate it. The University is, however, not an island. It is a very large institution that is located in a large metropolitan area. If racism, sexual harassment and crime are present in the broader society, it would be unrealistic not to expect that it will somehow spill over onto the campus. However, the University’s position on these issues is clear – they cannot be tolerated on this campus. It is our goal that the values that prevail on this campus will create a positive force that will transform these social evils. The organisational culture will contribute towards making people aware of what actions are acceptable on campus and what are not. A new organisational culture can only work if everyone commits to it. Aspects such as language cannot become a barrier for any student to realise his/her academic potential and aspirations. This applies to staff members as well. The challenge in implementing the University’s transformation programme lies in making sure that everyone understands exactly what his/her personal role in this process is.

Positioning, marketing and communication initiatives

A major element of positioning the University as one that plays at the top of the pyramid in higher education, is the necessity of communicating the University’s message to all relevant national and international stakeholders; and of correctly interpreting the expectations of our important stakeholders. This includes potential students and their parents across the country and abroad, schools and educators in the secondary system, government, industry, alumni and the public. The development of a pro-active recruitment system that markets the University to all schools in the country and also supports our internationalisation initiative is essential. We must ensure, in a pro-active manner, that people do not have ill-informed biases or incorrect perceptions with regard to the University. We cannot continue to be “the best kept secret in town”.  Since the inception of the Client Service Centre we actively drive a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy across the University. We believe that clients must have a professional and positive experience of the University.

Creating leaders for the future

At the end of the day, students remain the life-blood of the University. We need to deliver to society students that are world-class people – this is the essence of the University’s Innovation Generation initiative. Students’ campus experience must have added value outside the formal classroom environment. A quality student life is therefore as important as our academic endeavours.

At the beginning of the academic year it also appropriate to state that the University takes great care in welcoming new first-year students to the campus, and that its orientation programme in this regard is designed to this end. However, initiation, and any other degrading practice, of first-year students or any other students for that matter, including students that live in the residences, is prohibited at this University. The University is very serious about this matter, and have taken all possible steps to ensure that it does not occur. The residences have all embraced a value framework that does not support such malpractices. Unfortunately, it happens from time to time that a few senior students transgress in this regard. In the unlikely and unfortunate event that this may occur, please bring any such practices to our attention immediately so that they can be dealt with and the situation rectified.

A dedicated staff corps

There are many challenges and opportunities for the University of Pretoria and we have every reason to be optimistic about the future, particularly as 2005 unfolds. It is our responsibility to grasp them. We are keenly aware that the strength of this university lies in its professional, loyal and dedicated staff corps. The budgetary challenges of 2004 and the subsequent budget allocations for 2005 have put a tremendous strain on the staff of the University. I would like to take this opportunity of sincerely thanking the staff for what you have done for the University, particularly in 2004, and also in anticipation of your contributions in the coming year. They are acknowledged with gratitude and great appreciation. At the end of this year we shall leave the University a better place than we found it, and know that we have contributed towards building a great institution that we, those who will come after us and the country can be proud of – we are building a symbol of national reconciliation and pride, aspiration and hope.

Prof CWI Pistorius

Vice-Chancellor and Principal