During a cocktail reception held on 14 March 2018 to mark the retirement of Prof Johan Buitendag as the Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Prof Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, congratulated Prof Buitendag on his achievements and thanked him for his dedication, commitment and hard work. 

Prof Buitendag was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Theology in 2010. Prof De la Rey noted that, over the eight years of his tenure, she developed a sense of respect for his quiet and firm style of leadership.

'Without fail you were a strong advocate and champion for your Faculty and I believe that the staff of the Faculty of Theology and Religion have much to thank you for. You were always well-prepared for meetings and if anyone made thoughtless or disdainful remarks about Theology, you challenged them in your customary polite but firm manner.'

She said that Prof Buitendag had to contend various challenges: personal, ecclesial, academic and institutional. Still, his contributions as dean have been substantial. 'You guided the Faculty to a more inclusive character. You have been a person committed to detail, who always had your finger on the pulse. Your continued academic activity during your deanship was inspirational and set an example,' she said.

In response, Prof Buitendag said that for the past eight years, his life was his deanship and his deanship was his life. He regarded the Faculty’s centenary celebrations in 2017 as the highlight of his deanship. 'I invested all my energy in ensuring the success of this occasion since I firmly believe in the quality of our Faculty and the excellence of the University of Pretoria, and of course, the need to celebrate this milestone!'

Of equally importance to him was the listing of our Faculty by the Quacqaurelli Simmonds World Universities Rankings (QS WUR) on 8 March 2017 as the leading Faculty of Theology or Department of Religious Studies in Africa and one of the Top 100 in the world. The Faculty ranked 14^th in the world with regard to high impact, and 28^th with regard to citations per paper.

'Even bigger was my astonishment two weeks ago on the release of the 2018 metrics. We have shifted to 4^th position in the world with regard to research impact (a position we share with Oxford University) and are in 30^th position with regard to citations per paper. This makes us no 1 in Africa,’ he said.

Asked about his plans after retirement, Prof Buitendag admits that the future is unclear, although it holds many possibilities. 'What I do know, is that I have 123 – or is it 1 234? – books to read! I have much to catch up on. My colleagues know that I regard Theology as an attempt to understand a multidimensional reality and that I am firmly engaged in the science and religion dialogue, which will be the topic of my proposed book. A publisher has already indicated serious interest in this planned endeavour.'

Prof Buitendag regards consistency and transparency as two of the most important traits of his personality and managerial style. These characteristics are, according to Bultmann, the characteristics of an authentic person. 'If I am to be thus remembered, I will be most grateful,' Prof Buitendag concluded.