Dear UP Staff and Students

The University is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Theuns Steyn as the Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, effective from 1 August 2022 until 31 January 2026.

Professor Steyn is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a PhD in taxation. He is registered as a professional member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and as a tax academic with the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners (SAIT). He is also registered as a tax practitioner with the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

Professor Steyn has a total combined experience of more than 33 years in academia and industry. He joined the University of Pretoria in 2004 as a leader for the taxation master’s programme and has since held various leadership roles, including acting as Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) since June 2021. Before that, he served as Head of the Taxation Department for nearly seven years. Before joining the University of Pretoria, Professor Steyn held various senior management positions in practice, including Senior Audit Manager at EY, Tax Manager at Telkom SA, Financial Director at Ampath Pathology, Managing Partner at V&S Chartered Accountants (SA), and Financial Director at Multinet Group of Insurance Brokers.

His research focus is the fairness of the tax burden, specifically from the perspective of the individual as a taxpayer. In 2015, he received the Australasian Tax Teachers Association (ATTA) CCH Doctoral Series Award for his PhD thesis, becoming the first scholar from outside Australasia to win this prestigious award. In 2012, Professor Steyn achieved first position in the South African Norton Rose Tax Thesis competition. He also received an academic excellence award from the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners (SAIT) in 2013 in recognition of the contribution his research made to the taxation discipline in South Africa. Professor Steyn has contributed significantly to the development and growth of postgraduate offerings in taxation at the University of Pretoria. Under his guidance as HOD, research and postgraduate activities in the Department of Taxation grew exponentially, and in 2019 and 2021, the department won the EMS Faculty award for the most improved research outputs by a department in an academic year.

I congratulate Professor Steyn on his appointment and wish him well in his career as Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and as a member of the University’s management team.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Johan Oberholster, who was the previous Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning. His significant contributions to the University of Pretoria are acknowledged with gratitude.

Kind regards,

Professor Tawana Kupe

Vice-Chancellor and Principa