University of Cape Town
The
University of Cape Town, abbreviated as
UCT, is a
public university located on the
Rhodes Estate on the slopes of
Devil's Peak, in
Cape Town in the
Western Cape province of
South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the
South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa. It is one of Africa's leading teaching and research institutions.
The main teaching campus, known as the Upper Campus, is located on the slopes of
Devil's Peak. This campus contains in a relatively compact site the faculties of
Science,
Engineering,
Commerce, and most of the faculty of
Humanities, as well as the residences
Smuts Hall and
Fuller Hall. Upper Campus is centered on
Jameson Hall, the location for graduation and other ceremonial events, as well as many examinations. The original buildings and layout of Upper Campus were designed by
JM Solomon and built between 1928 and 1930. Since that time, many more buildings have been added as the university has grown.
Contiguous with Upper Campus, but separated from it by university sports fields and the
M3 freeway, are the Middle and Lower Campuses. These campuses, which are distributed through the suburbs of
Rondebosch,
Rosebank and
Mowbray, contain the
Law faculty, the
South African College of Music, most of the student residences, most of the university administrative offices, and many sporting facilities. The Upper, Middle and Lower Campuses together are often referred to as the "main campus" or the "Rondebosch Campus".
The Faculty of
Health Sciences is located on the
Medical School campus at the
Groote Schuur Hospital. The
Fine Arts and
Drama departments are located on the Hiddingh Campus in central
Cape Town. The Graduate School of Business is located on the Breakwater Campus at the
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
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Jameson Hall and Jammie Plaza, the focal point of the upper campus |
The organisation of the University is defined in the Statute of the University of Cape Town (gazetted in 2002) in accordance with the
Higher Education Act of 1997. Before 2002 the organisation was defined in other laws in essentially the same format.
The titular head of the University is the
Chancellor; this is a ceremonial position without executive power. The primary role of the Chancellor is to confer degrees on behalf of the University, and to represent the University to the rest of the world. The current Chancellor is Ms
Graça Machel, elected for a 10-year period in September 1999.
The executive head of the University is the
Vice-Chancellor (or VC). The VC has the overall responsibility for the policy and administration of the University. The current VC is Professor
Njabulo Ndebele, appointed by the University Council in July 2000.
The VC is assisted in his task by a number of
Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs). There are currently four DVCs, each with specific portfolios:
*Prof. Thandabantu Nhlapo: Student Affairs
*Prof. Cheryl de la Rey: Research & Innovation
*Prof. Martin Hall: Planning & Development
*Prof. Martin West: Institutional Management
The
Registrar is responsible for the academic administration of the University, as well as legal matters, and is secretary to the University Council and Senate. The current Registrar is Mr Hugh Amoore, appointed in 1987.
UCT is divided into six faculties, each led by a Dean. The faculties and deans are as follows:
*Faculty of
Commerce: Prof. Doug Pitt
*Faculty of
Engineering and the
Built Environment: Prof. Cyril O'Connor
*Faculty of
Health Sciences: Associate Prof. Gonda Perez
*Faculty of
Humanities: Prof. Paula Ensor
*Faculty of
Law: Prof. Hugh Corder
*Faculty of
Science: Prof. Kathy DriverThe Centre for Higher Education Development, an academic unit alongside the faculties, rates as a faculty and is led by a dean, Associate Prof. Nan Yeld.
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Tugwell and Marquard residence halls |
As of 2005, 21 713 students were enrolled, of which 6 174 (28%) were
postgraduate students. 10 751 (49.5%) were male and 10 980 (50.5%) were female. 3 795 students (18%) were described as "
Black", 2 758 (13%) were described as "
Coloured", 1 440 (7%) were described as "
Asian", and 9 185 (42%) were described as "
White". (The remainder were described as "Other" or were foreign students.)
In the December 2005 graduation ceremonies 4 354 degrees and diplomas were awarded, including 72
PhDs.
the university had 2 510 permanent members of staff.
UCT is a member of the
Association of African Universities, the
Association of Commonwealth Universities, the
Cape Higher Education Consortium,
Higher Education South Africa, and the
International Association of Universities.
The roots of UCT lie in the establishment of the
South African College, a boys' school, in 1829. In 1874 the tertiary education part split off into the University and the younger students into the
South African College Schools.
UCT moved to the Rhodes estate campus in 1928. During the
apartheid era, roughly 1960-1990, UCT consistently opposed apartheid, and was a bastion of liberalism and racial integration. 1987 particularly saw frequent clashes between protesting students and police. The official student newspaper,
Varsity, frequently had its journalists and editors come under scrutiny from the ruling apartheid
National Party government.
*
Nobel Laureates:
**Sir
Aaron Klug (
Chemistry,
1982)
**Professor
Allan McLeod Cormack (
Medicine, 1979)
**Professor Emeritus
J. M. Coetzee (
Literature,
2003)
*Professor
Christiaan Barnard, who performed the first ever
heart transplant at
Groote Schuur Hospital.
*
Jonathan M. Dorfan, director of
SLAC*
Vincent Ebrahim, known for his part on
The Kumars at No. 42, studied drama.
*
Richard E. Grant, now an
actor, is a graduate of the UCT
Drama school.
*
Roger Ebert,
Film critic, graduated with an english degree as part of a
Rotary international program.
*
Breyten Breytenbach studied fine arts at UCT.
*
Mark Shuttleworth, an entrepreneur and the 1st
African in space and 2nd
space tourist, studied a
Business Science (Finance) degree through the Commerce faculty.
*
Mamphela Ramphele, formerly the
Vice-Chancellor of UCT and now a
Managing Director of the
World Bank, received a
PhD in
Social Anthropology.
*
Neville Isdell, current CEO of
the Coca-Cola Company*
Emanuel Derman, noted
Goldman Sachs financial engineer and author of
"My Life As A Quant"
*
Salim Ahmed Salim, Tanzanian Diplomat and former Secretary General of the
OAU*Justices
Kate O'Regan and
Albie Sachs of the
Constitutional Court of South Africa*Cosmologist
George Ellis, collaborator with
Stephen Hawking and winner of the 2004
Templeton Prize, is Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
*Author
Andre Brink is a professor in the English Language and Literature Department.
*Author
Breyten Breytenbach is from January 2000 a visiting professor in the Graduate School of Humanities.
*The staff of UCT contains 17
A-rated scientists, meaning that they are world leaders in their fields of research.
*
Helen Zille, current
mayor of
Cape Town, was formerly Director of
Public Relations for the university.
*The Department of
Mathematics and
Applied Mathematics is an international centre for research in the fields of
cosmology and
topology.
*The Department of
Physics is home to the UCT-CERN research centre, which is partially responsible for the software design of the High Level Trigger component of the
ALICE experiment at the
Large Hadron Collider, as well as other activities related to ALICE.
*
Statute of the University of Cape Town, Government Notice No. 1199, 20 September 2002.
*
April 24, Police invasion of UCT campus*
UCT website**
UCT campus maps**
UCT Libraries
