The University of Cape Town (UCT) has announced that Emeritus Professor Daya Reddy has been appointed as the institution's interim Vice-Chancellor. This comes less than a month after the former Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng departed the university.
UCT revealed that the decision to appoint Reddy as interim Vice-Chancellor was made at a special council meeting last week. This followed a consolation with the Senate on 2 March 2023 and after seeking the advice of the Institutional Forum on 3 March 2023.
Reddy will assume duty as vice chancellor from Tuesday, 14 March 2023 and will serve in the position until a new Vice-Chancellor is appointed.
Chair of UCT Council Babalwa Ngonyama explained that Reddy spent the majority of his academic career at the institution. Reddy also held the South African Research Chair in Computational Mechanics at his retirement in 2020.
Ngonyama says Reddy enjoys considerable recognition around the world as an award-winning researcher for his scholarly work.
He is the author or co-author of over 200 publications and has supervised over 70 doctoral and master’s students to graduation.
Reddy also served in management positions at UCT in the past. From 1999 to 2021 he served as the director of the Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics. He was also the dean of the Faculty of Science for seven years
Over and above his duties at UCT, he also has extensive governance and leadership experience nationally and internationally.
The Vice-Chancellor is accountable to Council and the Senate for the leadership of the institution. They are also responsible for determining the university's strategic goals in consultation with relevant stakeholders and ensuring these goals are implemented.
