NATIONAL NEWS - Nelson Mandela University's newly installed chancellor, Dr Naledi Pandor, has set out a bold and values-driven vision for the institution.
Speaking at her official installation ceremony at the university's Madibaz Indoor Sport Centre on Wednesday 8 April, Pandor reflected on the significance of the role and paid tribute to the leadership of her predecessor, Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.
She said it was a pleasure for her to return to the academic sector. She herself was an academic whose political career had centred around education. She headed several ministries in the South African government, serving as minister of education from 2004 to 2009, and minister of higher education and training from 2018 to 2019.
"All the reports on the university's performance point to a university committed to academic excellence, high-quality research performance ... and to genuine and effective collaborations with universities throughout the African continent," she said.
Positioning the university within a complex global context - including where higher education institutions are destroyed in conflict areas - she warned of growing threats to academic freedom and the autonomy of higher education institutions.
"This increasingly worrying threat to academic freedom and free expression is a development that should cause us as Nelson Mandela University to set out our perspectives ... and to assert our abiding commitment to freedom, justice and the development of new knowledge through untrammelled scientific inquiry," she said.
Pandor officially assumed office on 1 April and is presiding over the University's Gqeberha graduation ceremonies that commenced on 9 April, which will see more than 6 000 students graduate.
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