Professor Chris Brink has been rector at the University of Stellenbosch since 2002. Stellenbosch has been in the thick of a heated debate on transformation that saw a student protest, led by the African National Congress Youth League and South African Students Congress (Sasco), gripping the town on July 28.
According to one report, 800 people marched on the university on July 28.
I think 800 is an exaggeration. Definitely there were a number of schoolchildren. Some people find that worrying. I’m not worried about non-students participating in a march.
Remember, the ANCYL and Sasco have a national agenda. The march concerned mostly national issues, although some were local. It manifested itself at Pretoria. If it manifests in Stellenbosch, it is part of an ongoing national issue. It’s not a problem you can solve immediately.
More than 10 000 students did not protest. How are you getting the full story of how people feel about transformation?
There’s an easy answer to that one. People tell you. Part of making my e-mail address public, of being accountable, is that people tell you. I get e-mails every day from students and staff. Once a month, management meets with the SRC [student representative council]. I have regular one-on-one talks with the SRC chairperson. Every Friday I visit one of our departments. My success rate is 100%, I have to tell you. Every Wednesday, we have a discussion about transformation.
How does diversity fit in at Stellenbosch?
Transformation includes diversity, but is not confined to it. However, the university needs more diversity, and I still think because we are a university, the kind of diversity we need is a diversity of ideas.
How will the university proceed with transformation?
Foremost in people’s minds is that transformation is some kind of numbers game. That is an important aspect, but not the end of it.
This is my seventh university. There’s something about the nature of a university that makes change challenging. In a collegiate environment, it is much easier to ensure that nothing is done, than [that something is]. Anything you want to do has to be discussed with everybody. You have to acknowledge the nature of the beast. Whichever structure or environment you try to change, they will have a say in the process. There is a feedback loop. Because of this nature, change must be in the mind.
What progress has been made?
We have seen several markers of change. One is that slowly the nature of the debate is beginning to change. There used to be people for whom ”transformation” itself was a pejorative. Since then there has been a meaning change. These days, you will find very few people who stand up and say: ”I’m against transformation.” You will find people who say: ”I’m for transformation, but … ”
Five years ago, our graduation ceremonies were entirely in Afrikaans. Without fuss or bother, we have become aware that it’s incumbent upon you as a host, to take your clientele into account. We now accommodate the English speakers as well.
Overall, we are succesful in becoming less rule-driven and more value-driven. We are moving towards a good corporate spirit.
How does being a still mainly Afrikaans university complicate transformation, if at all?
Stellenbosch is shaping up as a very interesting case study of a question that is becoming more and more important nationally. We have a country with 11 languages, one of which is strong and international, 10 of which are small. We must ask: ”How do you create a space for one of the smaller languages?”
The jury is going to be out for many years. It’s not a problem you solve tomorrow. It would be to our great national loss if in 20 years it turns out we have only one language left.
You have in the past stressed that diversity and excellence are necessary partners. Has this partnership delivered results for the university?
The student demographic is showing an upward curve of black students. It’s not spectacular, but it’s steady. Staff transformation is happening much more slowly. But that’s because they have a longer shelf life. Our staff turnover is lower than 5%.
In a 2002 study we did of staff perceptions of the university, one of the questions was: ”What would make you go away?”. The answer was ”Nothing. This is paradise.” So people come to paradise, and they never want to go away.
Besides student groups, does the university face pressure from the government to accelerate or rethink transformation?
I can report that I experienced much more government intervention in Australia [at the University of Wollongong] than I have here. There we had to contend with yearly government delegations. But if the government is one of the stakeholders, it is entitled to engage and ask questions. The same goes for students.