University of Fort Hare viceÂchancellor Professor Derrick Swartz has announced that he will step down from his position at the end of this year. The university council accepted his resignation a few days ago.
Swartz (46) was appointed acting vice-chancellor in 1999 and has turned the university around from the brink of financial ruin to one that has been making a surplus in the past four years.
Prior to his appointment, Swartz was head of the Fort Hare unit for governance on the Bhisho campus, which he set up. He was asked to play a caretaker viceÂchancellor role when the university found itself slipping deeper into financial dire straits as the months passed. It was battling to stave off a R90-million student debt. Swartz says the few months he expected to spend in the position turned out to be nine years.
Under his vice-chancellorship, Fort Hare has managed to recover much of its student debt, and it was thrown a lifeline when the government allocated recapitalisation funds to some universities, helping to restore their balance sheets. Since then, Swartz has sailed a financially stable ship. Furthermore, student numbers have grown from 2 900 in 1999 to more than 8 800, meaning an increase in government subsidies and, therefore, more income for the university.
Swartz says: “About three years ago I had informed the university council that by 2007 I would not be renewing my contract. I have achieved the most important aspects of the university’s mission and stabilised the university’s financial position and have been involved in major restructuring, including the merger of the East London Campus of Rhodes University.”
Swartz adds that he has established a good system of governance. “From a personal point of view, it is not good to stay on in one position. We need someone with fresh ideas to come in.”
His overriding reason for leaving is a personal one — he wants space to be reflective and is writing a book on his experiences in the higher education system.
Swartz says his nine years as vice-chancellor were worth it: “From an institutional point of view it was a journey. In 1999 very few people thought the university could be turned around.
“From a personal point of view, I never set out to be a high-level administrator. I wanted to write about the sector, rather than change it,” he laughs.