The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University has announced that Vice-Chancellor Professor Derrick Swartz has indicated that he will not be seeking renewal of his contract at the end of 2017.
The university says Swartz wishes to pursue other professional and academic interests. The university's council was made aware of his decision at the start of his second term of office, in January 2013, already.
NMMU says that in the coming months, it will embark on an extensive recruitment and selection drive to look for a suitable Vice-Chancellor (VC) and Principal for appointment with effect from January 2018.
Professor Swartz served as VC for two successive and successful terms from January 2007.
NMMU heaped praise on Swartz in a statement issued on Thursday afternoon. "Under his leadership, NMMU launched over fifteen (15) cutting-edge centres and institutes aimed at discovery, application and innovation in the natural and human sciences. In the humanities, these include CANRAD (Centre for Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy), Centre for Community Schools (CCS), Centre for Post-School Education and Training (CIPSET), FishFORCE Academy, Refugee Rights Centre, Family Business Unit, Govan Mbeki Maths Unit, and the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI)," it said.
"In the natural sciences, these include inter alia, the new Institute for Coastal and Marine Sciences (CMR), Centre for High Resolution Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, AEON (Africa Earth Observation Network), Centre for Broadband Communication, Institute for Chemical Technology (Innoventon) CoalAlgae, and the Centre for Rubber Science and Technology," the university said.
