On 18 February, Wits University announced that their vice-chancellor (VC), Habib, would be resigning at the end of the year. The resignation comes after Habib accepted an offer to occupy the role of director at the London-based School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). With the appointment taking effect from 1 January 2021, Habib will continue as the vice-chancellor of Wits until the end of this year.
Professor Habib, who is also a researcher, activist, administrator, and renowned political commentator and columnist, released a video where he spoke of what lead to the decision to end his time at Wits. “I was approached to apply for the SOAS position at the end of last year. I threw my hat into the ring and was surprised when they offered me the post. After much deliberation with my family and considerable engagement with the Wits Council and the executives, I have agreed to accept the offer.”
He added that his the decision to leave Wits wasn’t an easy one but vowed to wave the university’s and country’s flag high on his new adventure.
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Habib reflected on some of Wits’ most recent achievements, “In 2019 we graduated over 9 500 students, the most in the University’s history. In line with the Wits’ aim of becoming an increasingly postgraduate university, we enrolled 15 000 postgraduate students last year. Our research outputs have increased from 1 200 units in 2013 to just under 2 000 in 2020, without compromising on quality, about 90 per cent of our papers are published in peer-reviewed international journals. These are phenomenal achievements for any university, and I will leave Wits in a strong position.”
Professor Habib has committed to continue to serve Wits until all the necessary succession plans and processes are put in place. The chancellor, Dr Judy Dlamini, members of the University’s Council and members of the Senior Executive Team are already working together to ensure that all the processes to appoint a suitable successor are in place.
