GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Office Bearers

Vice-Chancellor

The Vice-Chancellor is the chief executive and accounting officer responsible for the management and administration of the North-West University (NWU).  The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Theuns Eloff, was appointed for a second five year term by the NWU Council i.e. until  May 2014.

Dr Theuns Eloff – a brief history

Theuns Eloff was born in 1955 in Potchefstroom and obtained bachelors degrees in law (1974) and theology (1980, cum laude) at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE). He served as SRC president for three years and as president of the national body of Afrikaans students in 1979.   He was a co-drafter of the well-known Koinonia Declaration and a founder member of the non-racial political student organisation POLSTU. During his two years of compulsory national service, he completed his Master's degree in Theology (cum laude). While he was a minister of religion of a congregation at the University of Pretoria for a period of six years, he completed his Doctorate in Theology with a dissertation on "Government, Justice and Race Classification".

In the wake of difficulties resulting from his inclusion in the delegation which, in July 1987, met with representatives of the ANC in Dakar, he decided to leave the ministry in 1989 and join the Consultative Business Movement (CBM), where he was appointed as Executive Director in 1990. He helped plan and facilitate the National Peace Convention, which lead to the signing of the National Peace Accord in September 1991.  He headed the Process and Secretarial Services in Codesa and headed the Administration of the Multi-Party Negotiating Process after Codesa. 

He was co-editor to two books: "Managing Change", and "Building a Winning Nation - Companies and the RDP" and wrote several articles on the role of civil society in conflict, facilitation and mediation. Until May 1994 he was Deputy Executive Director of the Transitional Executive Council (TEC).
He received a number of awards in recognition of his role in the negotiations process:
The Junior Chamber of South Africa’s award as one of Four Outstanding Young South Africans (1994).
The Harvard Business Club Statesmen of the Year Award, in recognition of CBM’s role in the transition (1994).
The Junior Chamber International’s “Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World” award (1995).
The World Economic Forum’s honour as one of “100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow" (1996).

In February 1995, Dr Eloff was appointed as Chief Executive of the National Business Initiative (NBI). Under his leadership, the NBI made a significant contribution to the success of the new South Africa, amongst others by establishing and managing the R1bn Business Trust and Business Against Crime (BAC). He served on the Economic Advisory Council of the Northwest Province and served on the Boards of BAC and the Centre for Conflict Resolution. He also lectured at the Wits Business School to MBA students.

In January 2002, he became Vice-Chancellor of his Alma Mater.  He established a new management philosophy and played a leading role in the merger of the Potchefstroom University with the University of North West. In May 2004 he was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the new North-West University (NWU). Under his leadership, the NWU has accomplished one of the most successful, stable mergers in South Africa’s higher education sector and is on its way to establish itself among the top six universities in South Africa.

In 2005 Dr Eloff was elected as vice-chairperson of Higher Education South Africa (HESA) and in 2007 as chairperson for a term of two years. He was also elected as vice-chairperson of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) for the period 2007 to 2009.  He was elected as Chairperson for the period 2009 to 2011. In addition, he was elected president of the national Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut for 2011 and 2012.

Dr Eloff is a director of Astral Foods and the FW de Klerk Foundation,   In 2008 he received an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the London South Bank University.

In his own opinion, he describes himself as an “effective manager” rather than an academic, although he has published a number of articles and publications, especially on conflict resolution and the role of the private sector and civil society.

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