NWU’s Vice-Chancellor leads locally and internationally

Dr Theuns Eloff, Vice-Chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), was elected unopposed as chairperson of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) in July 2009, after having served as Vice-Chairperson of that body for the past two years.

After his election as chairperson at the annual meeting of the ACU in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Dr Eloff is now heading tertiary education in the commonwealth countries, as well as in South Africa, as he is also the current Chairperson of Higher Education South Africa (HESA). Dr Eloff will take over as chairperson of the ACU from Prof Brenda Gourley, Vice-Chancellor of the Open University in the United Kingdom and a past Vice-Chancellor of the former University of Natal. He will hold this position until July 2011.

Dr Eloff’s term as Chairperson of HESA will expire on 31 December 2009. Dr Eloff said he felt grateful for and honoured with his appointment as Chairperson of the ACU and believes that his appointment holds several strategic advantages for the NWU.

“There are about five hundred member institutions in the ACU and this affords me the opportunity to build and maintain precious networks and to promote the NWU. It also enables me to forge valuable new ties,” he said.

He further added that the NWU compares very well with the other member institutions, but our mission to be a balanced teaching-learning and research university sets us aside, as many other universities focus on either the one or the other element.

The Vice-Chancellor’s election to this new position, not only maintains our position in the national and international public eye, but also creates major opportunities to continue the process of strategically positioning the NWU.