Prof Rolf Stumpf

Rolf Stumpf started his academic studies and career at the University of Pretoria and holds a Ph.D. in Statistics (Analysis of Qualitative Data) from UNISA.  After occupying various positions in academia, the research environment, and in the higher education policy environment where he served as Deputy Director General of the Department of National Education, he was appointed as President of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 1993 and in 1998 as Vice-Rector (Operations) at Stellenbosch University and in 2000 as Vice-Rector (Teaching).  In 2002 he was appointed as Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of Port Elizabeth and in 2005 as Vice Chancellor and Rector of the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth that arose from the merger of the University of Port Elizabeth, the Port Elizabeth Technikon, and the Port Elizabeth Campus of Vista University.

He has served as a member of the Council on Higher Education, Chair of the Higher Education Quality Committee, Council member of Unisa,  a trustee of the Centre for Higher Education Transformation and is currently a Research Fellow of Universities SA and an independent higher education consultant.

Rolf Stumpf has served (is serving) on a number of professional bodies amongst which:

• Commissioner in the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE): 1995-1996
• Member of the Council on Higher Education: 1998- 2002 and 2009-2011
• Chairperson of the Higher Education Quality Committee: 2009-2011
• Trustee of the Centre for Higher Education Transformation: 1998 -2012
• Member of Council of Unisa: 2007- 2015
• Member of Executive Committee of Higher Education SA (HESA): 2005-2007
• Board Member of Laurea University for Applied Sciences in Finland
• Research Fellow of Universities South Africa: 2014-
• Chair of DST’s NIPMO Full Research Cost Committee: 2014-
• Member of DHET Task Team on developing governance indicators 2016-
• Member of DHET Panel on allocations to HDIs from HDI Development Grant:2016-

He is the author of a number of scientific articles in the field of statistics and co-author of a book on Graphical Exploratory Data Analysis.  He also authored and co-authored a large number of policy reports in the field of higher education and in vocational education.  He is currently involved in a number of varied consultancies in the field of higher education and general education policy and vocational education for a number of universities, DHET/World Bank partnership, Centre for Higher Education Transformation, the Department of Science and Technology, the National Council on Higher Education in Namibia and Lesotho’s Council on Higher Education. In particular he has been involved in a wide array of consultancies in the field of tertiary education for the Namibia University of Science and Technology and for the Botswana Tertiary Education Council and its successor the Human Resources Development Council during the period 2010-2016.