Johannesburg - The outgoing vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Professor Tshilidzi Marwala has announced his departure from the university.
"Today is my last day as a vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg. May the university continue to rise in its pursuit for a just, peaceful and sustainable global community," he said on his social media page.
Marwala was appointed as United Nations under-secretary-general and rector of the United Nations University in Japan last year. His term as a rector of the United Nations University will commence on March 1.
"I was fortunate to have an institution with a strong contingent that could seamlessly roll out my vision," he said.
During his time as a vice-chancellor, Marwala expressed his pride in the milestones the university has achieved.
Some of the milestones included UJ being recognised and ranked as one of the best universities in Africa.
"The QS World University Rankings indicate that the University of Johannesburg is now ranked second nationally and on the continent. In the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, UJ is now ranked first in South Africa and second in Africa," he said.
He said they had emerged as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) university and had a slew of rankings and research metrics that confirm their stature.
As part of his proud moments, Marwala said they built a financial war chest alongside key stakeholders to assist missing middle students and on the student meal assistance programme.
"For instance, UJ annually spends over R10 million on the student meal assistance programme. This assists approximately 4 600 students monthly. We have also raised close to R2 billion since 2016 to assist missing middle students," he said.
In addition, since 2009, UJ has made R20 million available yearly to assist financially needy students with their registration fees.
He added that they have launched a Double Our Future Impact Campaign, with the aim to help as many as 10 000 students in 2023 and so far, R3 million has been raised.
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them," he quoted William Shakespeare and said UJ was an example of the confluence of all three.
"My successors now inherit an institution that has broken boundaries and charted a unique path in its relatively short history," he said.
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