ANNUAL REPORT - University of Johannesburg

Following on my sabbatical, and the sharing of key messages with Council last year and the ELG this year, the ELGagreed with me that it was necessary to transition the UJ institutional culture to a much more inclusive one, withparticular reference to inclusion of the imperatives of the collegiate traditions, and that is now underway. Whilethe managerial culture has been essential to the success of the first period (2006 to 2011), it was now importantto nurture a more balanced culture (“collegiality with a purpose”). The ELG, and later Senate, also supported anumber of other recommendations relating to: (1) funding strategic academic priority projects; (2) the revisionof the academic promotions pathway, as noted earlier, to affirm the significance and importance of the “scholarteacher”including the possibility of promotion to full professor; (3) that there is great value in choosing andinvesting in the right international academic partnerships and academic networks at institutional and individualscholar levels; (4) that the institution should make significant appointments, at scale, at the levels of visitingprofessors, scholars, fellows and collaborators.I also make use of all forums, especially VC campus visits and Senate meetings, to motivate this revised institutionalleadership culture. In this regard, campus visits are evolving to include walkabouts and conversations withstaff of various departments and divisions (Coffee/Tea with the VC) and a weekly VC call to congratulate staffmembers on their birthdays.I continue to actively and strategically steward the institution, and constantly articulate and motivate UJ’s Vision,Mission and goals in various forums resulting in UJ now being a vision-, mission- and goals-driven institution,while remaining firmly committed to its core academic mission. On staff motivation, the strategic focuscontinues to be to affirm and motivate staff, and to publicly acknowledge their achievements and contributionsto the institution’s success in forums such as long service staff awards, campus visits, Senate, and through awardsfunctions such as the Vice-Chancellor Awards.UJ’s Vision, Mission and Values statement has now been completed, as has the parallel work on the UJ StudentQualities Charter. We now expect to conclude the work on the UJ Staff Values and Ethics Charter during 2013.Taking into consideration the specificity of the University, and the value (and critique) to be derived fromperformance management, I continue to nurture at UJ a vibrant and active culture of performance development,support and management at Executive Leadership Group level, as well as at the next layer of managers: vicedeansand heads of academic schools and departments, and heads of professional support departments,who are equally responsible for nurturing a university-appropriate version of this culture within our academiccommunities and at the coal face. This programme has now in 2012 been expanded fully to all members of staff.The Executive Leadership Group is an active contributor to the making of UJ – it is also the forum for annualreporting and planning, the former to the University community, and the latter undertaken in committee. Thenext level of management has also been engaged: the Senior Leadership Group of 150 members that comprisesthe Executive Leadership Group and all heads of academic and support divisions. This forum provides animportant opportunity to communicate with and to listen to the next layer of managers and heads as we take theinstitution forward; for example, the extension of the performance management system to the entire Universitywas debated extensively in this forum until agreement was reached on its modality and implementation.I continue to hold informal yet vitally important meetings with our labour organisations and with the studentleadership which aids formal consultations and negotiations on the often difficult matters of salary andtuition fee adjustments. In the case of the former, negotiations with the National Education, Health and AlliedWorkers’ Union (NEHAWU) and Solidarity, with respect to annual salary adjustments for 2013, continue. Similarnegotiations were successfully concluded last year, for a two-year period, with the South African Parastatal andTertiary Institutions Union (SAPTU) and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). In respect of tuition feesadjustments for 2013, we were able to achieve our shared goals successfully, and Council has given its approvalin this regard.In respect of international networking, I am an active networker who positions the University and SouthAfrica. I am the only South African vice-chancellor to be a member of the Global Universities Summit (formerly28