Cape Peninsula University Of Technology Vice Chancellor
Cape Peninsula University Of Technology Vice Chancellor, The Chairperson of the CPUT Council, Ms Nogolide Nojozi, has announced the appointment of Dr Chris Nhlapo as the new Vice-Chancellor of CPUT.
On conclusion of the above processes, the Search and Selection Committee for Senior Appointments thoroughly debated the appointability of the candidates as well as the merits of the appointment. Ultimately, the committee recommended the appointment of Dr Nhlapo on a 5-year fixed term contract.
The CPUT Council is confident that the Process for the Appointment of Senior Management was conducted in a fair and transparent manner, having due regard to the relevant and applicable prescripts, hence the recommendation was unanimously endorsed at Senate and also unanimously accepted by Council.
“Council unanimously supported Dr Nhlapo’s appointment and looks forward to working with him to implement the CPUT Vision 2030. I also call on all university stakeholders to give Nhlapo the necessary support during his tenure as Vice Chancellor,” said Nojozi.
Dr Nhlapo has been serving as acting Vice-Chancellor since August 2017.
“As Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Nhlapo did an excellent job stabilising campuses and ensuring the continuation of the academic programme under very trying conditions in 2017,” said Nojozi.
He previously held the position of the first ever Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships at CPUT. During that tenure he authored the Research, Technology and Innovation Blueprint for the institution that underpins the university’s Vision 2020. This blueprint is based on 7 focus areas based on the university’s strengths which are bio-economy and biotechnology, space science and technology, energy, climate change and environment, human and social dynamics (including issues related to service delivery), economic growth and international competitiveness and design for sustainability.
Dr Nhlapo has occupied a number of senior positions at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Science Councils. He was the Head of Chemistry at the Universities of the North and the Free State before joining the National Research Foundation (NRF). One of his many highlights whilst employed by the NRF was the development of various strategic documents and guidelines on strengthening the HEIs Management and Leadership Capabilities in establishing research collaborations support and sustaining existing research collaborations.
“I am thrilled and humbled to be appointed as the third Vice-Chancellor of CPUT. The task I face is complex. During my acting period, I started with the conceptual underpinning of Vision 2030 for the institution. I am looking forward to completing this plan and rolling it out to enable the institution to respond to the challenges such as the 4th Industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, sustainable development and South Africa’s National Development Plan,” said Dr Nhlapo.
Dr Chris Nhlapo graduated with a BSc degree majoring in Chemistry and Mathematics. He is a qualified Physical Science teacher and has completed both Honours and Master degrees in Chemistry. His MSc thesis was entitled: Thermo-Analytical Investigation of Cross-linking of Saturated and Unsaturated Long-Chain Hydrocarbons. His PhD which was completed at then Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (CHE) was in catalysis, with the dissertation entitled: Catalytic System for Stereospecific Polymerization of Alkynes.
He has undertaken numerous post-doctoral training sessions including Emulsion Polymerization technique and Research Management and Technology Transfer. He has trained, supervised and lectured a number of students at Universities of the Free State, Potchefstroom for CHE and University of the North. He occupied a number of senior positions at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and science councils. He is a fellow of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and worked within Commission IV.1 the Macromolecular Division (MMD). While in this commission he contributed immensely in IUPAC Projects and in the Journal Pure and Applied Chemistry (JPAC). He was the Head of Chemistry at the University of the North and the Free State before joining the National Research Foundation (NRF) in management capacity.
At the NRF he contributed in building research capacity particularly at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by identifying strategic partnerships both locally and internationally, in order to design appropriate interventions to address research capacity challenges faced by them. One of his highlights whilst employed at National Research National as a Research Manager was the development of various strategy documents and guidelines on how to strengthen the HEIs management and leadership capabilities in establishing research collaborations support and sustain the existing research collaborations. Some of the above-mentioned documents have become the ‘blue prints’ for research capacity and development at HEIs. He has been actively participating in international and national discourse with regard to the current national economic competitiveness of South Africa versus the developmental state its Science, Technology and Innovation in comparison with other OECD countries. His current substantive position is that of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He has been recently nominated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Research Forum to serve on the Research and Innovation Strategy Group of USAf. He is the outgoing Chair of the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC).
He is currently serving as Vice – Chancellor of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.