Over the last ten years, Stellenbosch University has had to deal with different challenges. The man steering the university over this period, Prof Wim de Villiers, retired earlier this year. He sat down with SMF News’ Hlomla Mdala to reflect on the challenges, but also the highlights, of the last decade.
Prof Willem Johann Simon “Wim” de Villiers insists on sitting at the glass table in order “to increase transparency”. He chuckles about this. It is March 2025, his last week as rector and vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU), and De Villiers has opened his office to members of the media. It’s an opportunity to reflect on his career, and look to the future.
Prof. Wim is sitting in his office as he is preparing for his retirement as rector and vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU). He reflects on his role at SU and the legacy he leaves behind. PHOTO: Hlomla Mdala
De Villiers has a long history with Stellenbosch. He was born in Stellenbosch, and studied for his undergraduate degree at SU.
“I was born and bred here in Stellenbosch. I grew up very close to the botanical garden on Marais Street,” he says. “And I went to school at Paul Roos Gymnasium, matriculated there, and then I did medicine. MBChB at Stellenbosch University starting in 1978 until 1983.”
He went on to practice medicine at several medical institutions. De Villiers also completed a PhD in immunology at Oxford University.
He recalls being recruited to Kentucky in the United States of America for an 18-month program.
“I thought I’d go for a quick 18-month American experience. And I stayed for 18 years,” says De Villiers.
De Villiers concedes that he had always been interested in management and managing systems. In 2013 he was appointed as dean of health at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“I always wanted to come back to South Africa (SA). I never left SA with a view to leave permanently,” he says. “It’s the country of my birth. It’s the country I love. It’s the country where I want to contribute.”
The Admin B building at Stellenbosch University (SU) is the home to the vice-chancellor’s office. This is where the rector and his team shape SU’s future of education and research. PHOTO: Hlomla Mdala
To manage by walking
It is at this point in the interview that De Villiers insists that we check if the recording device is still recording. He begins with his reflection on his 10-year tenure at SU.
De Villiers says that his medical past came as an advantage for his leadership skills. He thought of the “university as a patient”. This was one of the things that shaped his management style at the university, he says.
“I manage by walking about, like to walk by colleagues’ offices in the morning when I come in and I chat with them and check ‘what’s going on’. The same, throughout the day. I’ll walk about to see what’s going on the ground,” he says. “It’s my ward round. You know, it’s like a hospital ward round.”
Several things were at the centre of his agenda as vice-chancellor of SU.
“Central to this academic project is excellence and diversity and innovation.”
De Villiers also believes that one of his many duties was to internationalise SU.
“I’m very keen on expanding our international partnerships as much as possible. And that’s been very successful, because it’s resulted in us working with more than 320 university- partners overseas. And we’ve got joint PhDs with a huge number of universities.”
He believes that this has put SU on the global stage.
“It’s a world-class university, research-intensive university, and we can compete with anybody,” says De Villiers.
He mentions that the university is now much more diverse than when he was studying at the institution in the early 1980’s.
“Transformation means change. Universities absolutely need to change with the times. If they don’t change, they’ll die,” he says.
De Villiers moves on to the controversies around the language policy at SU – something which he faced a lot of criticism over.
“I was mercilessly attacked for the language policy issue, for the Afrikaans issue. I think we were right in what we did, in terms of that… This is not an Afrikaans university,” says De Villiers. “It’s a multilingual university, but everybody has to understand the lingua franca and be able to be taught in English if they can. They can choose. I think our inclusive multilingual policy is very successful.”
He remains proud over the SU’s current language policy.
Prof. Wim is standing in front of all the cartoons of himself that have been drawn by the “Afrikaans media”, according to De Villiers, in newspapers since he took office. PHOTO: Hlomla Mdala
Another focus, according to De Villiers, is funding. He does not believe that universities should solely rely on government funding.
“I’ve really spent a lot of time – together with colleagues in development and alumni relations – fundraising, and philanthropy. [We’ve] been very successful in that regard, raising more than R3 billion over 10 years.”
Last year alone, the university raised R400 million, he says. About 40% of these funds would go towards bursaries for students on both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and another 35% would go towards establishing research projects.
Navigating challenges: A 10-year reflection
Of course, the university had its fair share of challenges. De Villiers says each year had its theme when it came to challenges. “There was something every year.”
SU had to navigate student protests, including Rhodes Must Fall in 2015 and Fees Must Fall in 2016, which also sparked debates around the language policy. In 2017, loadshedding disrupted operations, while 2018 brought the severe Western Cape drought, he says.
The university also responded to growing concerns about gender-based violence in 2019 and adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Further challenges arose in 2022 with an incident of alleged racism. This incident, along with the 2024 controversies surrounding the Wilgenhof residence on campus, tested the university’s commitment to inclusivity and transformation, he says.
On retirement
“I made a contribution to this fantastic university. I would like to be remembered as: ‘He was not perfect, but he gave it his all”.”
However, he is ready to retire.
“I’m very pleased to do so – to hand it over to Professor Deresh Ramjugernath, who I think is a very seasoned academic and university administrator. And he will continue the excellent trajectory that Stellenbosch is on,” says De Villiers.
Prof. Daresh Ramjugernath, the new rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Hlomla Mdala
De Villiers will continue to contribute to the academic field if the opportunity presents itself. But for now, he will rest at home and start “writing my memoirs. I think that it will be interesting, at least to myself and hopefully my family.”
