By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@MoshabelaMosa.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is expected to formally announce the appointment of its vice-chancellor (VC) after it emerged that Professor Matlagolo Mosa Moshabela has been selected to take over the helm.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said the recruitment process for the appointment of the UCT vice-chancellor was ongoing.
“Noting that confidentiality is essential in all recruitment and selection processes, UCT will provide further updates in due course, once all processes have been concluded,” Moholola said.
The candidates running for the position along with Moshabela were Professor Nellie Nosisi Feza, deputy vice-chancellor (DVC) for research and postgraduate studies at the University of Venda, and Professor José Frantz, DVC for research and innovation at UWC.
Moshabela is the deputy vice-chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN).
The clarification comes amid reports that UCT had appointed Moshabela, which was not officially confirmed, and that he appears to be the frontrunner and the preferred candidate put forward by the influential UCT senate.
The position became vacant after the departure of Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, who received a golden handshake worth R12 million following a long battle over governance issues.
Professor Daya Reddy was appointed the interim vice-chancellor for the past 14 months.
Moshabela holds a substantive position of full professor in Public Health at UKZN and from 2021 to date has been the faculty member at the HIV, Infectious Disease and Global Health Implementation Research Institute (HIGHIRI) at Washington University in the US.
The esteemed academic, clinician scientist is also a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).
He is the board chairperson of the National Research Foundation and a recipient of the 2020–2021 Ministerial Special Covid-19 Award for Covid-19 science communication and public engagement.