Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to you in acknowledgement of the fact that these past months have been extremely difficult for the University as a whole and for so many of us within the UCT community. We, as the group of Deans, have spoken in depth about these issues amongst ourselves, and as we approach the end of a successful academic year and examination season we want to emphasize our commitment to the academic project and its centrality at UCT.

Most importantly, we want to thank every single member of the UCT community for your hard work and commitment this year. Your efforts enabled the University to successfully navigate our first year of in-person teaching, learning, and working after nearly two years of largely remote engagement, and we are deeply grateful for the remarkable effort, innovation, and patience that we have seen across every Faculty and group and at every campus and facility. Our collective efforts continue to make UCT a place of extraordinary teaching, learning, research, and discovery, and they have helped to maintain and expand the University’s well-deserved reputation for excellence and sustainable impact.

 In our discussions we noted that the media attention and uncertainty of the past few months have threatened to draw focus away from this common project. While we understand and acknowledge that many members of the UCT community have differences of opinion regarding the recent developments at the University, we believe that we have both the capacity and the responsibility to unite as a community around our shared goals and responsibilities for teaching, learning and research. In light of the appointment of an independent investigation panel, we trust that the work of the panel will be conducted promptly, with integrity, and will be fair to all.

 Finally, we want to acknowledge and appreciate the fact that, through the effort and dedication of our entire community, UCT continues its transformation journey as an institution devoted to inclusivity and excellence. We are grateful for the hard work that is going into this journey and the reflections and conversations associated with it, and we reaffirm our commitment to supporting these shared goals as we continue the journey together.

With gratitude 

Maano Ramutsindela (SCIENCE)

Kasturi Behari-Leak (CHED)

Danwood Chirwa (LAW)

Catherine Duggan (GSB)

Suki Goodman (COMMERCE)

Lionel Green-Thompson (HEALTH SCIENCES)

Shose Kessi (HUMANITIES)

Alison Lewis (EBE)