Incoming Wits Vice-Chancellor Zeblon Vilakazi (@Wits_News)
- Professor Zeblon Vilakazi will take over as the new Wits Vice-Chancellor from Professor Adam Habib, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
- Vilakazi is the current Vice-Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies at Wits.
- Vilakazi also chairs South Africa’s National Quantum Computing Working Committee.
Professor Zeblon Vilakazi has been appointed as the 15th Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, the institution’s council announced on Thursday.
Vilakazi replaces Professor Adam Habib, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
Habib is expected to join the School of Oriental and African Studies in London from January 2021.
Professor Vilakazi is the current Vice-Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies at Wits.
“It is an honour for me to have been appointed to this prestigious position,” Vilakazi said.
“I am committed to working with my esteemed colleagues, fellow academics and smart, savvy students to create new knowledge, and to develop the high-level skills required to move South Africa, and our economy forward.
READ: Adam Habib announces resignation as Wits’ vice-chancellor
“We also need to continue to develop the originators, innovators and critical thinkers who can help us solve the problems of the 21st Century.”
Chairperson of the Wits Council, Isaac Shongwe, described Vilakazi as a talented individual.
He said Vilakazi is the “epitome of a world-class researcher who is globally recognised for his scientific work, and for his contribution towards developing higher education in Africa. He is a truly talented individual who is an inspiring exemplar for all Africans.
“We are confident that Professor Vilakazi will ably lead Wits to its centenary in 2022 and beyond, steward a new vision for the academy, and reinvigorate the academic project in a higher education context that is rapidly changing.”
??Today the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand announced the appointment of Professor Zeblon Vilakazi as the fifteenth Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University from 1 January 2021. He takes the reins from Professor Adam Habib. Read more: https://t.co/jKNC4i422d pic.twitter.com/NF41Qj6oMx
— Wits University (@WitsUniversity) June 25, 2020
Vilakazi also chairs South Africa’s National Quantum Computing Working Committee, which seeks to develop a framework for quantum computing and quantum technology-driven research and innovation in South Africa.
He is also instrumental in ensuring that Wits and other African universities have access to quantum computing networks.
According to the university, Vilakazi is globally recognised for his expert knowledge in physics and nuclear research.
“He was instrumental in establishing South Africa’s first experimental high-energy physics research group at CERN, focusing on the development of the High-level Trigger for the CERN-ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).
“Vilakazi also served as a visiting scientist at the Atomic Energy Commission and Alternative Energy in Saclay, France,” it said in a statement.
– Compiled by Jeanette Chabalala
