University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is a major tertiary education institution in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the oldest tertiary education institution in Cape Town.

The main campus of UCT is on Rhodes Estate, on the slopes of Devil's Peak, above the Southern Suburb of Rondebosch, and below the Rhodes Memorial. The medical campus is nearby, at Groote Schuur Hospital.

Table of contents

1 Size 2 Management 3 Notable Alumni 4 Notable staff 5 History 6 External links

Size

In 2003, 19 978 students were enrolled, of which 51% where white, and 50% were male. 3013 of these were not from South Africa, coming from 92 different countries. 3903 degrees and diplomas were awarded to students in December 2003.

There were 4 300 staff in 2003, 44% academic and 56% administrative and support.

The faculties of UCT are:

• Commerce
• Engineering & the Built Environment
• Health Sciences
• Humanities
• Law
• Science

Also associated are:

• Centre for Higher Education Development
• Graduate School of Business
• Graduate School in Humanities

Management

The chancelor is Ms Graca Machel. Her position is titular head of the university.
The vice-chancellor is noted African author and poet, Professor NS Ndebele
The Registrar is Mr Hugh Amoore

Notable Alumni

• Nobel Laureates:
  • Sir Aaron Klug (Chemistry, 1982)
  • Professor Alan MacLeod Cormack (Physics, 1979)
  • J. M. Coetzee (Literature, 2003)
• Richard E. Grant, now an actor, is a graduate of the UCT Drama school.
• Mark Shuttleworth studied in the department of Computer Science, now an entrepreneur and the 1st African in space, as well as the 2nd space tourist.

Notable staff

• Cosmologist George Ellis, collaborator of Stephen Hawking and winner of the 2004 Templeton Prize, is Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
• Author Andre Brink is a professor in the English Language and Literature Department.

History

The roots of UCT lie in the establishment of the South African College, a boys' school. in 1829. Between 1880 to 1900 the tertiary education part split off into the University.

UCT moved to the Rhodes estate campus in 1928. During the apartheid era, roughly 1960-1990, UCT consistently opposed apartheid, and was a bastion of liberalism and racial integration. 1987 particularly saw frequent clashes between protesting students and police. The official student newspaper, VARSITY, frequently had its journalists and editors come under scrutiny from the ruling apartheid Nationalist Party government.

External links

• UCT website