Standing side by side with the town’s sturdy old oak trees for a hundred years, the University of Stellenbosch (Stellenbosch University today) has grown into a leading research-intensive university on the African continent. Starting out with four faculties: Arts, Science, Education and Agriculture (currently Arts and Social Sciences, Science, Education and AgriSciences), 503 students and 40 lecturing staff on 2 April 1918, SU today is home to 10 faculties, a vibrant and cosmopolitan community of more than 30 000 students and 3 000 staff members, spread over five campuses.
As we commemorate our Centenary in 2018, we celebrate great achievements and ground-breaking discoveries. We salute the more than 250 000 alumni and students, educators, researchers and professional and administrative support staff, as well as our management and governance structures who have helped to mould this institution and cement its reputation as a world-class academic institution.
SU, as a public institution, performed its higher education role within the various political, socio-economic, cultural and educational realities and developments of the 20th Century, including the particular form of injustice then prevalent in South Africa. SU has since ‘acknowledged its contribution to the injustices of the past and committed itself to appropriate redress and development initiatives’, as expressed in its Strategic Framework for the turn of the Century and Beyond of 20 March 2000. We also honour the critical Matie voices of that time who would not be silenced despite revilement, and who were to become beacons on the journey towards a just society.
Against this background of achievement and valuable lessons from our complex history, the Centenary with its theme “100 years of learning, growing and moving forward together” signifies a new beginning for Stellenbosch University. We strive toward becoming a relevant university that will play a key role in the development of our nation, and our continent. We are committed to contribute to a society of dignity, healing, justice, freedom and equality for all.