Rhodes University is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Claire Kelly, a well-respected researcher, teacher and facilitator in social justice and critical diversity, as its Director: Equity and Institutional Culture, with effect from 1 July 2023.
With an MPhil in Diversity Studies and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Cape Town (UCT), Dr Kelly brings a wealth of experience that combines diversity, inclusion, and transformation work in higher education.
Her doctoral thesis focused on post-apartheid social justice activism, and her work has always been rooted in intersectional feminist theory.
Her recent work experience is as a Transformation Programme Manager: Faculty Engagement at Stellenbosch University (SU), where she worked with faculty transformation committees, Deans, Heads of Departments (HoDs), and other environment heads to develop and implement strategic plans in their respective environments.
"Institutional culture is the water we swim in," Dr Kelly says. "For some, that water is relatively clear and healthy, for others, it's murky and harmful. It shapes what is possible for different people, what and who is valued and rewarded. Our universities are steeped in colonial cultures, resulting in values and rewards that these cultures value and reward. Most (maybe all) of the inequality, discrimination and exclusion on our university campuses can be ascribed to these cultures. Addressing them lies at the centre of creating the thriving and excellent institutions we aspire to."
Before her time at SU, she taught and lectured in critical diversity literacy, intercultural communication, and community 'development' at various institutions, including UCT, UCT's Graduate School of Business and the Cornerstone Institute. She has worked independently with various institutions to facilitate numerous transformation, diversity and inclusion workshops. She has been an external examiner for the Wits MPhil in Diversity Studies for nearly ten years. She also examines theses related to diversity and inclusion for UCT's Graduate School of Business' MBA.
Dr Kelly also brings with her an abundance of leadership, management and facilitation experience. She was HoD for Sociology and community development at the Cornerstone Institute and research manager at Intercultural and Diversity Studies at UCT. She has also managed numerous programmes and conducted workshops and seminars on critical diversity, inclusion, and social justice at SU in staff and student environments.
The nature of the Director of Equity and Institutional Culture post at Rhodes University is to coordinate and drive transformation activities collaboratively with faculties, departments and divisions to support and ensure that the University's equity, transformation and institutional culture strategies and goals are met. This includes working to promote an inclusive culture that leverages the advantages of diversity, ensuring that the University's staff and students actively demonstrate a commitment to equity and transformation.
Dr Kelly said she is both excited and curious about her new appointment. "I am excited at the prospect of doing the work of transformation in a new context with brand new challenges. I am curious to understand Rhodes University better and get to know a new community of staff and colleagues. I am also excited to live in the Eastern Cape. I have never spent much time here, so it is a whole new context to explore," she said.
According to the new Director, her first major project will be understanding how Rhodes University understands its transformation challenges. The second would be responding meaningfully to that understanding. "However, I assume Rhodes University shares some of the challenges faced by other institutions of higher learning in South Africa. My interests lie in advancing indigenous African languages in academia, facilitating the growth of the next generation of Black African professors, finding more effective ways to address gender-based violence and generally integrating the transformation project more actively into the University's core business processes," she stated.
"We are absolutely delighted to welcome Dr Kelly to Rhodes University and look forward to her leadership and contribution as we endeavour to eliminate all impediments to the deepening of the principles of human dignity, social justice, non-racialism, non-sexism, human solidarity and environmental justice," Vice-Chancellor Professor Sizwe Mabizela said.
"We are committed to ensuring an institutional environment in which staff and students can realise their full potential and are able to make their rightful contribution to the betterment of society. Dr Kelly will have much to contribute to the advancement of our bold vision, mission and purpose as a distinct and distinctive institution of higher learning as we embrace our past, critically reflect on our present and forge a new and inclusive future," he added.