Jonathan Jansen on education, Madiba and the Blue Bulls

When Professor Jonathan Jansen announced that he was stepping down as the vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS) less than half-way into this second five-year term, it caught many people by surprise. He is leaving the university next month, after taking office less than seven years ago.

But Jansen insisted in an interview this week that his senior colleagues and the university’s council were not surprised because they knew from the beginning that he was going to stay in this position for only seven years.

“I believe that you have seven years in which to impact on the organisation and if you have not made a major impact by that time, you never will. For me it is a wonderful time to make some major changes, consolidate a new team, do some succession planning, and then to move on.

“The seven years have been wonderful, I really enjoyed it, but it is enough,” Jansen said in a wide-ranging interview in which he reflected on his time at the UFS, gave some advice to government on how to sort out the country’s problems, including education and the economy, and also spoke about his respect for Nelson Mandela, his love for social media and his support for the Blue Bulls.

A more detailed article on this interview appeared in the Weekend Argus on Saturday 16 July 2016, but here follows a video of the interview.