University of Fort Hare Strategic Plans
Following a period of decline in the 1990s, Professor Derrick Swarts was appointed Vice-Chancellor with the task of re-establishing the University on a sound footing. The programme launched by Swarts was the UFH Strategic Plan 2000. The plan was meant to address the university’s financial situation and academic quality standards simultaneously. The focus of the university was narrowed and consequently 5 faculties remained:
- Education
- Science & Agriculture
- Social Sciences & Humanities
- Management & Commerce
- Law
Further narrowing the focus, 14 institutes were founded to deal with specific issues, such as the UNESCO Oliver Tambo Chair of Human Rights. Through their location the institutes have excellent access to poor rural areas, and consequently emphasis is placed on the role of research in improving quality of life and economic growth (and especially sustainable job creation). Among the outreach programmes, the Telkom Centre of Excellence maintains a “living laboratory” of 4 schools at Dwesa on the Wild Coast, which have introduced computer labs and internet access to areas that until 2005 did not even have electricity. The projects at Dwesa focus research on Information and Communication for Development (ICD).
Incorporation of Rhodes University’s former campus in East London in 2004 gave the University an urban base and a coastal base for the first time. Subsequent growth and development on this campus have been rapid. Initial developments of the new multi-campus university were guided by a three-year plan; currently the University is following the new “Strategic Plan 2009-2016”, set to take the institution to its centennial year.