Free State University’s Jansen to Take Post in US

Professor Jonathan Jansen, a well-known commentator on politics in South Africa who saw himself at the centre of protests earlier this year, is to leave his post as vice-chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State to take up a post at Stanford University in the United States.

According to a statement on Monday, Jansen’s term would be ending several years early. Judge Ian van der Merwe, chairperson of the UFS Council, said Jansen was appointed on 1 July 2009 and his term of office was extended for another five years on 1 July 2014, which meant he should have been there until 2019.

After his announcement Jansen was apparently mobbed by students sad to see him go. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela also weighed in on Twitter saying “What a sad loss for South Africa. Prof @JJ_UFS’s hard truths are often the bitter medicine we need for our progress.”

Jansen is an author who has written numerous newspaper columns, often controversial, that SAPeople has also carried. His most recent one, in late February, was about a battle that erupted between spectators at a university rugby match and protesters who stormed the field during the game.

While Jansen has been credited with bringing races together at the university, others say he has swept racism under the carpet, and some protests on campus included calls for him to step down.

Monday’s statement said, “The Council is grateful for the vision and the inspirational leadership that Prof Jansen provided during his tenure at the UFS. He has led the university through difficult and complex times – from after the Reitz incident up until the recent student protest actions. He brought stability and respect for the university – nationally as well as internationally.”

In the Reitz incident, Jansen allowed four students to continue their studies after they had made a video of cleaning staff being forced to eat food laced with urine.

At the time Jansen said, “Those four students who committed that heinous act are my students. If I may borrow from another leader‚ I cannot deny them‚ any more than I cannot deny my own children. The four Reitz students are children of this country‚ they are youth of the province‚ and they are students of our university. They are‚ I repeat‚ my students.”

The Monday statement said Jansen would take up an invitation as a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

“Prof Jansen’s departure is a great loss for the university, but the Council accepts his decision to step down and pursue his academic career as well as other opportunities.”

What a sad loss for South Africa. Prof @JJ_UFS‘s hard truths are often the bitter medicine we need for our progress https://t.co/a8FqYsf5Wb

— Adv Thuli Madonsela (@ThuliMadonsela3) May 16, 2016