Amid a fresh dispute on transformation at the University of Cape Town, the institution’s Black Academic Caucus (BAC) is seeking legal advice over the appointment of Lis Lange as deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning. The BAC, which is a collective of black academics, says a more suitably qualified black candidate was overlooked in a procedurally flawed process. The appointment comes at a critical time for the university, as it navigates pressure from students and academics to reform the curriculum in the wake of the Rhodes Must Fall protest movement. The 2015 Rhodes Must Fall protest began as a campaign to remove a prominent statue of Cecil John Rhodes from UCT’s campus, and led to a wider movement to "decolonise" education that drew global attention. UCT is also in the process of selecting a successor to vice-chancellor Max Price, whose second five-year term ends on 30 June 2018. Two short-listed candidates — UCT deputy vice-chancellor for research Mamokgethi Phakeng the...
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