As Prof. Francis Petersen prepares to leave the University of the Free State (UFS) at the end of September, the UFS Council has appointed Prof. Anthea Rhoda as the acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal.
This decision was made during a council meeting on Monday, 19 August. Prof. Rhoda, who currently serves as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, will step into her new role effective 1 October until a permanent appointment is made.
Prof. Petersen is set to begin his new role as Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of Pretoria on 1 October.
David Noko, Chairperson of the UFS Council, expressed gratitude for Prof. Rhoda’s willingness to take on this interim leadership position.
“On behalf of the UFS Council, I would like to extend our thanks to Prof. Rhoda for stepping into this role. Her extensive experience in higher education will be invaluable during this transition. We look forward to collaborating with her and the university’s executive management,” Noko said.
Before joining UFS, Prof. Rhoda was the Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She holds a professorship in the Department of Physiotherapy at UWC, where she completed both her BSc and PhD in Physiotherapy. Additionally, she earned a BSc Honours in Physiotherapy (Neurology) and an MSc in Medical Sciences (Rehabilitation) from Stellenbosch University.
As an NRF C1-rated researcher, Prof. Rhoda is a recognized leader and scholar in her field. Her research, supported by grants from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), focuses on faculty development and interprofessional education. She has contributed to numerous publications in both international and local journals and has presented her work at conferences around the world.
Prof. Rhoda is also dedicated to nurturing academic talent across Africa, having supervised numerous PhD and master’s students from various countries on the continent. She serves as an associate editor for the African Journal of Health Professions Education and has recently completed her term as Chair of the South African Committee of Health Sciences Deans. Her professional development includes fellowships such as the Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI) fellowship and a Strategic Management Programme at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
