The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, Professor Cheryl de la Rey, recently announced that Professor Stephanie Burton, a Rhodes graduate, has been appointed as their Vice-Principal for Research and Postgraduate Education.
Prof Stephanie Burton left Rhodes with her MSc in Organic Chemistry (1990), and PhD in Biochemistry (1994). She was also a member of the academic staff at Rhodes from 1991 to 2001.
Since 2001 Prof Burton worked as a Professor in the department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town, and is currently the Director of Postgraduate Studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Prof De la Rey said, “Prof Burton will join the University on 1 April 2011 and will initially work with the outgoing incumbent in the position, Prof Robin Crewe. During this time, her post-title will be that of Vice-Principal.
“During her academic career, she has had wide academic exposure at several universities, both national and international and has supervised a large number of South African and international postgraduate students.
“Prof Burton’s research is based in the fields of organic chemistry and biochemistry and she holds a B-rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and enjoys national and international recognition for her research. She has successfully managed several large and diverse research groupings and projects, often involving substantial budgets and international collaboration.
“Furthermore, she has an excellent record of fundraising for her research group, having successfully generated more than R25 million in research funding, of which approximately R16 million was obtained from agencies other than the NRF.”
“The University looks forward to welcoming Prof Burton as a member of its Executive,” she added.