It gives me pleasure to announce the senior appointment of Ms Loïs Dippenaar to the position of Institutional Planner for the university. Lois is well suited to tackling this important role.
Following her undergraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, Loïs started her career as an English teacher at the Hoërskool Eldoraigne in Centurion. Two years later, she was approached to apply for a position in government that she couldn’t resist, which resulted in her working in the Office of the President from 1994 to 2000. She initially worked as a public liaison officer, moved to the Cabinet Secretariat as a committee secretary and was then approached by the Director-General, Prof Jakes Gerwel, to manage his office. In this capacity, she assisted with coordinating President Mandela’s international schedule and was part of the President’s official delegations on most of his state visits during his last 2-years in office.
On 1 September 2000, Loïs started working at UWC as Head of the University Secretariat. Building on the governance experience she gained whilst working for the Presidency, the University Secretariat was a valuable entry point into higher education, providing a platform to not only gain an understanding of the intricate dynamics of UWC but also of the public higher education (HE) sector in South Africa. Following the release of the National Plan for Higher Education in March 2001, the subsequent establishment of the National Working Group to advise on the restructuring of higher education and the release of their January 2001 report, she was increasingly involved in institution-wide engagements reflecting on these documents and providing assistance with the drafting and refinement of institutional responses. This resulted in the establishment of the position of Specialist Writer and her subsequent appointment to that position in 2003, and her formal involvement in the functions and operations of the Institutional Planning unit of the University.
At the time, Institutional Planning was a very small unit where both she and the Institutional Planner occupied roles that extended beyond planning. She recalls this as a time when they did not have the luxury of a range of specialists supporting various functions, and they had to learn on the job and develop the skills required to support the growing demands and responsibilities associated with university planning. During this period, building on the University’s 2000 Strategic Plan, UWC’s first Institutional Operating Plan (IOP 2005 - 2009) was developed that secured much-needed recapitalisation funding. She has been directly involved in the development of every Institutional Operating Plan since then.
Loïs was appointed as Director: Institutional Planning in 2010. Over the last two decades, she gained significant experience in university planning. Among others, she has been involved in the monitoring of the implementation of different IOPs, the high-level coordination of DHET earmarked grants, participated in and managed various special projects, as well as a wide range of planning initiatives that include enrolment and infrastructure planning and the implementation and ongoing refinement of UWC’s enterprise risk management processes.
In 2004 Loïs completed her BA (Honours) in English at UWC, and in 2018 she obtained an MBA from Stellenbosch University. She is currently busy with a DBA at the University of Bath’s International Centre for Higher Education Management (ICHEM).
Please join me in wishing Lois everything of the best as she embarks on her new role and as she endeavours, along with the rest of the executive leadership, to take the university to greater heights.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Tyrone Pretorius
Rector and Vice-Chancellor
Following her undergraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, Loïs started her career as an English teacher at the Hoërskool Eldoraigne in Centurion. Two years later, she was approached to apply for a position in government that she couldn’t resist, which resulted in her working in the Office of the President from 1994 to 2000. She initially worked as a public liaison officer, moved to the Cabinet Secretariat as a committee secretary and was then approached by the Director-General, Prof Jakes Gerwel, to manage his office. In this capacity, she assisted with coordinating President Mandela’s international schedule and was part of the President’s official delegations on most of his state visits during his last 2-years in office.
On 1 September 2000, Loïs started working at UWC as Head of the University Secretariat. Building on the governance experience she gained whilst working for the Presidency, the University Secretariat was a valuable entry point into higher education, providing a platform to not only gain an understanding of the intricate dynamics of UWC but also of the public higher education (HE) sector in South Africa. Following the release of the National Plan for Higher Education in March 2001, the subsequent establishment of the National Working Group to advise on the restructuring of higher education and the release of their January 2001 report, she was increasingly involved in institution-wide engagements reflecting on these documents and providing assistance with the drafting and refinement of institutional responses. This resulted in the establishment of the position of Specialist Writer and her subsequent appointment to that position in 2003, and her formal involvement in the functions and operations of the Institutional Planning unit of the University.
At the time, Institutional Planning was a very small unit where both she and the Institutional Planner occupied roles that extended beyond planning. She recalls this as a time when they did not have the luxury of a range of specialists supporting various functions, and they had to learn on the job and develop the skills required to support the growing demands and responsibilities associated with university planning. During this period, building on the University’s 2000 Strategic Plan, UWC’s first Institutional Operating Plan (IOP 2005 - 2009) was developed that secured much-needed recapitalisation funding. She has been directly involved in the development of every Institutional Operating Plan since then.
Loïs was appointed as Director: Institutional Planning in 2010. Over the last two decades, she gained significant experience in university planning. Among others, she has been involved in the monitoring of the implementation of different IOPs, the high-level coordination of DHET earmarked grants, participated in and managed various special projects, as well as a wide range of planning initiatives that include enrolment and infrastructure planning and the implementation and ongoing refinement of UWC’s enterprise risk management processes.
In 2004 Loïs completed her BA (Honours) in English at UWC, and in 2018 she obtained an MBA from Stellenbosch University. She is currently busy with a DBA at the University of Bath’s International Centre for Higher Education Management (ICHEM).
Please join me in wishing Lois everything of the best as she embarks on her new role and as she endeavours, along with the rest of the executive leadership, to take the university to greater heights.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Tyrone Pretorius
Rector and Vice-Chancellor
