UWC mourns the passing of its former VC
O'Connell served as the institution's rector from 2001 to 2014, overseeing the university's rebuilding phase.
The University of the Western Cape is mourning the loss of its former rector, Professor Brian O'Connell. Picture: Facebook.com/UWC
CAPE TOWN - The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is mourning the loss of its former rector, Professor Brian O'Connell who died on Sunday at the age of 77.
O'Connell served as the institution's rector from 2001 to 2014, overseeing the university's rebuilding phase.
New state-of-the-art buildings, including the life science, school of public health, and chemical sciences building – are all some of the things that came to life during his tenure.
UWC said O'Connell was also instrumental in opposing the proposed merger between UWC and Pentech made by a national working group on higher education in 2002.
O'Connell explained the reasons for opposing the merger at that time.
"If I lose the history of this institution it will die. So, we must take that history and tell government that our history was well fought, we were considered to be a seat of opposition as the university, and we took on that challenge. Now we want to use that UWC brand for another purpose, and that purpose is the academic purpose. It worked," he said.