The office of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Stellenbosch University (SU) is currently in a transitional phase.

With the retirement of the incumbent, Prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen (top left), being planned for the end of 2017, the reigns are gradually being handed over to the COO designate, Prof Stan du Plessis (top right), who took up his post in January and will officially take over at the start of 2018. Until then, they will be sharing the duties and responsibilities of the post and taking decisions jointly.

However, all communication with the office of the COO still takes place via the normal, single channel, namely personal assistant Ms Mariëtte Hanekom, tel 021 808 2601, email [email protected]. Visit this website for more information (http://www.sun.ac.za/english/management/Pages/operations-and-finance.aspx).

About Operations and Finance

The Office of the Chief Operating Officer is the Responsibility Centre (RC) for Operations and Finance at SU. The following key professional and administrative support services are combined sensibly for the benefit of SU therein:

• Financial planning and management
• The expansion and maintenance of physical infrastructure (working, learning and living spaces) and campus security services
• The management of institutional projects
• The management of SU's commercial services and intellectual property commercialisation
• The promotion of entrepreneurship among students and staff
• Managing sport as strategic asset
• The maintenance and management of the University's campus master plan, mobility plan (parking, shuttle service and access control) and risk management system

Through their respective functions, the various divisions in this responsibility centre – Facilities Management, Innovus, Maties Sport and Finance – contribute to an integrated support services environment.