There are few people on Stellenbosch University’s campus as recognisable or as warmly greeted as Dr Leslie van Rooi. The short walk we take along Victoria Street to his office in Bosman Street for an interview is punctuated by cheerful greetings from students and staff despite the early-morning autumn rain.

These encounters speak to Van Rooi’s long-standing relationship with the Stellenbosch University (SU) community, built over more than two decades of student leadership, mentorship and service.

New role, enduring engagement

As Dean of Students, he is a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s management team and provides strategic leadership for student life, wellbeing, leadership development and the overall student experience. 

Van Rooi officially assumed the role of Dean of Students on 1 May after serving in an acting capacity for the past 17 months. However, his connection to the University stretches back to 2001, when he arrived from Upington as a theology student with a deep sense of excitement and possibility.

He reveals over a cup of coffee that his love for SU started even earlier, he says, after a visit to the campus during high school. “SU was the go-to university for students from the school and community that I come from,” Van Rooi reflects. “I visited campus early in Standard 10 (now Grade 12) and was absolutely in love with what I saw. The nature of student life – it felt overwhelmingly positive nestled in a beautiful campus and town.”

The moment he officially became a student remains a vivid memory. “I remember walking into my high school class early in the morning. My mother was a teacher at the same school, so I got a lift with her, and I remember writing my student number on the board.”

That feeling of pride and belonging has stayed with him ever since.

Over the years, he has experienced the University from multiple vantage points – first as a student and then in various leadership and management roles. He is the founding Head of the Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert (FVZS) Institute for Student Leadership Development, which he established in 2010, and served as Residence Head of Simonsberg Residence from 2011 until early this year. Van Rooi has also served as Senior Director: Social Impact and Transformation and recently also as acting Senior Director: Student Affairs and later acting Dean of Students. 

“As a residence head, your role and impact is visible – you can sense you make a difference in the lives of an individual and family,” he says. “There is nothing more gratifying than to sit at graduation and see someone you have known since they were a first-year student. The smiles, the proud relatives …”

Redefining student success

Central to Van Rooi’s philosophy is the idea that student success cannot be measured by academic throughput alone. “You will only be partially successful if you only complete your degree.” A truly transformative university experience, he believes, requires dealing with life, building relations, serving communities and actively taking up formal and informal learning experiences outside of the classroom. And this is possible if you feel welcome, when you belong, and when you participate and engage in and through student life in its fullest. 

“You need to make sure that you join a student community, society or student-based activity that will add to your learning and sense of belonging,” he explains. “It means that you will catapult yourself forward into the next phase of your life where you can network and open up opportunities for future success.”

Creating a sense of belonging

For Van Rooi, this sense of community remains one of SU’s defining strengths, even as campus life has evolved significantly over the years. “It caters for all of students. The opportunities have increased, the platforms for experiences have increased. Campus life is much more engaging, diverse and exciting.”

He adds: “Of course, it has become a lot more diverse.” With that diversity comes greater responsibility. “You must work harder to make sure more students equally experience the university positively. And one must manage challenges. But one shouldn’t shy away from celebrating the immensely positive impact of success through diversity.”

He describes the SU journey as inherently transformative. “The learning, the unlearning, the new phases, new skills, new possibilities, new outlook, new friends – these inherently change your perspective of self, of life and about society. They enable you to be enriched in such a way that you can indeed positively impact on society through your own transformative experience, your own life-changing journey and experiences.” 

As Dean of Students, Van Rooi has identified several priorities for the years ahead. Among these are strengthening the overall student experience, advancing student wellness – particularly around mental health – and ensuring that every student can engage fully in university life. This involves recognising the needs of different students, whether they live in residence or commute to campus. 

Strengthening student affairs

He believes student affairs should be prioritised alongside academics, not viewed merely as a support function. “My role is of course to enable that for students and to build it within the University. To make sure the DNA of the University shifts itself to enable this to the fullest.”

That commitment extends to creating spaces where all students feel welcome and included. Renewing SU residence culture(s) and creating more spaces for belonging that enhances student success remain important focus areas for him, but he points out that meaningful change takes time. “We want a deeper engagement that runs over a period of time. It is best if students are fully part of our change-making processes. The organic understanding of what is possible and what you will become if you allow a diversity of voices is best understood by the community themselves.”

Leadership through presence

Once a week, Van Rooi and a colleague – often Pieter Kloppers, Director: Centre for Student Life and Learning (CSLL) – take an early-morning stroll around campus. These walks are intentional opportunities to connect with students and observe campus life firsthand, Van Rooi explains.

Van Rooi’s own experience of campus life continues to shape how he engages with students today. He enjoys the rhythms of Stellenbosch life, from its coffee shops (favourites include Plato and Stellos close to his office) and campus conversations to visits to dining halls over lunch and the spontaneous encounters that make the University feel like a community. 

It is these moments of connection that remain at the heart of Van Rooi’s vision for student life at SU.