Cape Town - The University of Cape Town (UCT) on Tuesday said they had recently appointed the first female Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (EBE).
“UCT has appointed Professor Alison Lewis as Dean of the Faculty of EBE - the first woman to receive such an appointment,” said Pat Lucas from the University’s Communications and Marketing department.
Lewis had previously served as a senior lecturer, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and a Professor of Chemical Engineering.
Among many other career milestones listed by the University, Lewis had in the early nineties served as the editor of “Upfront”, the journal for liberation organisation United Democratic Front-affiliate, Cape Democrats.
Lewis was also the Education Officer for the 1984/85 UCT Students Representative Council (SRC).
Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price, who had in the past few weeks had many dealings with the SRC and student-led protest movements related to transformation on campus, spoke of Lewis’s ability to tackle inequality.
“She championed transformation initiatives by establishing four new academic posts in the department of Chemical Engineering, three of which have been filled by black South Africans,” he said.
In 2012, Lewis received the National Research Foundation President’s “Champion of Transformation in Research” Award for “her active involvement in training, fostering and mentoring black and female students”.
Price added that her engineering experience would contribute to tackling the century’s challenges including water, energy, and food security.
Lewis would begin her tenure as Dean on June 1 2015.
ANA