UWC’s new Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert John Balfour’s goal for the institution, which turns 65 this year, is deeply personal and stems partially from his journey of self-acceptance, symbolising hope and the possibility of transformative change for others who feel excluded.
As an only child born in Johannesburg and who grew up in rural Mpumalanga, he was sent to a Catholic boarding high school in Pretoria because his parents worried about a lack of socialisation in the 1980s. It was the heyday of corporal punishment, and the school was a “brutal space”. However, as a young man who loved art and books, the quality of education there satisfied his academic appetite. Socially, he formed close friendships with the “loners and misfits” to survive the polarising environment.
“It was very clear to me as a young gay adolescent that should you dare to come out in that kind of space, you risked your life. You risked taking your life. I remember one of my contemporaries in that school, a little bit younger than me, who took the risk of coming out in that boys-only boarding school environment, and it provoked extremes in terms of toxic masculinities and violence. And that experience of seeing what could happen made for fear; fear about being yourself as gay person,” Balfour said.
Later in life, when he started university, he realised that spaces and perceptions would not change if he remained silent. And so, he bravely lived as an openly gay man. While he found support among the LGBTQIA+ community and women, he still walked a lonely road. Ironically, the lessons he learned at boarding school illuminated his path.
“My friends came from different, very different backgrounds. And because we were all in boarding school, I think it was probably the solidarity of the oppressed in many ways because we were not part of the mainstream in the school and came from very different racial backgrounds. So that was a tough, tough few years, but absolutely formative. It was there where I learned a very core sense of self-discipline and a keen academic interest.”
He went on to study language, education and art and flourished as an academic, making crucial contributions to multilingual policies and curriculum development. His research focus, which includes language education and policy, postcolonial literature and rural education, reflects his commitment to advancing educational equity and social justice in South Africa and beyond.
He explained that joining UWC had always been his dream given that since its inception during apartheid, the institution has committed itself to critical inquiry about justice, decoloniality and education transformation.
Balfour emphasised that the university has the potential to play a central role in addressing systemic inequities and integrating marginalised intellectual traditions into the curriculum. He further underscored the importance of creating intentional opportunities for women, LGBTQIA+ individuals and first-generation students, viewing their inclusion as a chance for restitution and redress. His vision for UWC is one of collaboration, thoughtful planning and shared responsibility to build a more inclusive and transformative academic environment that aligns with its historical and intellectual legacy.
“When we talk about a place where Africanisation of the curriculum, decoloniality, decolonisation, multilingualism, gender and diversity could make sense in terms of coming together, that is what UWC represents for me. And it's enormously exciting. I have to say what a wonderful chance it is in life to come to a community of scholars and students who have similarly chosen to be here rather than elsewhere because of the values and the history of the place.”
Cape Times