The ASSAf Council comprises 12 members elected by the membership as a 13th member appointed by the Minister of Science and Technology as a representative of the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI).
The composition of the ASSAf Council is as follows:
Prof Jonathan Jansen is Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Stellenbosch. He is President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and in 2020 will be a Knight-Hennessey Fellow at Stanford University. He started his career as a Biology teacher in the Cape and holds a PhD from Stanford as well as honorary doctorates from Edinburgh, Vermont, Cleveland State and the University of Cape Town. He is the author of the award-winning book, Knowledge in the Blood (Stanford University Press) and his recent books include Inequality in South African schools (with Nic Spaull, Springer Publishers), Decolonization in universities (Wits U Press), and Who gets in and why: the politics of admission in South Africa’s elite schools (with Samantha Kriger, UCT Press). His forthcoming books include, The decolonization of knowledge (Cambridge University Press, with Cyrill Walters). He was recently elected Fellow of the International Academy of Education and holds an A-rating from the National Research Foundation.
Prof Stephanie Gail Burton
Vice-Principal: Research and Postgraduate Education at UP.
Prof Sabiha Essack
South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at UKZN. She also serves as General Secretary of ASSAf.
Prof Thomas Eugene Cloete
Vice-Rector, Research and Innovation at Stellenbosch University (SU). He is former recipient of the ASSAf Science-for-Society Gold Medal award. He is the Founding Director of the SU Water Institute
Prof Evance Kalula
Chairperson of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) and Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Prof Wim de Villiers
Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University.
Prof Irvy (Igle) Gledhill
Visiting Adjunct Professor in Flow Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Prof Christian Pirk
Professor and heads up the Social Insects Research Group (SIRG) in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria.
Prof Julian May
Director of the NRF-DSI Centre of Excellencein Food Security at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa,and the UNESCO Chair in African Food Systems.
Prof Mary Catherine Scholes
Professor in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences and holds a Research Chair in Applied Systems Analysis at Wits.
Prof Stella Nkomo
Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria.
Prof Norman Duncan
Vice-Principal: Academic at the University of Pretoria
Prof Nancy Phaswana-Mafuya
Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health, MPH Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, UJ.
Prof Tawana Kupe
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria. Appointed by the DST Minister as a NACI representative.
Prof Letlhokwa George Mpedi
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic (designate) and former Executive Dean: Faculty of Law, Universityof Johannesburg.
Prof Thokozani Majozi
Professor in the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of theWitwatersrand where he holds the NRF/DST Chair in SustainableProcess Engineering.