Globalization, democratization and knowledge production

4.7 MERGERS

The merger of UPE with the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University deserves some mention here because this is a major change for UPE as part of the government’s plan to transform the institutional landscape of higher education and to rationalise the disparity existing between institutions in the higher education sector. There can be no doubt that these changes will affect all researchers in UPE.

As noted, only a few participants referred to the merger between UPE, the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University in their discussions about change within their institution. This indicated that many academics were either uninvolved in the merger processes or that the insular environment of the academe had served to distance them from macro-institutional changes. A few, however, did refer to the mergers. Piet expressed concern that the government had not considered the costs involved in the merger of institutions across the country. According to him:

Just the joint (merger) between Bloemfontein University and the Bloemfontein Technikon is estimated at 190 million rands. That already just says that the whole policy just can’t work. ... The basic estimates now done by Bloemfontein university. So… how much is it in fact going to cost the other ones.

Other academics were more positive about the merger believing that it offered new opportunities to enhance research --because of the high standard of research at the PE Technikon-- and, that it would contribute to the social and economic development of South Africa (I: Bonang; William). Ronelle believed that it would contribute to the greater good: “I love the process because it is going to make a lot more subject matter available to the students. I do believe it is going to be a fantastic process but in terms of academics, whether they will allow that to take place is another thing.” Ronelle was aware that it might not be an easy process and could result in the loss of her job as a consequence of rationalization:

There are obviously a lot of challenges in terms of human resources and duplications… which is quite frightening. I mean I have been thinking, I don’t think I would, but I might be sitting without a job but in terms of what will be available (it) is a fantastic thing. It will just be so much more that the students can have available within one institution. And that should be allowed, that students should be able to choose… Currently, the electives are so limited that you (may) come out with a product and (ask)? Who wants to employ you? Is it relevant to what is needed out there? … Also the resources, we could save in terms of resources.
Xolile was more staid in his response:

In the short term, certainly everyone is protecting their turf, so that then results in a great deal of mistrust… Also in that situation it may bring together those camps that probably may see things similarly without necessarily buying into the long-term, vision of the whole merger or project.

He believed that a merger would improve institutions in the long-term but that there would be problems in the short-term as people protected their ‘turf’ and felt insecure about their futures.

Like the academics, graduate students did not appear to have given much thought to the impending merger of institutions. Gertrude, for example, stated that she did not know much about the merger. Tracy said she expected minimal effect for her department because the merging partners did not have a Botany department. However, she expected that it would be “chaotic” initially and then things would “settle down” (I: Tracy). Vanita commented that there was no evidence of the impending merger in her department. She believed that one of the positive things for her was that the Technikon had a department of forestry so there might be more people coming in with knowledge in her area, namely, water quality and algae growth in estuaries.

The lack of knowledge or interest in the impending mergers may be indicative of several things 1) staff and students were disinterested believing that it was the responsibility of management, 2) management had not devoted adequate time and resources to consulting and providing feedback about the process to all staff; and 3) the insularity of the academe led to researchers prioritising their immediate work above the concerns of institutional change. The merger is a significant and complex transformation process, that eventually if not immediately, will affect every facet of the existing institution, from its ethos, culture, reputation, infrastructure, management, administration, finances and resources, to its staff composition, student population, programmes, curricula and research. The three institutions, UPE, Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University officially merged at the beginning of 2004. However, the process of integration will continue into the future and more attention should be paid to how different departments and individuals within the institution will be affected because any upheaval will influence the research capacity and productivity of UPE staff. Management should intensify its information campaign throughout all campuses to ensure that the integration proceeds smoothly over the coming period.

4.8 ROLES AND VISIONS

“I want to make a difference,” said Celine of her role as a researcher. In this section, I examine the participants’ perceptions of their roles as researchers or librarians and their visions of the future in order to gain an impression of what issues might affect research at these institutions in the future. Celine, for example, believed firmly in the importance of her research focusing on women’s issues even though some colleagues have charged that it is not commercially viable (see also chapter ten). Ironically, Celine frequently receives calls from city lawyers for advice on customary law issues, which they had not studied at university because it had in the past been considered an ‘inferior’ part of law:

They felt that it is an inferior part of law, but clients today need it… In the past customary law was never really part of lawyers or professionals (work)… It is custom and (the) way people live. People are now more aware so they go to attorneys and they often cannot help them… So I see myself as not wanting to profit from it but contributing to things that are more topical and facing hundreds or even thousands of people.
In South Africa, law is still very much a male dominated field. What Celine, as a female legal researcher is experiencing, is the devaluing of her work by these colleagues on two levels, namely because 1) her focus is on women’s issues, and 2) her area of research was not an economically viable one. Celine’s aspirations, however, are very different. She is less interested in personal gain than in the social relevance of her research. She wants to make a difference and for her that means focusing on areas of social relevance that the legal system, both academically and in practice, have neglected. Celine has the firmness of commitment to set aside the undermining of the importance of her work. This is indicated perhaps by the number of calls she receives from professionals for advice on matters related to customary law.

Despite these strong views and social commitment, Celine points out that she does not see herself as a feminist or revolutionary. Although women’s issues have always intrigued her, she clains that she has chosen to focus on this area because it had been neglected and deserved greater attention. That it is gender based is “incidental perhaps,” said Celine:

I remember with PMS specifically I had such a wonderful quote from a book which says, “Do we now recognise it or not, or do we sweep it back under the carpet, where it has only recently been retrieved, there to be swamped in the layers of shame and myth, historically associated with it.” In that respect I like (making) those types of efforts. If it is gender-based, it is actually incidental perhaps… It is neglected areas of law probably and unfortunately, it affects many gender and children’s issues or the disadvantaged or the underprivileged.
Part of Celine’s reluctance to admit that her views are feminist may lie in the stigma still attached to feminism within her male dominated institutions and profession. Another academic Ronelle also believed that her role as researcher was to “Enhance the upliftment of your fellow people.”

The transformation processes in South Africa have been accompanied by extensive policy development across all government sectors and have provided opportunities for some academics to contribute to significant policy development. Goodall was pleased with his contribution to policy and legislation development in his field of research. He stated that changes over the past five years make him more relevant than five or 10 years ago. Charmaine found it difficult to articulate her role as a researcher or her vision for the future because of the trauma she had encountered in her appointment the previous year when she had to declare a labour dispute after a less qualified white female academic was appointed to the permanent position for which she had applied. There had been much unpleasantness and, on several occasions, she had felt like resigning from her position. At the time of the interview, she claimed that she still felt ostracized. Her inability to focus on her future revealed that these issues of racism have negatively affected her identity as a researcher, leading her to state that blacks are not well received within the university.

The librarians were clear about their role and visions for the future. They claimed that, contrary to popular opinion that the new technologies and boundless access to information had diminished the role of librarians, their role had in fact been enhanced by the Internet (I: Helga; Rita; Verster). As Helga stated, “They think the librarian doesn’t have a role because of the Internet but… we see our role as intermediaries to access to information… I see my role as managing this information” (I: Helga).

For most academics, their future visions centred on their research careers and on finding ways to enhance their research profile. No doubt their experiences with research at this university helped to shape these visions, for example, some simply wanted more time for research or to complete their doctorates or post doctorates because their teaching and administration responsibilities schedules left them with little time for research (I: Goodall; Ronelle; Xolile). Others, like Ramdass, wanted to improve their research ratings with the NRF, while others yet wanted to become engaged in more challenging research projects (I: Annelise; Beryl; Celine; Pat) or consultancy research (I: Bonang). Pat hoped to become more involved in international collaboration, for example, with Australian counterparts. She asserted that she preferred the academe and interaction with her students to the corporate world or private consulting, which, she claimed, some of her fellow academics were considering. However, she iterated that she would consider consultancy work only if the work pressure at UPE became unbearable. Evidently, universities will have to create more supportive environments so that they do not lose researchers of Pat’s calibre, who would only leave the institution as a last resort.

Celine’s future aspiration was to become involved in large relevant research projects, involving academics from around the country in partnership with the government, in the field of conservation and environmental law. She explained that there had been an attempt in this direction earlier between UPE and the University of Potchefstroom, but that the project had not materialised.

Ronelle’s main aspiration was to complete her PhD so that she could assume a future position “within the management structure” where she could play “a constructive role in the development of education… at the tertiary level.” It may be that, in this position, she envisages implementing the institution’s policies that she found were “good on paper only.” Goodall expressed his wish to focus on research and supervision only, and to relinquish his teaching and administration responsibilities, which he believed led to “actually marginalizing” research. He would like a position in a commercial research organization, “Where I just do research and where I lead, what I call, high impact research teams.” (I: Goodall).

Graduate students’ visions of the future ranged from completing future studies to securing employment in the private sector. Vanita and Emma wanted to work before attempting further studies towards PhDs whereas two black male academics wanted to complete post doctorates before seeking positions in the marketplace or the private sector (I: Brent; Gumede). Macy wanted to continue with research work, but not as an academic because she was concerned about access to journals, given the problems she has experienced in this area at UPE. Winters wanted go into a consulting or a research organization. He found that a scholarship to study overseas for a year had been a “wonderful opportunity,” giving direction to his research and building his confidence (I: Winters).

As noted, librarians had visions of enhanced roles in the future. Rita, senior librarian, contended that people confused information technology with information science. She explained the difference thus:

Technology puts the platform of the medium there so that the information can be created and that is a science. And the way we are going to organise the information is where the information people come in… this is the whole information management… the tacit knowledge must become explicit and there is a big learning curve, I think, for the South African community there… It makes its way out in various arenas like for instance the library world, and the computer … world. I wonder when we are going to meet… At the moment we are not there.

Rita found her role as a librarian in a knowledge based society “very exciting” (I: Rita) claiming that librarians must organise and facilitate the flow of information: “The organizing will still be there but there’s a bigger facilitation role and ‘ons moet die goed nog steeds aanmekaar maak’. We have to sift it but we also have to facilitate the flow of it because the flow is so huge that people can’t handle it.”

In terms of her visions for the library, Rita hoped that the consortia would develop the system of resource sharing where all services such as databases, interlibrary loan, information, retrieval, delivery and holdings could be “Link(ed)… together in one seamless way for the access and delivery to the user… I don’t think there is any other way to handle this.” Rita explained that she had developed a new web page with a button, a gateway, which will link subject journals, electronic books and scholarly communities:

On this web page we have a button which will lead them to information about scholarly communities… what we call (a) subject gateway and where we will bring their journals together, it will bring their electronic books together, it will bring their links together for this scholarly community because… you cannot research in isolation.