The Board of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Crain A. Soudien as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HSRC. Prof. Soudien’s appointment was confirmed by Cabinet on 27 May 2015 and will be effective 1 September 2015.

Prof. Soudien is the former Director of the School of Education at the University of Cape Town and is currently a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the same university. He is a joint professor in Education and African Studies. He has published over 180 articles, reviews, reports, and book chapters in the areas of social difference, culture, education policy, comparative education, educational change, public history and popular culture. He is the author of two books, “Youth Identity in Contemporary South Africa: Race, Culture and Schooling”, and ”Realising the Dream: Unlearning the Logic of Race in the South African School” and the co-author of “Education Exclusion and Inclusion: Policy and Implementation in South Africa and India”, and he is the co-editor of four books.

Prof. Soudien was educated at the University of Cape Town, South Africa and holds a PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Prof. Soudien is involved in a number of local, national and international social and cultural organisations and is the Chairperson of the Independent Examinations Board, the former Chairperson of the District Six Museum Foundation, a former President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and had been the chair of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation in Higher Education.  He is a fellow of a number of local and international academies and serves on the boards of a number of cultural, heritage, education and civil society structures.

In appointing Prof. Soudien, the Board was unanimous that his research and academic credentials and his managerial acumen are well suited to lead the strategic thrusts of the organisation and, building on past achievements, will strengthen research and development in the humanities and social sciences in South Africa, as well as research partnerships with other African countries.

The Board also wishes to thank retiring CEO, Prof. Olive Shisana, for her notable contribution to the work of the HSRC, her leadership and the role she played in the research community, nationally and internationally over the past 10 years.