Prof Wim de Villiers has been Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU) since 2015, when he joined his alma mater again after more than two decades abroad.
After graduating from SU with an MBChB, he went to Oxford University for his PhD, and then to America, where he studied at Harvard and held several senior positions at the University of Kentucky including Head of Gastroenterology, and Administrative Head of the Good Samaritan Hospital. He was included in the publication Best Doctors in America.
He was appointed Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town in July 2013 and returned to South Africa before joining SU in his current position.
On the national stage, he serves as Chairperson of the Finance and Investment Committee of Universities South Africa, chair of Higher Health, and on the international stage as council member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.