The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) on Tuesday announced its newly-elected leaders, with Professor Jonathan Jansen appointed president for the next four-year term, succeeding professor Daya Reddy.

Jansen, the immediate past University of the Free State vice-chancellor and rector, is currently a fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, a fellow of the American Educational Research Association, a fellow of the World Academy of Sciences and president of the South African Institute of Race Relations.

ASSAf’s new office bearers include new VPs University of Pretoria (UP) genetics professor Brenda Wingfield and former University of South Africa principal and vice-chancellor Professor Barney Pityana, general-secretary National Health Laboratory Service principal medical scientist and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Associate Professor Himla Soodyall and treasurer Stellenbosch University research and innovation vice-rector Professor Eugene Cloete.

Other ASSAf council members are UP research and postgraduate education vice-principal Professor Stephanie Burton; UP dean of humanities vice-principal academic and psychology professor Norman Duncan; South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and University of KwaZulu-Natal pharmaceutical sciences professor Sabiha Essack; Wits politics professor Shireen Hassim; Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology director Professor Johann Mouton; Human Science Research Council director of social aspects of HIV/Aids research alliance and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Honorary Professor Refilwe Phaswana-Mafuya; and Wits research and postgraduate affairs deputy vice-chancellor Professor Zeblon Vilakazi.

Agricultural Research Council president and CEO Shadrack Moephuli has been appointed by the Department of Science and Technology as a National Advisory Council on Innovation representative.