Most of the academic activities that would have taken place in the Van der Sterr building this week were moved to other venues on campus after Sunday morning's fire.
Inevitably, classes for certain modules unfortunately had be to cancelled. A fire destroyed the third floor and roof of the northern and eastern wings of the Van der Sterr building. (Read more about the fire here.)
Tests that were supposed to be written this week were postponed but early assessment is going ahead. Complete information about this and class timetables for every day are placed on the webpage (click here for link) of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) every day. Students affected by the fire are encouraged to visit this webpage regularly. Enquiries can also be directed to vandersterinfo@sun.ac.za.
A contingency committee met on Sunday to manage the situation and arrangements were made to ensure that classes go ahead normally as far as possible. Stellenbosch University is very grateful to the Stellenbosch faith community who offered the use of buildings close to campus as lecture halls. On Monday morning at 08:00 a first lecture took place in the Kruiskerk.
Other arrangements by the committee include access control to and securing the building and follow-up actions with the insurer and assessor with the aim of restoring the building. The extent of the damage and the reason for the fire could not be established yet and the building will only be opened after a forensic investigation has been completed.
The University Management expressed its appreciation towards the Student Council and also the EMS Student committee for their roles in conveying students' concerns, and also for their support.
The Management called on students whose classes were inevitably cancelled to use the time productively for self-study and preparation for tests.
Open day continues as planned
The participation of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences in SU's Open Day on Saturday 28 February has not been affected by the fire. Information stalls will be available at the Faculty's CGW Schumann building in Bosman Street and the presentations will be held somewhere else on campus. The Dean, Prof Stan du Plessis, ensured prospective visitors that all areas accessible to the public are completely safe.
Photo: Students have posted a message of support for lecturers on the fence surrounding the Van der Sterr building.
