Rate My Professor Wim de Villiers

Professor Wim de Villiers is a South African physician and academic who served as the 12th Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University from 2015 to 2025. Born in Stellenbosch in 1959, he matriculated from Paul Roos Gymnasium in 1977 with the highest marks in the then Cape Province. He earned his MBChB cum laude from Stellenbosch University in 1983, receiving the Francie van Zijl and Chancellor’s Medals. After registering as a physician in 1984, he completed internships and medical officer roles before specializing in gastroenterology and serving as a registrar in internal medicine at Stellenbosch University from 1986. In the 1990s, he moved to the United Kingdom, obtaining a DPhil in immunology from the University of Oxford in 1995. He then joined the University of Kentucky Medical Centre, where he remained for 18 years, serving as chief of gastroenterology and administrative head of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington. His research focused on the immunology of the gut, particularly the innate immune system and macrophages, with publications in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and Gastroenterology. He earned a master’s degree in healthcare management from Harvard University and was named to Best Doctors in America four times. De Villiers returned to South Africa in 2013 as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town before assuming his leadership role at Stellenbosch University. He is an Emeritus Professor in Gastroenterology at Stellenbosch University and has held the Marcos Lins Andrade Endowed Chairship in Gastroenterology. Among his honors are fellowships from the American Gastroenterological Association and the South African Gastroenterological Society, an honorary professorship in internal medicine from Stellenbosch University, and membership in the Academy of Science of South Africa. He has served on committees including the Research Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology.