Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is poised to change its name in a rebranding effort that will include a new logo and colours.
The new branding will be unveiled on March 27, so the university is playing its cards close to its chest.
However, WSU council chair Prof Tembeka Ngcukaitobi shed some light on the institution’s thinking during an interview with the Dispatch on Sunday.
“The legal name of the university will remain Walter Sisulu University.
“However, we intend giving prominence to being known simply as Walter Sisulu.
“We will also be giving primacy to the Xhosa reference of the university to be known as Walter Sisulu iDyunivesithi or Walter Sisulu iUnivesithi.
“This is in keeping with our brand to embrace the original knowledge fountains of the Eastern Cape while we aspire for global recognition.
“So, our acronym will simply be WS. But the legal name on our statute remains.
“We are pushing a new brand recognition,” Ngcukaitobi said.
On its official Facebook page, the university said: “The decision to change the name is partly informed by the need to strengthen the institution’s global brand identity and reduce confusion with other universities that share the same acronym, particularly Washington State University (WSU).
“As the university expands its international partnership and digital presence, having a distinctive and easily identifiable name becomes essential for clear recognition in global academic and professional spaces.”
Though its acronym is WSU, many people affectionately call the university “Wusu”.
The university is named in honour of one of SA’s most respected leaders of the liberation struggle, Walter Sisulu.
WSU spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo said: “As a university, we are striving to become a better version of ourselves, and this necessitates a change in our brand.”
He said the rebranding process had been undertaken through an extensive institutional consultation process involving stakeholders across the university community and its governance structures.
Engagements were held with council members, management, staff, students, alumni and representatives of the convocation.
Vice-chancellor and principal Dr Thandi Mgwebi said the new identity represented more than a visual change.
“Universities are custodians of both knowledge and possibility.
“Our new brand identity reflects Walter Sisulu University’s commitment to expanding opportunity, nurturing talent and producing knowledge that serves society.
“It signals our determination to build a university that honours its legacy while shaping the future of the communities and country we serve.”
Mgwebi emphasised the need for a brand that embodied character and resonated with people, moving away from the traditional black and white image of the university’s logo.
“Give us something that will give us character, something that will resonate with the people,” Tukwayo quoted Mgwebi as saying.
Nehawu further highlighted that any rebranding initiative should be undertaken with due consideration of the institution’s identity and legacy
— Dr Siphenathi Fihla, Nehawu secretary
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union secretary at WSU, Dr Siphenathi Fihla, said the name change, university colours and logo were a critical part of the rebranding.
“The consultation on the proposed rebranding was conducted in November 2025 at the Mthatha council chambers.
“During this process, Nehawu made a submission emphasising that the historical background of the institution’s stalwarts and the broader institutional history within the Eastern Cape must be preserved.
“Nehawu further highlighted that any rebranding initiative should be undertaken with due consideration of the institution’s identity and legacy.”
Fihla said a strong university brand must reflect academic quality and intellectual leadership.
“The WSU [brand] should emphasise research growth, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-driven learning.
“Rebranding should position the institution as a competitive and forward-looking African university.”
Regarding the name change, convocation prefers not to comment on this until the day of the revelation of the new brand
— Dr Lunga Mantashe, WSU convocation president
WSU convocation president Dr Lunga Mantashe said the convocation executive had been consulted on the rebranding.
“Regarding the name change, convocation prefers not to comment on this until the day of the revelation of the new brand.”
On the rebranding, he said: “It is fundamental to communicate anew to the country and the world what the university is, how it sees and thinks of itself henceforth, and how it wants to project its own image into the world.
“WSU needs a fresh start, and the rebranding goal does just that.”
WSU was established on July 1, 2005, through a merger of the former University of Transkei (Unitra), Border Technikon and Eastern Cape Technikon.
It has four campuses — Mthatha, Butterworth, Buffalo City and Komani — about 30,000 students and nearly 1,800 staff.
WSU’s first council president, Prof Somadoda Fikeni, said the university had a rich history of producing accomplished alumni.
“So, one of the next projects would be to say how to remove the thinking of Walter Sisulu, to think that it was born in 2005, instead of saying it started 50 years ago,” Fikeni said.
The Institutional SRC leadership declined to comment.
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