Tawana Kupe, charisma in the service of African universities

"With this speech and so much emotion, I would like to share with you the honor and pride I feel in celebrating Professor Kupe's exceptional values."  It was Patrick Caron, his voice slightly trembling, who concluded his speech that day in the anatomy amphitheater. At his side, Tawana Kupe, whose mask barely concealed his smile, listened to the eulogy in which he was the subject. It must be said that his CV is long, and each line further reinforces the charisma of a figure whom the Vice President in charge of international relations knows well. "I lived in Botswana for two years, on the border with South Africa, and I have been working with the University of Pretoria for over twenty years."

Tawana Kupe was born in Zimbabwe in the mid-1960s. The son of two teachers, he studied English atthe University of Zimbabwe before moving to Oslo, Norway, to pursue a PhD in media studies. This discipline would remain the leitmotif of his multifaceted career, which he pursued mainly in South Africa. First atRhodes University, then, after a brief return to Zimbabwe, at Witwatersrand, a large university located in the province of Gauteng in South Africa.

Visionary and committed

It was at this university that, although not yet a professor, he developed a clear vision for the structure of higher education in Africa. Initially recruited as director of the literature and linguistics schools, he founded the media studies department, which would become one of the most important in the humanities faculty, of which he was dean. It was also at Witwatersrand that he founded the African Center for Critical Studies on the United States as a Nation and Society. This project enabled him to build a first bridge between African and American universities.

Alongside his academic career, Tawana Kupe has taken on a number of other commitments. In 2005, he became chair of the Media Monitoring Board, whose aim is to promote the media as institutions that are essential to the maintenance of democracy. He is also involved in the Amma Bungay investigative journalism center, a leader in exposing corruption in South Africa. "Tawana Kupe is a very popular figure, involved in media life, extremely charismatic, and a gifted speaker. His words carry weight not only in South Africa but in the democratic world in general," said the vice president.

Post-apartheid transition

This scientific and media recognition opened the doors tothe University of Pretoria, where he became vice-chancellor in 2019."In South Africa, this position is equivalent to that of a university president in the US. By obtaining it, Professor Kupe became the first'black'vice-chancellorof a 'white' university ." In this respect, he is one of the faces of the post-apartheid transition,"continues Patrick Caron. The watchword of the policy he then implemented was "partnership." And it was indeed an impressive system of networks, alliances, and partnerships that Tawana Kupe managed to put in place very quickly.

He first joined the board of directors of the Association of African Universities, which brings together 17 institutions with the aim of improving the quality of research and achieving the sustainable development goals set by the UN. He then founded a consortium of nine African universities centered around Michigan State University. In 2019, he co-founded the Australian-African University Network, connecting researchers and students from both countries. These are all models that the vice-chancellor would like to replicate with Europe.

MUSE Ambassador

Resolutely committed to transforming African research and education in line with the major societal challenges facing Africa and the world, Tawana Kupe has followed the development of MUSE with great interest. He did not hesitate to praise the project to Emmanuel Macron during his official visit to Pretoria last May. "The University of Pretoria has been a strategic partner of the University of Montpellier since the early 1990s, "recalls the vice president. " We now want to take our relationship and exchanges further." Tawana Kupe was therefore invited to sit on and chair the MIAB, the MUSE International Advisory Board. " You can now see the scope of Professor Tawana Kupe's activities and the extent of his influence," concluded Patrick Caron at the end of his speech. "It is symbolic for us to honor him today by awarding him an honorary doctorate."