Tawana Kupe, charisma at the service of African universities

" With this speech, and oh so much emotion, I'd like to share with you the honor and pride I feel in celebrating the exceptional values of Professor Kupe ". Patrick Caron's voice trembled slightly as he completed his speech in the anatomy amphitheatre. Beside him, Tawana Kupe, whose mask barely conceals her smile, listens to this eulogy in which he is the subject. It has to be said that the CV is long, and each line reinforces a little more the charisma of a character that the vice-president in charge of international relations knows well. " I lived for two years in Bostwana, on the border with South Africa, and I've been working with the University of Pretoria for over twenty years.

Tawana Kupe was born in Zimbabwe in the mid-60s. The son of a couple of teachers, he went on to study English at theUniversity of Zimbabwe, before moving to Oslo, Norway, to complete a doctorate in media studies. A discipline that would remain the leitmotif of a multi-faceted career he pursued mainly in South Africa. First atRhodes University, then, after a brief return to Zimbabwe, at Witwatersrand, a major university in South Africa's Gauteng province.

Visionary and committed

It was at this university that the man who was not yet a professor developed a precise vision of the structuring of higher education in Africa. Initially recruited as Director of the Schools of Literature and Language Studies, he founded the Department of Media Studies, which was to become one of the most important in the Faculty of Humanities, of which he was Dean. It was also at the Witwatersrand that he founded the African Center for Critical Studies on the United States as Nation and Society. This project enabled him to build the first bridge between African and American universities.

In addition to his academic career, Tawana Kupe is also active in a number of other areas. In 2005, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Media Watch, whose aim is to promote the media as institutions essential to the maintenance of democracy. He is also involved with the Amma Bungay Center for Investigative Journalism, a leader in exposing corruption in South Africa. " Tawana Kupe is a very popular person, involved in media life, extremely charismatic, with a great talent for public speaking. Her words count not only in South Africa, but in the democratic world in general," emphasizes the Deputy Chairman.

Post-apartheid transition

This scientific and media recognition will open the doors to theUniversity of Pretoria, where he will become Vice-Chancellor in 2019. " In South Africa, this position is equivalent to that of a university president. By obtaining it, Professor Kupe has become the first " black" vice-chancellor of 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 put in place was " partnership ". And it was indeed an impressive system of networks, alliances and partnerships that Tawana Kupe quickly succeeded in putting in place.

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 UN's sustainable development goals. He then founded a consortium of nine African universities united around Michigan State University. In 2019, he will co-found the Australian-African Universities Network, connecting researchers and students from both countries. These are all models that the Vice-Chancellor would like to replicate in 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 structuring of MUSE with great interest. A project he was quick to praise in front of Emmanuel Macron, on an 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 even further. Tawana Kupe has been invited to sit on and chair the MUSE International Advisory Board (MIAB). You can now see the extent of Professor Tawana Kupe's activities and influence," concludes Patrick Caron at the end of his eulogy. It is symbolic for us to honor her today by awarding her an honorary doctorate ".