By Thapelo Molefe
The University of South Africa (Unisa) has appointed Professor Mpho Ngoepe as its new Vice-Principal for Teaching, Learning, Community Engagement and Student Support.
Ngoepe, a C2-rated researcher by the National Research Foundation (NRF), will take up the position on 1 October following approval of his appointment by the university council.
His appointment was made after the council considered reports and recommendations from the Selection Committee, as well as advice from the Executive Committees of the Senate and Institutional Forum.
Ngoepe has more than 28 years of academic, professional and leadership experience in library and information services, higher education, research, archives and records management, corporate governance and community engagement.
He joined Unisa in August 2012 and has held several senior academic and leadership positions at the university, including Director of the School of Arts, Acting Deputy Executive Dean, Head of the Department of Information Science and Head of the Centre for Applied Information and Communication.
He currently serves as Acting Vice-Principal for Research, Postgraduate Studies, Innovation and Commercialisation.
Unisa said his new portfolio would draw on his experience in academic leadership, research, postgraduate supervision, professional development and knowledge creation.
Ngoepe has published more than 100 journal articles, seven conference proceedings, 11 book chapters and three academic books. His research has focused on archives and records management, digital records, corporate governance, indigenous knowledge and languages, literacy and freedom of information.
His international academic standing was recognised in 2023 when he was included among the top 2% of scientists worldwide for career impact in a ranking by Elsevier and Stanford University based on authors published in Scopus-indexed journals.
Between 2013 and 2018, Ngoepe served as Director of Team Africa for the International Project on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) Trust, coordinated by the University of British Columbia in Canada.
During that period, the Africa team conducted research on digital records and archival education, including compiling a directory of higher education institutions offering archival studies in 38 African countries.
In 2016, the International Council on Archives appointed Ngoepe to convene a meeting of archival educators from across Africa, contributing to the organisation’s education strategy for the continent.
He has also supervised 28 master’s and 34 doctoral students to completion.
Ngoepe has also contributed to the promotion of African languages and literature. He has published two award-winning anthologies of Northern Sotho short stories, which were recommended for Grade 8 learners by the Limpopo Department of Education. He also authored a biography of 2012 Comrades Marathon champion Ludwick Mamabolo.
His professional leadership has included roles in the South African Society of Archivists, the Eastern and Southern African Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, the National Archives Advisory Council, the Gauteng Provincial Archives Advisory Council and the Archival Education Research Institute.
He has received several awards, including the IVAISLIP/SABINET Information Officer of the Year Award in 2004, recognition from the South African Human Rights Commission and Open Democracy Advice Centre in 2007 for his work in implementing the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the Unisa Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in Research in 2020 and the South African Society of Archivists Lifetime Achiever Award in 2022.
Unisa principal and vice-chancellor Professor Puleng LenkaBula said Ngoepe’s experience would be important as the university pursued its strategic priorities.
“Unisa wishes Professor Ngoepe every success in this important new role, which carries the significant responsibility of accelerating the pace of cultivating the Catalytic Niche Areas,” LenkaBula said.
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