By Levy Masiteng
Dr Naledi Pandor has been appointed as the next Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University, the institution’s council said, with the former cabinet minister due to take up the role on 1 April for a four-year term.
“She is a distinguished activist, academic, former Cabinet Minister and an internationalist, whose lifelong commitment to education, social justice and public service aligns deeply with the values and mission of the University,” said chairperson of the university council, Judge Nambitha Dambuza.
Pandor will succeed Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, whose term ends on 31 March.
Fraser-Moleketi served two terms as Chancellor.
Dambuza credited Fraser-Moleketi’s tenure with advancing the university’s values and growth, citing her “dedication, hard work and commitment to advancing Nelson Mandela University, its values and ethos that characterised her term of office”.
Nelson Mandela University is a public university based in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
It was formed in 2005 through the merger of three institutions and operates across seven campuses, including one in George. It has a student population of about 27 000.
The university was renamed in 2017 to Nelson Mandela University after previously being known as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The Nelson Mandela Foundation said at the time the institution was the only university in the world to carry the former president’s name and that it was among a limited number of institutions globally given formal approval to use it.
Pandor, who holds a PhD and has served in several senior cabinet portfolios, was appointed Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in2019, after prior positions that included minister in the education and higher education departments.
INSIDE EDUCATION
