
Prof Tawana Kupe

Professor Tawana Kupe has been the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria since January 2019.
Before joining the University of Pretoria, he held the positions of Vice Principal responsible for running the university, Deputy Vice Chancellor Advancement, Human Resources and Transformation, Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Operations and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Wits University.
He holds BA honours and master’s degrees in English from the University of Zimbabwe, as well as a DPhil in Media Studies from the University of Oslo in Norway. In December 2019, Prof Kupe received an honorary doctorate from Michigan State University in the US, and another from the University of Montpellier in France, in October 2021.
He was the founding Head of the Media Studies Department at Wits University, and lectured at Rhodes University.
Prior to his tenure at Rhodes, Prof Kupe worked in various academic capacities at the University of Zimbabwe, including as Chairperson of the Department of English, Media and Communication Studies.
Prof Kupe has a notable publication record, having authored journal articles, books and book chapters in his main discipline, media studies and journalism. He edited the book Broadcasting Policy and Practice in Africa and co-edited Go Home or Die Here. He is also Managing Editor of the African Journal of Information and Communication. Additionally, Prof Kupe is a member of the advisory boards of the Journal of African Media Studies and the Global Handbooks in Media and Communication Research series; he also sits on the editorial board of Literary Studies.