Patricia [Trish] Hanekom was born in Zimbabwe and completed her schooling there. She enrolled for a BSc degree at UCT in 1976. As a student activist, she was arrested for the first time for her involvement in opposing forced removals and ultimately, suspended her studies at UCT in 1978.

She moved to Magaliesburg where she and her husband farmed. They were involved in underground structures of the ANC and were arrested in 1983 for providing information on the destabilisation of neighbouring countries by the then SADF.

After an in camera trial and a prison sentence of just over three years, Trish was deported to Zimbabwe in 1987. In Zimbabwe she served in ANC structures until returning to South Africa in 1991 after receiving amnesty.

Trish was the Deputy Elections Co-ordinator for the Gauteng Province in the run up to the 1994 elections and then served as a member of the Gauteng Legislature from 1994 to 1997.

In 1997 she was appointed as Head of Department for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation. Environment and Land Affairs and in 2004 she took responsibility as Chief Executive Officer for two of the Gauteng Province’s strategic economic infrastructure investment projects, the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and Dinokeng tourism developments.

Dr Trish Hanekom has a Master of Science degree in Financial Economics (2001) and a post-graduate diploma in Economic Principles (1997) from the University of London. She also has a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery degree from the Medical University of South Africa (1993) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Management, Statistics and Computer Science from Unisa (1987).

Trish currently serves in the Ministerial Advisory Task Team for the creation of a National School of Government.

She is a Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Medical Research Council and of Onderstepoort Biological Products (SOC) Ltd.

She is also a Board Member of Maropeng a’Afrika Leisure (Pty) Ltd, the operator of the official visitor centre of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Trust.

Mosibudi Mangena was born in 1947 in Tzaneen, in the now Limpopo Province. He is married to Thabile and they have two children.

He matriculated at Hebron Training Institute in 1969. In 1970, he enrolled at the University of Zululand (Ngoye) for a BSc degree where he was elected to the SRC and became active in the South African Students Organisation (SASO).

He discontinued his studies and moved back to Pretoria where he became active in the local branch of SASO and PRESO,

In 1972, he was elected the first National Organiser of the Black People’s Convention at its inaugural Congress.

In 1973 he was detained under the Terrorism Act in Port Elizabeth. He was later charged, convicted and sent to Robben Island for five years. While on Robben Island and under banning orders, he completed a BSc and BSc Hons degrees with the University of South Africa. He now holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Mathematics.

On his release in 1978, he was banned and restricted to Mahwelereng Township in the then Lebowa Homeland for five years.

In 1981 he went into exile and joined the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA). He was first elected Chairperson of the Botswana Chapter of the movement, and in 1982 became the Chairperson of the Central Committee of the BCMA.

In 1983, he moved his operational base to Zimbabwe where, he resided until he returned to South Africa in 1994. On his return from exile he was elected President of AZAPO at the merger Congress of the BCMA and AZAPO.

He was elected a Member of Parliament in April 1999 and appointed the Deputy Minister of Education in January 2001. In April 2004 he was appointed the first Minister of Science and Technology.

In this capacity, he chaired the SADC ministers responsible for science and technology and the continental African Ministers’ Council on Science and Technology.

He is the author of eight books, including On Your Own (1989); Triumphs & Heartaches (2015); A Twin World (1996) and My Grandmother is Permanent (2004).

He has five honorary doctorates from the Vaal University of Technology, Stellenbosch University, University of South Africa, University of KZN and the University of Venda.

Tshilidzi Ratshitanga is a Mitchell Fellow and Ph.D. graduate of the School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware, USA. He holds an MPhil and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela University) and RAU (now University of Johannesburg) respectively. Dr Ratshitanga is also Chairman and Founder of the New Cities, New Economies Institute, the Global Consortium for Africa’s Economic Development and the Global Black People’s Convention (GBPC).

He previously worked as a senior manager in the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) and subsequently joined the private sector in mining, and property development. He currently serves on a number of boards and is Chairman of both Bokamoso Barona Investment Trust and Kaborona Investment Holdings. He is a director of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), Deputy Chairperson of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) and Chairman of The Innovation Hub (TIH).

Dr Ratshitanga is a social activist and active member of South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). He also served the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in Gauteng Province and was a Commissioner of the ANC’s 2012 National Congress Elections Commission.

He is currently a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg.

Born in 1948, Peter was a black-consciousness student activist at the University of Fort Hare, from which he was expelled.   He holds a BA degree in political science and history from Unisa.

Having formerly served on the Boards of National Chemical Products (NCP), Sentrachem; Alcatel-Lucent; the SABC; Sanlam and New Africa Investment Limited (NAIL), Peter is the Non-Executive Chairman of AMB Holdings Limited.

He is also Chairman of New Seasons Investments and has chaired the Black Business Executive Circle and the Black Business Presidential Working Group.

Peter is formerly Chairman of the Mail & Guardian, a member of the Unisa Council, director on the boards of Wesbank, Business Against Crime and Special Olympics South Africa.

Peter was a founding member, Managing Director and later Chairman, of South Africa’s first Black-owned and managed advertising agency, HerdBuoys Mc-Cann–Erickson.

He has served on several advertising and marketing industry bodies.

He is also a trustee of several non-governmental organizations.

Honorary Doctorate from Wits.

He holds honorary doctorates from the University of the Witwatersrand and the Durban University of Technology.

Andries Nel is co-ordinator of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) of the African National Congress (ANC).

He served as a Member of Parliament for the ANC for 25 years, from 27 April 1994 to 7 May 2019, during which he was Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs responsible for Provincial and Local Government; Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development; House Chairperson of the National Assembly; and Deputy Chief Whip of the ANC.

He participated in the writing of South Africa’s Constitution in the Constitutional Assembly on the committee dealing with the judiciary and legal system.

Before 1994 he worked at Lawyers for Human Rights representing prisoners on death row. He was involved in the student and youth movements during the 1980s. He became politically active in high school in São Paulo, Brazil in the early 1980’s.

He is a member of the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) and has served on the boards of the South African Cities Network, the SA Board for Sheriffs, and the Council of Technikon Northern Gauteng.

He holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Pretoria.

Dr Claudelle von Eck is the former CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors SA and is founder of Brave Inflexions. Her practice focuses on leadership, governance, change management, ethics, culture and whistleblower support. She’s a Strategic Advisor, Executive Coach, Facilitator, Trainer and Keynote Speaker.

She is an experienced executive and non-executive director and has served on numerous international committees and task teams. Her doctoral degree is in leadership with a particular focus on change management. She is a fellow of the Institute of Directors and is a Certified Director. She is also a member of Coaches and Mentors of South Africa (COMENSA).

Professor Shireen Motala has been awarded the SARChI Chair: Teaching and Learning (the national research chair is funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and coordinated by the National Research Foundation, South Africa in July 2020 at a Tier 1 level.

She was the Head: Postgraduate School (PGS), University of Johannesburg (UJ) until October 2020, and is professor in the Faculty of Education (FoE), UJ. The SARChI: T&L is located within the FoE.

Prior to joining UJ in 2010, Professor Shireen Motala, was the Director of the Education Policy Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her academic qualifications include: a BA (University of Durban-Westville), a B Social Science Honours (University of Cape Town), an MA (University of Warwick), a PGCE (University of London) and a PhD (University of the Witwatersrand). In March 2010, she was appointed as the Director of the newly established Postgraduate Centre: Research and Innovation at the University of Johannesburg. In May 2016, she was appointed as the Senior Director of the Postgraduate School. She is currently UJ’s representative on the international body, the Council Graduate Schools and participates in the Universitas 21 activities.

She has held numerous leadership roles related to Higher Education including: Chairperson of the Education Policy Consortium (2006-2010), Chairperson of the UNESCO South African Commission (2001-2006), and first inaugural president of the South African Research Association (SAERA) (2013-2014). She was appointed by the Minster of Higher Education and Training to serve on the Council of Higher Education (CHE) for two terms from 2010-2010. In 2013, she served on the Ministerial Committee to review the national Senior Certificate examination. She is currently a trustee at the South African Institute for Distance Education. She is on the Assessment and Accreditation committee of UMALUSI.

Research Interests

 An NRF rated researcher, she has initiated collaborations between universities across Africa and with Asia and Europe, and this has led to the formation of long-term regional and international partnerships. Playing a leadership role in research, she was the principal investigator or the international Consortium for Research on Equity, Access and Transitions in Education (CREATE).  Her research record is substantial and includes publications in journals and books and editorship of local and international journals. Her research interests and expertise have been in the areas of education financing and school reform, access and equity, and education quality.  Her doctoral research examined how financial redistributive strategies can provide equitable access and reduce inequalities in the South African public schooling system.   Spanning a long career in research in all its aspects, she led strategies for: research capacity development, knowledge management, research income generation, and stakeholder relationship management. Promoting scholarship and a sound intellectual culture and developing the next generation of scholars in order to contribute to societal transformation, have been in the forefront of her activities, and will continue to be during tenure as Chair.  Prof Motala has recently co-edited the book: “From Ivory Towers to Ebony Towers: Transforming Humanities Curricula in South Africa, Africa, and African-American Studies” (published by Jacana, Mar. 2020).

Research relevance

The key focus of the SARChi Chair research programme addresses and expands on the priority areas of academic teaching, academic learning and the academic curriculum within the following themes:

• Theme 1: Teaching Excellence: Undergraduate Education
• Theme 2: Equity, Access and Success: Undergraduate Education
• Theme 3: Access and Success: Supervision for Quality Postgraduate education
• Theme 4: Socially Just Pedagogy and the Decolonisation of the Curriculum

Prof Mosoetsa is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HSRC. She assumed this role on 1 February 2023. She holds a Doctorate in Sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand. Prof Mosoetsa was instrumental in establishing and setting up the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) in 2013 and held the position of CEO at the Institute from 2014.

She is the author of several publications, including, amongst others, Eating from one pot: dynamics of survival in poor South African households (Wits Press) and co-editor of Labour in the Global South: challenges and alternatives for workers (ILO), and co-editor of Precarious Labor in Global Perspective (Cambridge University Press).

She has worked for various organisations, including the Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP), and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). Prof Mosoetsa sits on various boards and committees, inter alia, the National Minimum Wage Commission, the University of Venda Council, the Advisory Board for the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies and Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection. Prof Mosoetsa is passionate about the humanities and social sciences in South Africa, the continent, and the globe, and their contribution to societies grappling with challenges of poverty and inequalities, economic transformation, and redress.