The Central University of Technology, Free State, inaugurated Prof. Pamela Zibuyile Dube, as Vice-Chancellor and Principal on 17 February 2023.

Prof. Dube’s humble beginnings started at Kwa-Makhutha, a small township south of Durban in KwaZulu Natal, where she completed her primary school. She then went on to Inanda Seminary, one of the heritage missionary boarding schools which since 1869 has instilled in the black women it has educated to go out into the world and exemplify the school’s motto, ‘’Shine where you are”.

Before joining CUT, Professor Dube held the executive leadership role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development and Support at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She was responsible for a transformative student experience, well-being, and academic success. She has had a versatile career stretching from lecturer and researcher at the University of Siegen in Germany, lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, guest lecturer at Kathmandu University in Nepal, Dean of Student Affairs at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) to Director and Acting Chief Director at the National Department of Education, and Head of International Relations and Human Resources Development at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. She was also the Special Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg (UJ), where she later headed the Human Resources Division as Executive Director.

A graduate of the University of Siegen in Germany and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Prof. Dube is an accomplished international leader in academia, having attained numerous qualifications from national and international universities. She holds a BA and BA Honours degree from the University of Kwazulu-Natal, and an MA and PhD from the University of Siegen in Germany.   She has lived and worked in Germany after completing her doctoral degree. Prof. Dube’s PhD (interdisciplinary studies) focused on English postcolonial literature, orality and the new media, intersectionality and gender studies, and communication and cultural studies. Remarkably, her PhD was published as a book in 1997. She currently serves on the editorial board for Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture and has personally published in international peer-reviewed publications.

Her love for education and learning has kept her on the continuous professional development path. She has added several high-level management qualifications, including a Programme in Management Development (UCT Business School), the HERS-MidAmerica, Women in Higher Education Administration Programme (Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania), Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme (SAID Business School, Oxford University). She serves on a number of national and international boards for higher education and training. She co-chairs the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)’s Higher Education and the SDGs Network Steering Committee.

In addition to her substantive experience at the executive level, Prof. Dube has initiated effective partnerships and relationship-building approaches with academic, government, key industry and business role players.

For example, she has initiated projects focused on students' employability, data analytics for improved throughput rates and student support, food security, and a project to challenge gender stereotypes focused on reconciling gender identity, GBV, and masculinity dialogues.

Professor Pamela Dube brings an extraordinary tapestry of talents, knowledge, a wealth of experience and passion for working with students - who shall remain the number one priority at the Central University of Technology. The title of her inaugural address, "The Question of Technology and the Human at a University of Technology”.

WATCH the inauguration on CUT’s YouTube Channel or Facebook page.

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