University of KwaZulu-Natal

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University of KwaZulu-Natal^[1]


Established:	1 January 2004 as merger of UN (est. 1910) and UDW (est. 1960s)^[1]
Chancellor:	Frene Ginwala^[2]
Vice-Chancellor:	Prof. Malegapuru William Makgoba^[3]
Location:	Durban and Pietermaritzburg^[1], KwaZulu-Natal^[1], South Africa^[1]
Campus:	5 campuses^[4]
Website:	www.ukzn.ac.za

The University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.^[4] It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.^[1]

1 History
2 Organisation
3 Controversies
4 Notable alumni
- 4.1 University of Durban-Westville
- 4.2 University of Natal
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The main clock tower of Old Main Building, located on the Pietermaritzburg campus.

[edit] University of Natal

Founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, the University of Natal was granted independent University status in 1949 owing to its rapid growth in numbers, its wide range of courses and its achievements in and opportunities for research. By that time, the NUC was already a multi-campus institution, having been extended to Durban after World War 1. The distinctive Howard College building was opened in 1931, following a donation by Mr T B Davis, whose son Howard Davis was killed during the Battle of the Somme in World War 1. In 1946, the government approved a Faculty of Agriculture in Pietermaritzburg and, in 1947, a Medical School for African, Indian and Coloured students in Durban.

Under apartheid, the university was known for the activism of its staff and students against government-imposed racial segregation.

[edit] University of Durban-Westville

The University of Durban-Westville was established in the 1960s as the University College for Indians on Salisbury Island in Durban Bay. Student numbers throughout the 1960s were low as a result of the Congress Alliances' policy of shunning apartheid structures. This policy gave way in the 1980s to a strategy of "education under protest" which sought to transform apartheid institutions into sites of struggle. Student numbers grew rapidly and in 1971, the College was granted University status. The following year, the newly-named University of Durban-Westville moved into its modern campus in Westville and was a site of major anti-apartheid struggle. UDW became an autonomous institution in 1984, opening up to students of all races.

[edit] Merger

The University of KwaZulu-Natal was formed on 1 January 2004 as a result of the merger between the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Natal. The two KwaZulu-Natal universities were among the first batch of South African institutions to merge in 2004 in accordance with the government's higher educational restructuring plans.

[edit] Organisation

The university is governed in accordance with the Higher Education Act ^[5], and the constitution of the university is specified in the Statute of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, ^[6] as approved by the South African Minister of Education and the Parliament of South Africa.

In terms of the statute, the university consists of:

the chancellor (the titular head. The first chancellor of the merged university is Dr Frene Ginwala
the vice chancellor (the executive head)
two or more deputy vice chancellors (currently there are five full and one acting) ^[7]
the registrar (responsible for registering students)
the council (responsible for governance of the institution as a whole)
the senate (responsible for governance of academic activities)
the students representative council (responsible for students representation)
the institutional forum (responsible for advising the council on matters of human rights and equality)
the colleges (currently there are four)
the academic and support staff
the students
the convocation (all the alumni and some others)

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Freedom of expression

In 2006 the International Freedom of Expression Exchange stated that "Free expression and academic freedom are in severe decline at the university."^[8]

In 2007 the Freedom of Expression Institute was concerned about the university's suspension of professor Evan Mantzaris for criticising management, "part of a larger process in which the space for free expression and academic freedom at that university is being narrowed".^[9]

[edit] Staff strike

Please help improve this page by expanding this section with material referenced to reliable sources.

Staff strike in 2006.^[10]

[edit] Eviction of shack dwellers and the firing of Fazel Khan

In 2005 vice-chancellor Makgoba tried have three families, living in shacks on Westville campus, evicted.^[11]

UKZN academics Fazel Khan and Sally Giles directed a documentary film about Abahlali baseMjondolo, a shack-dwellers' movement. When Kahn was excised from both the photo and text in an article about the documentary in the university newsletter UKZNdaba, he was charged with dishonest conduct because he told newspapers that he believed that he had been excised from the photograph and text by the university management due to his role in the staff strike of 2006. Khan was found guilty^[12] of bringing the university into disrepute and fired.^[10]The Mercury had previously reported that vice-chancellor Makgoba had publicly declared that, following a request from Mayor Obed Mlaba, he would charge Khan and 2 other academics working with Abhalali baseMjondolo for 'incitement'.

[edit] Notable alumni

Imani Sanga, composer and ethnomusicologist^{[citation needed]}

As the university has only existed since 2004, very few of its graduates have had the opportunity to attain great fame. There are, however, numerous notable alumni of its founding institutions:-

[edit] University of Durban-Westville

Malusi Gigaba, deputy Minister of Home Affairs in South Africa^{[citation needed]}
Radhakrishna Padayachi, deputy Minister of Communications in South Africa^{[citation needed]}

[edit] University of Natal

Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist ^[13]
Colin Bundy, Warden, Green College, Oxford; Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of London^{[citation needed]}
Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party^{[citation needed]}
Sheila Cussons, poet^{[citation needed]}
Lev David, writer, radio producer/presenter and media consultant^{[citation needed]}
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs in South Africa^{[citation needed]}
Adrian Furnham, organizational and applied psychologist and management expert^{[citation needed]}
Mazisi Kunene, poet^{[citation needed]}
David Lewis-Williams, professor emeritus of Cognitive Archaeology at the University of the Witwatersrand^{[citation needed]}
Douglas Livingstone, contemporary poet^{[citation needed]}
Lara Logan, television journalist for CBS News^{[citation needed]}
Colin Moss, actor^{[citation needed]}
Fatima Meer, writer, academic and anti-apartheid activist^{[citation needed]}
Frank Mdlalose, first premier of KwaZulu-Natal^{[citation needed]}

D.J. Opperman, Afrikaans poet^{[citation needed]}
David Papineau, academic philosopher^{[citation needed]}
Alan Paton, author, Cry, The Beloved Country^{[citation needed]}
Pat Pillai, presenter e.tv News^{[citation needed]}
Mamphela Ramphele, academic, businesswoman, medical doctor and anti-apartheid activist^{[citation needed]}
Sydney Skaife, entomologist, naturalist and conservationist^{[citation needed]}
William Smith, television mathematics and science teacher^{[citation needed]}
John van de Ruit, novelist, actor, playwright and producer^{[citation needed]}
Trevor Wadley, electrical engineer and inventor of the Wadley Loop^{[citation needed]}
Alan Whiteside, AIDS researcher and author^{[citation needed]}

Karthy Govender, commissioner for South African Human Rights Commission^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f History of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ Moodley, Indu. The University of KwaZulu-Natal's first chancellor - Dr Frene Ginwala. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ Vice-chancellor Professor Malegapuru William Makgoba. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ ^a ^b Choice of campuses. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ Parliament of South Africa (1997). "Higher Education Act". Government Gazette, Vol 390, No. 18515.
^ Parliament of South Africa (2005). "Statute of the University of KwaZulu-Natal". Government Gazette, Vol 684, No. 29032.
^ University of KwaZulu-Natal. ["http://www.ukzn.ac.za//aboutus/ukznexec.asp" Executive of the University of KwaZulu-Natal].
^ Lecturer faces disciplinary committee, possible dismissal, as free expression declines at university. Freedom of Expression Institute (2006-10-10). Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ "FXI says 'erosion' of free expression at KZN varsity", Mail&Guardian, 2007-03-24. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ ^a ^b Tolsi, Niren. "UKZN's Fazel Khan to fight back", Mail&Guardian, 2007-05-05. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ Beharie, Santosh. "KZN University in court to evict squatters", Sunday Independent, 2006-01-08, p. 3. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ Transcript of the hearing
^ Stephen Bantu Biko. South African history online (09 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.

[edit] External links

UKZN official site

	South African universities
Traditional universities Cape Town \| Fort Hare \| Free State \| KwaZulu-Natal \| Limpopo \| North-West Pretoria \| Rhodes \| Stellenbosch \| Western Cape \| Witwatersrand Comprehensive universities Johannesburg \| Nelson Mandela \| Unisa \| Venda \| Walter Sisulu \| Zululand Universities of technology Cape Peninsula \| Central \| Durban \| Mangosuthu \| Tshwane \| Vaal