Professor Njabulo S Ndebele (Chairman)

Professor Njabulo Ndebele is Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. He holds an MA from Cambridge University and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Denver.

His leadership in South African higher education has seen him serve as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of the Western Cape, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the North (now Limpopo) and two terms as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town. He is  also the former Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg. He also served as Chair of the South African Universities Vice-Chancellors Association; President of the Association of African Universities; and founding Chair of the Southern African Regional Universities Association.

He chaired three South African government commissions: on broadcasting, the teaching of history in schools, and the use of African languages as media of instruction in South African universities. He has received honorary doctorates from universities in South Africa, the United States, Japan, Europe and the United Kingdom. An award-winning author, he has published fiction and essays to critical acclaim.