Mamphela Ramphele

Mamphela Aletta Ramphele is the vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, the first black woman to hold this position at a South African university. During her career, Dr. Ramphele has worked as a doctor, a civil rights leader, a community development worker, an academic researcher and a university administrator. She is the author of Across Boundaries: The Journey of a South African Woman Leader. She has received several prestigious national and international awards, including three honorary doctorates, acknowledging her scholarship, service to community, and efforts to raise the status of the most disadvantaged sectors of the South African community. Dr. Ramphele earned her bachelor’s degree in administration from the University of South Africa and her Ph.D. in social anthropology from the University of Cape Town. In addition, she holds a medical degree from the University of Natal and degrees in tropical health, and hygiene and public health from the University of Witwatersrand.