Rhodes University is one of the smallest universities in South Africa and is located in the poor semi-rural area of Makhanda (previously Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The motto of the University is ‘Where Leaders Learn’. It is about educating students as knowledgeable intellectuals and skilled professionals; nurturing them to be critical, caring, and compassionate citizens who actually see themselves as part of a wider community. The city of Makhanda is a microcosm of South African cities where there is a clear racial divide and between privilege and exclusion as part of the apartheid legacy. It is a reflection of South Africa’s problems and to varying degrees, the rest of the world where poverty, inequality and unemployment persists and have done so for a long time. Dr Sizwe Mabizela, the current Vice Chancellor of Rhodes University repositioned the University in his inaugural speech when he said “we are not only geographically located in this city, we are of and for this city.” He stated that the re-imagining of Rhodes University rests on four pillars (described below), which underpins its social responsibility to the community of Makhanda, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and the world:
- Sustainability principle: should permeate every aspect of the academic endeavour and every decision taken by the university. In the process, we need to produce graduates with an elevated sense of awareness of and responsibility for building sustainable communities.
- Simultaneous local responsiveness and global engagement: the academic endeavour should seek to respond to the pressing and urgent local challenges while simultaneously contributing to our accumulated global stock of knowledge.
- Advancing social justice: given the painful past of South Africa which was characterized by exclusion and denial of opportunities for a significant segment of our society, it is vitally important that we do all we can to restore the dignity and humanity of those who were mistreated by the previous dispensation.
- Advancing the public good purpose of higher education: Rhodes University does not exist in a vacuum but within a social, cultural and economic milieu and has an important role to play in lifting the quality of life of local communities.
Rhodes University has developed a number of multi-disciplinary models based on the integrated nexus of teaching, research and community engagement, which contribute to the social, economic and cultural development of Makhanda. Reciprocity, mutuality, participation and sustainability are key principles that guide Rhodes University in its engagement with all community partners. In keeping with the key principles, we have worked hard to create meaningful leadership opportunities for students in teaching and learning, community engagement. More than half of the student body is engaged in the broader community and have embedded themselves in a social context that provides them with a better understanding of society and all its complexity. The institution has a deep commitment to democracy and social justice and believes that Community Engagement can play a critical role in the transformation of the institution and society.
Rhodes University’s community engagement:
https://www.ru.ac.za/communityengagement/
https://www.ru.ac.za/communityengagement/citizenship/
https://www.ru.ac.za/communityengagement/citizenship/vcseducationinitiative/
University Website: https://www.ru.ac.za/
