Women’s University in Africa
The Women's University in Africa is a tertiary institution in Zimbabwe which offers academic certificates, diplomas and degrees. It is one of the few private universities in Zimbabwe established in 2002 and it was granted a charter by the government of Zimbabwe in 2004. The University is operating from its second site in Harare in the Mount Pleasant area just next to the University of Zimbabwe. The University opened with 145 students in 2002, and about 10 years later the number had cascaded to over 5000. Within the first ten years of establishment, It had also managed to employ a staff compliment of 90, acquired a farm of 285 hectares for commercial dairy (serves as the growth engine of the University).[1]
See List of Universities in Zimbabwe.
Founders
One of the leading founding figures is Professor Lydia Makhubu. She was the first Chancellor of WUA. She did her university education at Pius XII College in Lesotho and attained B.Sc. in Chemistry and Mathematics in 1963. She also attended University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada and attained an M.Sc. Organic Chemistry. In 1967 she went to the University of Toronto, Canada, where she attained a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry 1973.
Professor C. Hope Sadza is the Vice Chancellor. She is also the Founder and Founding Vice Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa. She holds a PhD in Public Administration with the University of Zimbabwe where her research was a study of the organisational problems faced by public corporations.
Dr Fay Chung has been the Chairperson Founder of the Women's University in Africa. Dr Fay Chung is a Zimbabwean. She was educated at the University of Zimbabwe, where she received her first degree (1962), her postgraduate Certificate in Education (1965) and her Doctorate (1999). She has authored a number of books especially on the dynamics of the Zimbabwean history.
Mission
The University’s mission is to provide quality tuition, research and service to the community to empower students for leadership and developmental roles. WUA is guided by its core values which are:[2]
- Gender sensitive
- Equity and diversity
- Academic freedom
- Creativity and innovation
- Integrity and honesty
- Social responsibility
- Transparency and accountability.[2]
Gender Bias
It seeks to enhance women's capacity through the provision of higher education, which enable them to fulfill political, social and leadership roles. The University considers the empowerment of women to be critical for sustainable democratic governance, economic growth and enhanced well-being of the general populace. W.U.A is the only women’s university in the region set up to directly tackle the problem of women’s access to university education. Its enrollment of 85% women and 15% men, the majority of whom are over 25 years of age, is proving to be better than traditional approaches of affirmative action. It is a contribution towards the 50/50 gender participation ratio as advocated through the S.A.D.C Protocol on Gender to address the historical and culturally en-grained gender imbalances.[2]
Enrolment
The University has been able to substantially increase the student enrolment through the introduction of the March intake. This is envisioned to help the University meet its strategic objective of increasing access and providing knowledge and skills that enable African women to take up leadership positions. In the year 2013, the University graduated a total of 662 students (77% females and 23% males) from the Faculties of Agriculture, Management and Entrepreneurial Development Studies and Information Technology and Social Sciences and Gender Studies. The figure brings the total number of graduates since the first graduation in 2005 to 3 118, approximately 75% of whom are women. At the end of 2013 the University's student population stood at 2904 up from 2 795 in October 2012.[3]
Academic Programs
Agriculture
- Diploma in Environmental Management
- BSc (Hon) in Agri-business Management
- BSc (Hon) In Animal Science
- BSc (Hon) in Agriculture.[4]
Management and Entrepreneurial Development Studies
- Diploma in Project Planning and Management
- Executive Diploma in Management
- BSc (Hons) in Information Systems
- BSc (Hons) in Management and Entrepreneurial Development Studies
- Master in Business Administration
- Master of Science in Strategic Marketing.[4]
Social Sciences and Gender Development Studies
- Diploma in Social Work
- BED Early Child Development
- BED (Primary)
- BSc in Psychology
- BSc (Hons) in Sociology and Gender Studies
- BSc Women and Gender Studies
- Master of Science in Development Studies
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Child Sensitive Social Policies.[4]
2013 Graduation
The 2013 Graduation ceremony produced 663 graduates. The ceremony was presided over by the long serving vice chancellor and co-founder Professor Hope Sadza. This graduation was important in the sense that it had the biggest number of graduates conferred with degrees and diplomas. This brought the number of graduates from WUA to 3099 since the first graduation in 2005.[5]
Honorary Degrees
Zimbabwe’s first black female commercial pilot and Air Zimbabwe director flight operations Captain Emilia Fungayi Njovani was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree in 2013, in Women and Gender Development in recognition of her inspiration to the Zimbabwean girl child.[6]
References
- ↑ , Dr Hope Sadza Founder of Women's University in Zimbabwe, "Who is Who in Zimbabwe", retrieved:13 Oct 2014"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 , Background History, "WUA", retrieved:13 Oct 2014"
- ↑ , Vice Chancellor's foreword, "WUA", retrieved:13 Oct 2104"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 , Welcome to Women's University in Africa, "WUA", retrieved:13 Oct 2014"
- ↑ V. Kavele, 663 Graduate at WUA, "The Herald", published:13 Oct 2013,retrieved:"
- ↑ Vitalis Kavere (October 19, 2013). "663 Capped at Womens University in Africa= The Herald". url=http://www.herald.co.zw/663-capped-at-womens-university-in-africa/. Missing pipe in:
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