Mamokgethi (Kgethi) Phakeng began her term of office as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town on 1 July 2018. She holds a PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of the Witwatersrand and is a highly regarded B1 NRF-rated scientist with over 80 research papers and five edited volumes published.  She has won numerous awards for her research and community work, including the Order of the Baobab (Silver) conferred on her by the President of South Africa in April 2016. In August 2014 CEO magazine named her the most influential woman academic in Africa, in August 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Businesswoman of the Year Award in the education category and in 2020 she was included in Forbes’ inaugural list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Africa. In July 2019 the University of Bristol conferred on her an Honorary Doctorate in Science in recognition of her leadership role in mathematics education in South Africa. Kgethi is founder of the Adopt-a-learner Foundation (www.adopt-a-learner.com), a non-profit organisation that started in 2004 and provides financial and educational support to students from township and rural areas to acquire higher education qualifications.

Social Handles

• Twitter: @FabAcademic or @UCT_VC 
• Facebook: Kgethi Phakeng
• Instagram: @FabAcademic