Episode 44 - Nthabiseng Ogude Student Success in South Africa

Professor Nthabiseng Audrey Ogude is an Analytical Chemist, Science Educator and is currently Professor and Dean at the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi Campus. She obtained a BSc  degree Upper Class Honours majoring in Chemistry and Biological Sciences (Biochemistry, Parasitology and Entomology) at the National University of Lesotho, a MSc degree in Analytical Chemistry specialising in spectrophotometric methods of chemical analysis of Foods at the University of Nairobi and a PhD in Chemistry specialising in Chemistry Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Her PhD work was on the conceptions of entry level students and final year students of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in electrochemical reactions and devising and implementing teaching resources (experiments and tutorials) to correct identified misconceptions.  She was the first Black woman to receive a PhD in Chemistry at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1992. Professor Ogude was also the first woman to hold the positions of Vice-Chancellor of Tshwane University of Technology, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning at the University of Pretoria and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at Nelson Mandela University. She is currently Vice-President of the Pan African University Council. She has 30 years’ experience in tertiary education, 15 of which were in strategic leadership positions. She has taught at undergraduate (contact and distance) and postgraduate levels, supervised postgraduate students and published a number of papers in accredited and peer-reviewed journals. 

Professor Ogude is passionate about student access and success and using data-informed approaches for holistic development of students. She is one of the first four South Africans who attended the Achieving the Dream Conference in 2010, which formed the basis of the Kresge Foundation’s national initiative Siyaphumelela (We succeed)now rolled out to all South African universities. She also serves as one of the first cohort of six South African Student Success Coaches that assists 19 universities in South Africa in improving undergraduate student outcomes especially among first generation students. As the immediate former  Dean of  the Mamelodi Campus, she oversees the Anchor Strategy of the Campus, the Mamelodi Collaborative. This a partnership with Rutgers University-Newark, which paved the way for the University of Pretoria to become the first African university to become part of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities – i.e. higher education institutions that play a major role in strengthening of the fabric of their communities by aligning university goals with those of the neighbourhoods in which they are anchored, thus promoting educational opportunities, driving economic mobility and improving lives. Her research interests are in the areas of science / chemistry education, women in science, higher education policy and academic management leadership. She has a number of papers published in accredited journals and conference proceedings. She has developed a number of teaching and learning resources. She is currently the acting director of the University of Pretoria’s flagship project the UP: Pre-University Academy.