Rosemary Moeketsi

Professor Rosemary Moeketsi earned a series of degrees, including her doctorate, through Unisa. She was Executive Dean of Unisa’s College of Human Sciences.

A talented student, Rosemary Moeketsi wrote matric at age 16 — two years before the customary matric-writing age. She applied to study law at Wits University, but the Ministry of Education refused her the permission that black students required for entry into white universities under apartheid. Moeketsi instead trained as a teacher and studied further through Unisa, earning her doctorate by conducting innovative forensic linguistics research into how language use affects the course of justice. She has fought fiercely against white male academic domination, becoming one of Unisa’s first black junior lecturers and, later, its first black female dean. She has also introduced various initiatives to empower Unisa’s young academics, including the Scholars Development Plan (and its Mentorship Programme) and the Africa Speaks lecture series, which introduces new scholars to accomplished African intellectuals and encourages them to employ African modes of thought in their scholarship.  She served as executive dean of the College of Human Sciences until her retirement in 2016.

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