Adam Habib

(MENAFN- The Conversation) Vice-Chancellor, SOAS, University of London Profile Articles Activity

Professor Adam Habib is an academic, researcher, activist, administrator, and well-known public intellectual. A Professor of Political Science, Habib has over 30 years of academic, research and administration expertise, spanning five universities and multiple local and international institutions.

Prior to his appointment as Director of SOAS, he was Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa since 2013. Under his leadership, Wits did incredibly well – research output has increased, it has expanded its footprint in international journals and it has graduated more students than ever before. The university's finances are stable and it has strong, independent governance structures in place. Habib's commitment to excellence and transformation has left Wits in a far stronger position, and one of the best universities in Africa at which to study and conduct world-class research.

He joined the University of Johannesburg as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, Advancement and Library in 2007, during which time he oversaw a doubling of research output, and the dramatic expansion in the training of a new generation of scholars.

He is one of the co-founders of the African Research Universities Alliance, an affiliation of research-intensive universities on the continent.

Habib has published numerous edited books, book chapters and journal articles over the last three decades in the thematic areas of democratisation and its consolidation in South Africa, contemporary social movements, philanthropy, inequality, giving and its impact on poverty alleviation and development, institutional reform, changing identities and their evolution in the post-apartheid era, and South Africa's role in Africa and beyond. He is a well-known public figure in South Africa whose opinions are often sought by the media.

Habib's academic contributions resulted in his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in addition to serving as a fellow of both the African Academy of Science and the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Habib holds qualifications in Political Science from three universities, including the University of Natal and Wits. He earned his masters and doctoral qualifications from the Graduate School of the City University of New York.

Experience

• –present Founding director, Centre for Civil Society, University of Kwazulu-Natal.
• 2013–present Vice Chancellor and Principal, University of the Witwatersrand
• 2007–2013 Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, Innovation and Advancement, University of Johannesburg
• 2004–2007 Executive Director, Democracy and Governance Programme of the Human Science Research Council
• 2001–2003 Professor of the School of Development Studies , University of Natal

Education

• University of Kwazulu Natal, Bachelor of Arts
• University of Kwazulu Natal, Master of Arts
• University of Witwatersrand, Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
• Graduate School of the City University of New York, MPhil
• Graduate School of the City University of New York, PhD

Research Areas

• Political Science (1606)
• Anthropology Of Development (160101)
• History And Philosophy Of The Social Sciences (220208)

MENAFN15082025000199003603ID1109933589