Professor Mucha Musemwa

Faculty of Humanities

Professor Mucha Musemwa is the current Dean of Humanities at Wits University. He previously held the post of Head of the School of Social Sciences at Wits and the Assistant Dean: Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Humanities, where he also chaired the Faculty’s Graduate Studies Committee. He obtained his PhD from the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Global Change and the Department of History at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, USA and has been deeply involved in the South African higher education terrain in various capacities for more than 27 years. He takes the reins from Professor Garth Stevens who has been appointed as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: People Development and Culture from 1 January 2023.

His record of scholarship has earned him full professorship and elevated his rating from a C2 to a B3 scholar from the National Research Foundation. He is an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, a member of the Board of Directors for several global humanities and environmental humanities-related organisations and serves as the Chairperson of the Board of the Public Affairs Research Institute. He also served as President of the Southern African Historical Society.

Professor Musemwa has a deep understanding of the contemporary pedagogical issues confronting the humanities, the role that the Faculty can play on the continent and in the Global South, and a vision for a socially responsive and digital Faculty. He is known to be an empowering and empathetic leader who uses his positional power to engage on social issues, beyond the boundaries of his own discipline.