This year marked the end of Professor Nthabiseng Audrey Ogude’s tenure as Dean of Mamelodi campus at the University of Pretoria (UP).

Throughout her career in tertiary education, which included service in strategic leadership positions, Prof Ogude remained passionate about student access and success, and used data-informed approaches for the holistic development of students, especially that of historically disadvantaged female students.

Prof Ogude’s journey is one of determination with a focus on excellence. The success of her achievements and projects lie in the element of legacy and sustainability, which will benefit generations of UP students.

Prof Ogude completed her first degree at the National University of Lesotho in 1979. Since then, over a period of 43 years, she has worked at higher education institutions. Prof Ogude rose from the rank of tutor to professor, pursuing her passion for teaching chemistry and making education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields accessible to all socioeconomic groups in South Africa. After obtaining a PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand, she focused her attention on teaching chemistry as part of her contribution to the transformation of the South African higher education landscape.

Her continued involvement with undergraduate teaching soon revealed that the teaching and learning issues facing higher education in South Africa were much broader than she had envisaged. They extended to all disciplines in the Natural and Physical Sciences and even in the Social Sciences and Humanities, where black students were underrepresented.

It became clear to Prof Ogude that to bring about sustainable change in teaching and learning, she had to be involved at the highest levels of decision-making. “There was an important proviso to that involvement though,” she points out. “And that is, in any transformation in undergraduate teaching and learning, disciplinary content had to be at the centre of such change.”

Together with her colleagues, Prof Ogude introduced chemistry, physics and mathematics as mainstream disciplines within the corresponding disciplinary department – a new phenomenon in South Africa at the time. Today, these disciplines are recognised within the body of scholarly work. However, the challenge of bringing about sustainable change throughout the whole undergraduate programme remained.

As she moved into higher education leadership, Prof Ogude was driven partly by the inability of management to address enduring undergraduate teaching and learning problems, and the failure to understand the centrality of academic departments in that endeavour. Consequently, of her 43 years in higher education, she spent 20 in strategic management and leadership, focusing on student success. Of the 20 years in management, 10 were spent in senior management at UP as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and more recently as Dean.

UP gave Prof Ogude an opportunity to realise her dream of developing and institutionalising a model for student success. Together with Prof Cheryl de la Rey, former Vice-Chancellor of UP, she experimented with an initiative called the Student Academic Development and Excellence Model.

Reflecting on the project, Prof Ogude notes: “Our role in developing an evidence-based undergraduate student success strategy … at a time when most universities, and especially research universities, did not have a concerted approach to the management of undergraduate student success was the highlight of my career. I believe it is acknowledged by many.”

The model is now being used nationally through the Siyaphumelela initiative which is funded by the Kresge Foundation – where 19 of the 25 universities in South Africa have committed themselves to a data-led approach to student success.

These are but some of the many pillars of success that Prof Ogude leaves behind as a legacy. Speaking of her next chapter, she says: “A colleague recently told me that we do not retire from anything, but rather retire into our passions. I am grateful that I am indeed retiring into my passion of leading the Pre-University Academy.”

Prof Ogude leaves feeling hopeful for the future of the university.

“UP is on a very good footing under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prof Kupe. I look forward to even greater achievements both on the national and international front.”

As for Mamelodi campus, she is confident that a solid foundation has been laid for the campus to continue with the Anchor Mission and the Extended Curriculum Programmes under its new name, UP Social Innovation Campus.

“I wish the new Director well in leading the campus in its service to the community,” Prof Ogude says.

Prof Ogude is now acting Director of UP’s Pre-University Academy, which operates from Groenkloof and Mamelodi campuses.