On 20 July 2017, the university was officially renamed Nelson Mandela University, the only university in the world to carry the name of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. With the full support of Mandela’s eldest grandson and custodian of the family, Mandla Mandela, it is our unique privilege to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s most beloved statesman and a man who became the world’s moral compass.
Mandela believed that education was a force of good and called on all South Africans to treasure knowledge and never stop learning. He valued diversity – especially the coming together of different minds, different backgrounds, different talents, and different approaches to achieve greatness. He also made it clear that his contribution was just the beginning; calling on students, academics, and universities to forge new paths, and bring about new cycles of economic innovation, democratic change, and equality.
We embrace Mandela’s challenge and honor his name by leading our university into an era of transformative innovation, development, and change. As an innovative 21st-century institution of higher learning, we are taking responsibility for his legacy and ensuring that it is reflected in the way that we teach, learn, research, and engage with our communities. and work and live as students, staff, alumni, and partners.
Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to improving society and changing the world for the better and as the university that uniquely carries his name, we are confident that we can do justice to his legacy.