University honors Murapa's 10 years of service
Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo (left) and the Rev. Beauty
Maenzanise share a dance with Rukudzo Murapa at a farewell dinner
honoring Murapa’s years of leadership at Africa University. UMNS photos
by Linda Green.
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By Linda Green*
Dec. 10, 2007 | MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)
Rukudzo Murapa
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While Africa University has grown in size and enrollment in the past 10
years, an even greater future lies ahead, according to the school’s
outgoing vice chancellor.
The United Methodist-related school has more than doubled its student
population to nearly 1,400 during the past decade, but Rukudzo Murapa
said the university "has just yet touched its potential." Murapa told a
gathering in his honor that the "greater horizon is out there," and the
university community must pull together with one mind and in one
direction to reach it.
"Whoever named the university ‘Africa,’ for whatever reason they had,
has given this university a challenge," he said. "... It is a dream the
size of the continent called Africa, and it must be realized for the
continent."
Diplomats, business people, church and community leaders, alumni and
students came together in a Nov. 30 farewell extravaganza to honor
Murapa and his leadership of the pan-African school.
Last October, Murapa decided to step down as vice chancellor of the
university, ending nearly 10 years at the helm. The Africa University
Board of Directors appointed Fanuel Tagwira, dean of agriculture and
natural resources, as the school's interim leader, effective Dec. 1.
"I will try my best, but I know that you are all going to work with
me to make sure that this work is done well and that the institution
continues to run smoothly as it has been doing under the wise leadership
of Professor Murapa," Tagwira said.
During the Nov. 30 ceremony in the ballroom of the Holiday Inn,
Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo told the crowd of more than 200 people that
"Murapa makes us proud."
Murapa emphasized that he didn’t lead the university alone.
"If I have done anything in the last 10 years to contribute to the
growth of Africa University, one thing is clear: It was not done by one
person. It is a collective role that we have all played together,"
Murapa said.
"This man came back to change Africa for tomorrow."
-Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo
Africa University had only been in existence for six years when
Murapa took over day-to-day leadership from the founding vice
chancellor, John W. Z. Kurewa, in 1998. However, his involvement with
the institution dated back to its inception. Before joining Africa
University as vice chancellor, Murapa led the international planning
committee that oversaw the development and launch of the Faculty of
Management & Administration.
Under Murapa’s leadership, demographic diversity among the students
has increased along with the enrollment, despite challenges related to
the increasing cost of private higher education in Africa.
In particular, Murapa has encouraged faculty and students to work at
the community level on efforts to solve problems, improve quality of
life and bring about sustainable development.
Changing Africa
Ntambo, the school's chancellor and chairman of the board of
directors, said Murapa made Africans proud. "We are so proud of you for
your commitment and for your love; so proud of you for your vision; so
proud of your commitment to make a difference among many Africans."
While many Africans left the continent to be educated in Europe or
the United States and never came back, Murapa was different, he said.
"This man came back to change Africa for tomorrow."
Throughout the program, messages from a variety of people were read, the Africa University Choir sang, and gifts were presented.
Speaking for the Africa University Alumni Association, Cyndrella
Musodza told the gathering that her matriculation at Africa University
was one of the greatest educational experiences of her life. Murapa, she
said, "always went out of his way to assist his students in every way
he could." He surrounded himself with staff and lecturers who "provided a
good dose of the word of God for anyone who had a willing heart to
receive it," she said.
One of Murapa's legacies is the connections the university has made
across the world, said Isdore Fungai, a member of the faculty of
management and administration. "He has left Africa University with a lot
of contacts, and as a networker we will not miss him because network
means there is no distance."
Humble beginnings
In 1974 Bishop Felton May stood on the hilltop on the grounds Hilltop
United Methodist Church and wondered as he looked down onto Sakubva,
the Mutare suburb where Murapa was born, if any good thing could emerge
from that place. He described it as being a "mangled housing project of
shacks and shanties and some sturdy houses of residences."
May, a member of the university's board of directors, told Murapa
that God "made you and gave you sufficient wisdom and power and courage
to move from that spot physically, but never emotionally, and to share
the gifts that you have been so richly blessed with with the world." May
is the interim top executive of the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries.
The Africa University Choir performs in honor of Rukudzo Murapa.
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Caroline Njuki, a member of the board of directors, told United
Methodist News Service later that from humble beginnings Murapa rose
through the ranks to rub shoulders with top leaders, "without forgetting
were he came from and who he is. He leaves a lasting legacy on Africa
University."
Washington Mbizvo, Zimbabwe's minister of tertiary education, called
Africa University a "unique" multicultural institution that is guided by
Christian values. He told Murapa that the "fact that you have been able
to steer the ship in the last 10 years is paramount."
Murapa began his academic career at Cornell University as an
associate professor and taught in the areas of political science,
African studies and public administration for more than a decade. He
returned to serve at the University of Zimbabwe in 1979, holding such
posts as head of the Department of Political and Administrative studies
and dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences between 1979 and 1988.
During a brief stint with the Southern Africa Development Community,
based in Swaziland, he served as the senior adviser on the establishment
of the SADC portfolio on Human Resources Development.
In 1988, Murapa left academia to set up the first field office of a
joint United Nations, World Bank/Economic Development Institute and ILO
program to strengthen public sector training management training
institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Before becoming vice chancellor of
Africa University, Murapa served as an inter-regional adviser on
Governance, Finance and Public Administration with the U.N. Department
of Development Support and Management Services. His work covered many
African countries and Eastern Europe, including Bosnia.
Throughout his career, he has published extensively and helped to
found several professional bodies, including the African Association of
Political Science; the Society for International Development-Zimbabwe
Chapter; and the African Association of Public Administration and
Management.
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5475 or lgreen@umcom.org.
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Resources
Africa University
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry
Africa University Fund |