Prof adam habib biography of michael
Home / Related Biographies / Prof adam habib biography of michael
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)
Professor Adam Habib is an academic, researcher, activist, administrator, and well-known public intellectual.
As a result, Habib was unable to attend scheduled meetings with U.S.-based scholars and representatives from U.S. and international agencies, universities, and foundations. The university’s finances are stable and it has strong, independent governance structures in place. Habib’s book South Africa’s Suspended Revolution: Hopes and Prospects, has informed debates around the country’s transition into democracy.
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.
Under his leadership, Wits did incredibly well—research output increased, the university expanded its footprint in international journals, and it 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.
Adam Habib
Adam Habib is Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and is incoming Director of SOAS, University of London, a post he will take up in January 2021. He is an expert on issues of democracy, governance, race, and South African politics, public policy, and social movements.
As part of a larger pattern of “ideological exclusion,” Professor Habib was one of dozens of foreign scholars, writers, artists, and activists barred from entering the U.S. during the Bush administration not on the basis of their actions but on the basis of their ideas, political views, and associations.
The ACLU and the ACLU of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in 2007 on behalf of organizations that had invited Professor Habib to speak in the U.S.
The lawsuit charged that the government's exclusion of Professor Habib amounted to censorship at the border because it prevented U.S. citizens and residents from hearing speech that is protected by the First Amendment. But when he arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in October 2006, Customs and Border officials revoked Professor Habib's visa without explanation.
Habib was a frequent traveler to the U.S. and earned a degree from the City University of New York.
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.
He earned his masters and doctoral qualifications from the Graduate School of the City University of New York.
News & Commentary written by Adam Habib
Currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Advancement at the University of Johannesburg, Adam Habib is a world-renowned researcher, scholar, and political commentator.
His latest book, Rebels and Rage: Reflecting on #FeesMustFall, provides an insight into the recent student protests in South Africa from the position of a vice-chancellor and social scientist. He is an academic, researcher, activist, administrator, and well-known public intellectual. Professor Habib has since obtained a 10-year visa and is able to travel to the U.S.