In memoriam: Professor Noel Chabani Manganyi

The University of Pretoria (UP) would like to express its deep sadness at the passing of Professor Noel Chabani Manganyi, who died on 31 October 2024, aged 84.

Professor Manganyi served as a UP Vice-Principal from 2003 to 2006 and was a UP Laureate, the University's highest honour. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Research Foundation (NRF) when he was a research fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at UP.

These accolades reflect only part of an extraordinary tapestry of career achievements by a man who led a life dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, critical thought and the transformation of education in South Africa. As the first qualified black psychologist in South Africa, he was an intellectual activist who contributed to black consciousness philosophy and who cared deeply about the mental liberation of black people in the face of colonialism and apartheid. His memoir, Apartheid and the Making of a Black Psychologist, stands as a powerful narrative of resilience, reflection and purpose.

Born in Louis Trichardt on 13 March 1940, Professor Manganyi earned a BA, BA Honours, master's and doctoral degree from UNISA. He held a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the Yale University of Medicine from 1973 to 1975. His accomplishments in education include the establishment of a psychology department at the University of Transkei (1976), serving as Senior Research Fellow and Visiting Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand's African Studies Institute (1980 to 1990s), being appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the North (now the University of Limpopo), and being appointed as the first post-apartheid Director-General of Education, under President Nelson Mandela's administration.

Before joining the government, Professor Manganyi served as CEO of the Joint Education Trust, which was established with the singular goal of transforming South African education. He would later go on to serve as Chairperson of the Council on Higher Education. His visionary approach and guidance had a significant impact on the shaping of an inclusive education sector, and his strength, courage and conviction laid the foundation for a more just society.

Professor Manganyi received many awards over the course of his career, including being named an Honorary Fellow of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) and receiving the Humanities Book Award from the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). His published works include a series of monographs, the first of which was Being Black in the World (1973), and the last Looking Through the Keyhole (1981). Mashangu's Reverie (1977), which explored the concept of identity creation and retrieval, and the place of the Black Consciousness Movement as an antithesis of the racist and dominant culture, is widely considered to be seminal in the field of psychology. In later years he published a number of biographies, including studies of the painter Gerard Sekoto.

In recognition of his significant academic contribution, Professor Manganyi was honoured by the University of the Witwatersrand, University of South Africa and Nelson Mandela University, which awarded him honorary doctorates. Rhodes University's Psychology Department also presented him with a Certificate of Acknowledgement for his impact on psychology and social change.

Professor Manganyi was a beacon of intellectual courage, and his indelible legacy will certainly live on in future generations.

On behalf of the UP community, we extend our deepest sympathies to Professor Manganyi's family.