Tjama Tjivikua (born 27 July 1958) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n academic and businessman. He was the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the ''Polytechnic of Namibia'' in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

since its inception in 1995. When the institution was renamed into

Namibia University of Science and Technology The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a public university located in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding ...

in 2015, Tjivikua continued to lead it, now in the position of

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

, until March 2019.

Education and early life

Tjivikua was born on 27 July 1958 in Otjomupanda,

Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Geog ...

. His mother was a nurse and his father a school teacher. He grew up in Oruua in the then Ovitoto Reserve, and started primary school in 1967 at

St Barnabas Anglican Church School St Barnabas was an Anglican mission station, church, and school in Windhoek, the administrative centre of South West Africa. The school was situated in the Old Location suburb. When Old Location was closed for blacks in 1968 the existing buildings ...

in Windhoek's

Old Location The Old Location (or as it was known then the Main Location) was an area Apartheid, segregated for Black residents of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was situated in the area between today's suburbs of Hochland Park and Pioneers Park. Histor ...

. His family soon moved to

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''The place where people do not want to live'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which af ...

as a result of the forced removal of blacks from Old Location, and he continued his schooling there. After completing high school at Windhoek's Augustineum (1976–1978), Tjivikua worked at the main branch of Barclays Bank (now First National Bank) in Windhoek. Tjivikua left Namibia in June 1979 to study chemistry in the United States at

Rockland Community College Rockland Community College (RCC) is a public community college in the town of Ramapo, New York in Rockland County. It is part of the State University of New York. The college, established in 1959, became the 18th community college to join the S ...

(1979–1980) and then Lincoln University (1980–1983), from which he graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''. He then completed a MSc at

University of Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Mas ...

and a PhD at

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. His thesis was on molecular recognition in organic chemistry. He was a well recognized researcher at that time, and he worked as assistant professor of chemistry at Lincoln University from 1990 to 1995.Laudatio for the conferment of the Dr h.c. degree: Dr Tjama Tjivikua.

Professional career

In 1995, Tjivikua returned to Namibia to take up the post as founding Rector of

Polytechnic of Namibia The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a public university located in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding ...

. When the institution was renamed into

in 2015, Tjivikua continued to lead it, now in the position of

, until March 2019. Morne du Toit and

Andrew Niikondo Andrew Niikondo (born 15 January 1962) is a Namibian academic. He is the pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs of the Namibia University of Science and Technology and the chairperson of the think tank of SWAPO. Education and early life Niikon ...

were successively appointed in acting position until Erold Naomab was appointed in 2021. Tjivikua has also served on national bodies such as the National Planning Commission (1998–2006), the

Namibia Qualifications Authority The Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) is a statutory body in Namibia, regulated in terms of the National Qualifications Framework Act No 29 of 1996. It is made up of 29 members appointed by the Minister of Education in consultation with th ...

(1997–), the Namibia Council for Higher Education (2006–) and several others. He has several business interests, including finance, agriculture, and oil.

Awards

Heroes' Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that m ...

2014: Most Distinguished Order of Namibia: Second Class *2013: Doctor of Humane Letters (''

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

''),

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and was the United States' first deg ...

* 2008: Bank Windhoek Business Communicator of the Year * 2006: FinWeek recognition as one of the 10 most prominent and respected members of the Namibian society * 2006: D.Sc (''Honoris Causa'') for exceptional contributions to the development of higher education in Namibia,

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

(WPI), USA * 2005: Life Fellow, Centres for Leadership and Public Values,

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

* 1985: Outstanding Young Man of America * 1983:

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

Award, Lincoln University

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tjivikua, Tjama 1958 births Living people People from Otjozondjupa Region Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Massachusetts Lowell alumni Augustineum Secondary School alumni Namibia University of Science and Technology faculty