Dr. Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela was conferred an Honorary Doctorate, Doctor of Education (honoris causa), by the University of Pretoria in South Africa on the occasion of the institution’s 2021 virtual graduation ceremony. This high honor recognizes significant achievements in scholarship and education.
The University of Pretoria is a leading public research university and the largest contact university in South Africa. The university is comprised of nine faculties and a business school with more than 50,000 students enrolled each year. The university fosters an environment that produces “critical and creative thinkers who are able to function seamlessly in a professional work environment while maintaining a strong commitment to contributing to South Africa by being socially responsible and active citizens.” Learn more about the University of Pretoria.
Watch her speech at the University of Pretoria’s 2021 Virtual Graduate Ceremony
Dr. Mabokela's research examines experiences of marginalized populations and aims to inform institutional policies that affect these groups within institutions of higher education. She has devoted a significant part of her career studying higher education issues in developing and transitional countries.
Dr. Mabokela currently serves as the Vice Provost for International Affairs and Global Strategies (VPIAGS) and Professor of Comparative and International Higher Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the university, she served as the Assistant Dean for International Studies in the College of Education and Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University. Originally from South Africa, she received her BA in Economics from Ohio Wesleyan University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She pursued and graduated with a Master’s in Labor and Industrial Relations and Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies, both from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
She is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of seven books and has published extensively in national and international journals.
Congratulations, Vice Provost Mabokela!