Africa University is a "private,

Pan-African Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement ext ...

and

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

-related institution." It has over 1,200 students from 36 African countries. It is located 17 km northwest of Mutare,

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. It grants bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees in various programs.

History

Funding

Funding for Africa University is a two-part $20 million effort every four years. Ten million is apportioned to the 34,000+ United Methodist churches. The apportioned dollars provide for the day-to-day operating expenses of the university. The second ten million is raised through World Service Special Gifts for a permanent endowment. The interest and earnings on the permanent endowment provide for scholarships and other financial aid for students as well as meet new and emerging programmatic needs of the university. The Africa University Development Office located in Nashville, Tennessee, has primary responsibility for raising the funds for the permanent endowment as well as for capital projects. James H. Salley is the Associate Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and has supervisory responsibility for the Nashville office.

Structure

A 30-member board of directors governs Africa University. The board is chaired by Bishop Marcus Matthews.A founding member of Africa University's Faculty of Theology was elected the university's third chancellor on 8 December 2008. Professor Fanuel Tagwira, another founding member of the university's Faculty of Agriculture, was elected the university's third vice-chancellor in March 2009. As of 1 July 2014, Prof Munashe Furusa was unanimously elected as the new vice-chancellor. Africa University is the first private, fully accredited, degree-granting United Methodist-related institution of higher learning on the continent of Africa as established and approved by General Conference. The university is Pan-African in design and spirit. Thirty six nations of Africa were represented in the student population for the 2015/2016 academic year. The majority of faculty and administrative staff are Africans. Professors and policy makers comprise permanent and visiting educators from the United States, Europe, and around the world. The official language at the university is English, which is also the official language of Zimbabwe. There are thirty-two buildings on the campus with four currently under construction. The 32 buildings include 12 dormitories, 12 senior staff housing units, a chapel, and a state-of-the-art library complex. The four buildings under construction include a student clinic, two housing duplexes for senior staff, and the building for the Institute of Peace, Leadership, and Governance (IPLG). Recently the Kent M. Weeks Archives was opened to collect all university and United Methodist Church records which are deemed to be of historic and research value.

Academics

There are currently 3 schools at Africa University, namely the College of Health, Agriculture and Natural Sciences; the College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance; and the College of Social Sciences, Theology, Humanities and Education. There is also the Africa University

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

Training Center.

College of Health, Agriculture and Natural Sciences

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

Natural Resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

Health Sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences are those sciences which focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple ac ...

The Department of Agriculture and Natural Sciences offers a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Department of Health Sciences offers undergraduate degrees in nursing and health science management and a master's degree in public health.

College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance

* Business *

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

and

Information Systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

* Institute of

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

Leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

and

Governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the gove ...

The Department of Business offers a number of training options for those interested in careers in business development and management, marketing, finance, and administration. At the undergraduate level, it has a full-time 4-year programme leading to degrees in accounting, economics, and management, marketing and computer science. It offers a full-time 2-year MBA program and a part-time EMBA program for senior managers and administrators.https://executivemba.wharton.upenn.edu/mba-or-emba/ The Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance (IPLG) is a graduate institute which offers master's degrees in peace and governance, public policy and governance, Human rights law, Migration law and a Masters in intellectual property law. It also offers a PhD in Peace Leadership and Governance. It also offers trainings and short courses for lawyers, civil servants and policy makers. It has various partners including World Intellectual property organization (WIPO) and the Open Society Initiative in Southern Africa (OSISA)

College of Social Sciences, Theology, Humanities and Education

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

The Departments of Humanities and Social Sciences offer three- and four-year full-time degree programs, in the form of either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Social Sciences with specialisation in English, Environmental Studies, French, History, Music, Portuguese, Psychology, Sociology, or Religious Studies. Two master's degrees are offered in child and family studies. The Department of Theology offers a four-year full-time Bachelor of Divinity degree and a two-year full-time Master of Theological Studies degree. The Department of Education offers a four-year full-time Bachelor of Arts degree and a two-year Bachelor of Education degree for secondary school teachers. The two-year program is specifically designed for teaching professionals who wish to upgrade their skills.

Notable alumni

* Charles Charamba, gospel musician, pastor, songwriter, producer * Herbert Gomba, former mayor of the City of

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

* Chido Govera, farmer, campaigner, and educator * Dr. Tonderai Kasu, substantive director of health and environmental services for Chitungwiza and former acting town clerk (acting

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

) for Chitungwiza Town Council * Michele Young-Stone, American novelist

References

External links

Official Web Site of Africa UniversityOfficial Web Giving Site for Africa University

*https://www.mohe.gov.zm/ *https://www.zaqa.gov.zm/higher-education-institutions/ *https://www.hea.org.zm/ {{Authority control Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church Mutare Educational institutions established in 1992 1992 establishments in Zimbabwe Buildings and structures in Manicaland Province Education in Manicaland Province Africa University Universities and colleges in Zimbabwe