Renowned academic Professor Wiseman Magwa (50) has been appointed the inaugural substantive vice-chancellor of the newly-opened Reformed Church University in Masvingo. Prof Magwa’s appointment is with effect from the first of this month. The university run by the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe has an enrolment of 80 block release students. RCU is Zimbabwe’s fourth church-owned university.

Prof Magwa said the university would be developed and concentrated on special-needs education, theology and community service embedded in Christian values. “We hope to enroll about 200 conventional students in February next year. We are happy that we have already secured infrastructure here at Morgenster Mission to house these students and also conduct lectures.”

 The church operates a school for the deaf and dumb at Morgenster. Back in August, the university appointed a visually-challenged lecturer, Kudzai Shava, to give lectures to block-release students studying for a Bachelor of Education Honours Degree in Special-Needs Education. See a pdf file with a sample of Kudzai Shava’s work.

The RCU had entered into partnership with world-acclaimed universities such as Stellenborsh University in South Africa. They are currently working on a twinning arrangement with several universities in the Netherlands.