UCT inaugural lectures for August 2025

Dear colleagues and students

The University of Cape Town (UCT) Inaugural Lecture series is one of our most meaningful academic traditions. It is a time when we gather to formally recognise and celebrate scholars who have achieved the rank of full professor.

These lectures offer more than a platform for academic reflection. They allow us to hear the personal and intellectual journeys of our colleagues, to engage with ideas that shape disciplines, and to appreciate the impact of scholarship in society.

In August 2025, we will host inaugural lectures to be presented by Professors Arlene Archer and Darlene Lubbe.

I invite all members of the UCT community – including students and staff, as well as alumni, friends and the public – to attend and support these important events.

Martin Luther King Jr once said: "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education".

This quote resonates with the spirit of these inaugural lectures. They reflect not only intelligence and innovation but also perseverance, integrity and a deep sense of responsibility to the university and broader society.

1. Professor Arlene Archer (Centre for Higher Education Development)

Professor Arlene Archer will deliver her lecture, “Critical access to Higher Education: A multimodal approach to academic literacies”, on Tuesday, 12 August 2025 at 17:45 SAST at the d-school, The Atrium, ground floor, on middle campus.

Professor Archer will explore how language and writing continue to shape access, inclusion and exclusion in higher education, particularly in the context of South Africa’s unequal educational system. Her lecture draws on 26 years of experience at UCT’s Writing Centre; and will examine how students navigate dominant academic genres while incorporating their own ways of knowing.

She argues that universities must move away from decontextualised models of student support that frame students as deficient. Instead, institutions must recognise and harness the rich resources students already possess. Her research promotes a multimodal approach to academic literacies that acknowledges diversity and supports meaningful inclusion.

Professor Archer is the head of the Writing Centre at UCT. She has published more than 80 works, including four edited books. She has led six internationally funded research projects and is the co-founding editor of Multimodality and Society (SAGE). She is a B1-rated researcher and holds an honorary doctorate from Örebro University in Sweden. She is also a fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study.

• Register to attend the lecture.

2. Professor Darlene Lubbe (Faculty of Health Sciences)

Professor Darlene Lubbe will deliver her lecture, “Otolaryngology Through a South African Lens - Journeys, Innovations and Global Perspectives”, on Thursday, 28 August 2025 at 17:30 SAST in Lecture Theatre 2, Neuroscience Institute Atrium, Groote Schuur Hospital.

In this lecture, Professor Lubbe will reflect on her journey through otolaryngology, shaped by the unique challenges and opportunities of practising in South Africa. She will trace her path from a young student to becoming one of the pioneers of transorbital surgery, a technique that has gained international recognition and has influenced ENT practice around the world.

Her lecture will highlight how adversity and limited resources have led to innovation and problem-solving that extend beyond South Africa. She will also reflect on the importance of mentorship and how her own experiences have helped train and inspire the next generation of surgeons, both locally and globally.

Professor Lubbe is based in the Department of Otolaryngology. She graduated top of her class in General Surgery at Stellenbosch University and was awarded the Ethicon Prize for best student in surgery. Her work focuses on endoscopic sinus and skull base surgery, and she has led several surgical innovations. She works closely with Professor Kris Moe from the University of Washington, who first introduced the transorbital technique. She directs the Karl Storz Sub-Saharan Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Base Surgery Programme and has contributed to global surgical training. She also played a key role in developing the Trachealator, a non-occlusive balloon device that won gold at the 2021 Medical Design Excellence Awards in the United States.

• Register to attend the lecture.

These inaugural lectures are open to all, and I encourage you to attend, engage and participate in these important academic moments. They offer us an opportunity to celebrate the excellence of our colleagues and reflect on the values that guide our work at UCT.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements