Background
Nongxa was born on 22 October 1953 in Indwe near Queenstown in what was then the Transkei.
Nongxa was born on 22 October 1953 in Indwe near Queenstown in what was then the Transkei.
University of Oxford.
Nongxa was installed as the first Black Vice-Chancellor of Wits by the University Council on 19 May 2003, replacing Norma Ried-Birley. He is a qualified mathematician, and was previously the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (United World Colleges). He was succeeded as Vice-Chancellor by Adam Habib on 1 June 2013.
Nongxa did well at school, and matriculated from Healdtown College with distinction as the top matric student in South Africa in 1972.
Nongxa was accepted at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) thereafter, and obtained a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1976. While at UFH, he also played for the University"s "Baa-bas" rugby team
After obtaining a Master of Science from UFH in 1978, he became South Africa"s first Black Rhodes scholar, and he obtained a Doctorate.Phil from Oxford University in 1982. Nongxa has lectured mathematics at UFH, the National University of Lesotho, the University of Natal and United World Colleges. At United World Colleges, he held the post of Professor of Mathematics, and he was later appointed Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
He had also been a visiting research scholar at the universities of Colorado, Harvard, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Baylor.
He was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Wits in October 2000, and Vice-Principal in April 2002. Following the resignation of Professor Norma Ried-Birley in November 2002, he became Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University. The University Council then shortlisted him as one of the possible candidates for the position of Vice-Chancellor, and on 19 May 2003 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor by the Council.
Besides his positions at universities, Nongxa has also served as a member of the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, the SAUVCA Research Committee and various National Research Foundation committees.