Tawana Kupe was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria in January 2019.
Prior to this appointment, he held several senior positions at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), including his role as vice-principal responsible for the day-to-day operations of the University. Before that, he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for advancement, human resources and transformation. He also served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for finance and operations, and was executive dean of the Wits Faculty of Humanities.
Kupe was the founding Head of the Media Studies Department at Wits University. He also lectured at Rhodes University, where he briefly acted as head of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies.