4.2 University of Fort Hare a) History and context Dr M Tom: Vice-Chancellor led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues: . The university was founded in 1916 as a non-racial higher education institution to meet the needs of the black population. It became designated as a university for blacks in 1985 and remained a centre of anti-apartheid resistance until 1994. The first black Vice-Chancellor was appointed in the university in 1991. . The university experienced a financial and administrative crisis in 1998. During this period, there was a decline in enrolments due to the financial crisis. Recovery plans began in 2000 and by the year 2001, the university had increased its enrolment to more than 10 000 students. . In 2004, the university became the only historically black university to incorporate a campus of a historically white university (Rhodes University) following a national restructuring of higher education. . The university was the only higher education institution in the world to produce five different leaders of African countries. Some of the well known students included; Dr N Mandela, President R Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Hon Y Lule, Archbishop D Tutu, Mr R Sobukwe, Mr C Hani and many other leaders. . The university was situated on the south-eastern coast of South Africa. It had three campuses straddling a distance of 120km, from Alice to East London. The university served one of the poorest regions of South Africa, helping to bring students from areas sidelined from development into the mainstream of the national economy. . Alice Campus: The buildings in the campus were old and needed extensive refurbishment. Lecture venues were old, outdated and inadequate. Residences needed renovation and an additional space for 2000 beds. The library was too small and the university planned to build a new library to celebrate its centenary in 2016. The university had a Dairy Farm which aimed to benefit nearby communities. There was also a Nguni Project with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to purchase cows to the value of R2.7 million to be given to local communities. . Bisho Campus: The campus was developed specifically to train and develop public servants for the province. The campus was small, new and modern, opened in 1990. . East London Campus: This campus was incorporated from Rhodes University in 2004. It was a small campus in the downtown area of East London which consisted of well maintained and modified buildings. The campus was currently beyond its capacity. There was a shortage of large lecture venues and a lack of residences remained a serious concern. . Enrolments: The university had a total headcount of 11 982 students in 2011 of which 9208 were undergraduates. In terms of demographics, 94% students were African, 4% White and 2% Indian. Female students made up 56% of the student population and 87% of students were South Africans and 10% were Zimbabweans.