adminto her.
Dr Sadza epitomises a special brand of African women who, when they see a problem, do not complain, but seek a solution.
She is the Vice Chancellor and founder of the Women’s University in Africa. Opened with 145 students in 2002, and now has a student population of 1 500, staff of 90, a 285 hectare farm for commercial dairy that serves as the growth engine for the university.
An eminent educationist, Dr Sadza had a vision for opening a university for mature women.
Born in a family of six children to Mr Bakasa, a businessman who owned a fleet of taxis, and Mrs Bakasa, who was a teacher, Dr Sadza says she grew up in a very loving environment.
Dr Sadza did her primary education at Chirodzo Primary School in Mbare and then moved to Goromonzi High School.
She did her teacher training at Waddilove. Dr Sadza then taught in Mbare before she left for Zambia for a career in bookkeeping and accounts.
She was later to leave for the United States where she was engaged in the training of secretaries. It was while in the United States that she furthered her education before returning home and joining the Public Service Commission.
From a tender age she always wanted to be a teacher and this was well reflected in her career path.
Throughout her illustrious career, steeped in education and the academia, she always saw a great disparity in the African education system that at times bordered on the archaic.
Dr Sadza took time to explain what inspired her to take her chosen career path.
It was a mixture of a driven personality, a deep love for people, and her mother who instilled in her a strong sense of service and empowerment. Most importantly, she had an intense desire to create a conduit to allow ordinary African women to advance themselves and improve their quality of life.
“During my tenure in the Public Service Commission, I saw that there were only a few women at senior management level and most of them were just stuck at the
middle level positions.
“Having done a survey on why this was so, I saw that it was the lack of adequate university education and most of the women had only Ordinary and Advanced Level qualifications.
“It didn’t help that the majority of people in positions of leadership in the higher education system were men, so there really was little emphasis paid to women’s studies,” she said.
Another driving factor was that during the time when Dr Sadza was the deputy chairperson at the University of Zimbabwe Council in the early 1990s, she discovered that there was a glaring gap in education options for women to advance themselves; she was dismayed at the unfairness of the education system in providing access to female students.
Women made up only 33 to 34 percent of the entire students body.
It was against this background that the Women’s University in Africa was established in 2002, to provide women with wider options in their life.
Many women would only go as far as being secretaries, administrative assistants or nurses and were not able to strive for higher positions because they did not have the requisite qualifications.
“The university provides mature women with the opportunity to further their higher education, and expand their career options.
“We call it ‘the second chance university’ because it allows women the chance to start over. It gives them a chance to live the life that they may have only dreamt of.
“We help make dreams a reality,” she said.
Her vision is for WUA to become the best African university in the promotion of gender equity and equal opportunities in tertiary education.
Currently, the WUA student body stands at approximately 2 000, all of mature age, with a ratio of 80 percent women, 20 percent men.
The study mode is very user-friendly allowing for a flexible schedule.
Students are able to take their classes in the evening, during weekends and in block releases, thereby enabling them to continue with their everyday lives with minimal disruption.
Dr Sadza takes pride in the fact that Vice President Joice Mujuru studied at WUA.
“When Vice-President Joice Mujuru, was a student here, she attended all her classes in the evening, she adhered to the stringent standards set down by the university,” says Dr Sadza.
Dr Sadza was the winner in the category of Empowering Gender through Tertiary Education, at the 2007 International Business Women’s Conference held in Washington.
She was also named Africa’s most influential woman in education at the Women Entrepreneurs and Achievers Network (WEAN) awards held in Lagos Nigeria in 2007.
The award, which was sponsored by the Financial Standard, Nigeria’s leading business and finance newspaper, in conjunction with the Pan African Women’s Organisation, was meant to acknowledge African women who have broken new grounds.
She added that the amazing progress that the university has made so far, has not been without its fair share of challenges, especially sceptics who have a “scoffish” attitude towards a women’s institution.
The numerous awards she has won nationally, regionally and internationally prove her unwavering interest in research and education for women.
At the level of a Vice Chancellor, the result of her publications, research papers have cascaded in Africa to help mature men and women, especially in stamping out poverty through education, for sustainable development — a theme that runs throughout her publications.
She took her initial degree abroad.
“I went to the University of Missouri in Columbia, in the United States of America, where I did my first degree (BSc) and second degree (masters in Public Administration).”
“When I came back I studied for my PhD with the University of Zimbabwe. I also taught for a while at the Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka, Zambia.”
She loves reading, knitting, cooking and travelling.
Dr Sadza is married and blessed with two children — a son aged 23 and an 11-year-old daughter.
Her parting words:
“The sky is the limit for women who dare to strive for more and WUA is determined to provide every opportunity to those who are willing.”
Online Reporter