The University of Fort Hare, dating back to 1916, is the oldest historically black university in the country. It was the academic home of many of South Africa's most prominent leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Govan Mbeki, and Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

Fort Hare has two Eastern Cape campuses, in Alice and East London. It offers a range of degrees and diplomas in faculties of science and agriculture, social sciences and humanities, management and commerce, and at the Nelson R Mandela School of Law.

The University of Fort Hare is a vibrant, equitable and sustainable African university, committed  to  teaching  and  research  excellence  at  the  service  of  its  students, scholars and wider community.
 

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the University is to provide high quality education of international standards contributing to the advancement of knowledge that is socially and ethically relevant, and applying that knowledge to the scientific, technological and social- economic development of our nation and the wider world.
 

CHARTER OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND VALUES

Preamble: In lumine tuo videbimus lumen "In Thy light we see light"

The University of Fort Hare recognizes that any institution or community is ultimately governed by norms, values and belief systems that reflect its distinctive identity, traditions and orientation.  The university believes that knowledge is a positive force only if integrated with values and that it should provide a nurturing context of strong ethical norms and principles.  In the absence of such values, knowledge could be a destructive force.  This Charter therefore presents the crucial value-framework that defines the ethos of the University of Fort Hare.   It guides the university‟s vision, mission, corporate goals and strategic objectives.  It serves as a reference point for all its academic and administrative policies, programmes and procedures and it binds the entire university community by shared ethical principles and values.  The Charter is relevant to our rights and responsibilities, as Fort Harians, in relation to each other, the wider society and the environment.  Ultimately, it seeks to inspire all people to live with nobility, dignity and an active conscience.

The University of Fort Hare will always be the crucible where many of the critical ideas of South Africa‟s democracy, liberation, reconciliation and forgiveness germinated, developed and strengthened and it eventually reverberated throughout the country, the continent of Africa and around the globe.   The Charter therefore naturally resonates with the principles and values that underlie the Freedom Charter, the South African Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The Fort Hare Charter has grown out of an inclusive developmental process that involved the entire university community.   It offers to all its members the ethical principles and values listed below, in order to guide us on our journey of discovery, exploration  and  realization  of  our  intellectual  and  unique  human  potentialities. Without such ethical guidelines all teaching, learning, research and community service are of little value.

The University of Fort Hare Community is:

• Inspired by the heritage of the university and the contribution it has made to leadership, liberation and service to humanity;
• Accepting  that  the  purposes  of  education  include  the  realization  of  our humanity as well as our responsibility to self, family and community;
• Recognizing that in the pursuit of truth and knowledge, the university, as an institution of higher learning, shall maintain in all that it does an unwavering focus on excellence;
• Affirming  that  a  crucial  role  of  education  is  to  instil  in  students  respect, tolerance and social responsibility in an environment of academic freedom, dialogue, friendship and understanding.