Pamela completed her Matric at Inanda Seminary in 1984. Her notable involvements, among others, are that she served as a prefect for all years of study and school bell ringer, including chapel bell ringer. She won the second prize for the school in 1984 at the Alan Paton Literary Competition with her poem, ‘Who am I?’. She pioneered volunteer support services for sick members admitted at the campus dispensary, as well as writing plays and performing choral music.

Her career after school:

• Completed Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 (English and Speech and Drama majors), and an Honours programme (Speech and Drama) in 1988, at the former University of Natal, Durban.
• First SA black female awardee of the German Academic Exchange Scholarship (DAAD) for postgraduate studies in Germany (1990, renewable yearly till 1996).
• Completed her MA Studies in 1992 and PhD in 1996, in Comparative Literature and Media, at the University of Siegen in Germany.
• Her internationally recognised publications include a special focus on gender issues, postcolonial literature, the oral tradition and the broader media.

Pamela‘s career includes academic, research and senior administrative leadership roles at the Universities of Siegen, Natal (Pietermaritzburg), Johannesburg, Kathmandu (in Nepal) and Wits. She is also a past employee of the National Department of Education (Higher Education Policy Unit) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) where she set up an International Relations office as well as managed the Learning and People Development unit.

She serves on numerous education and community investment Boards, including as Deputy Chairperson of the National Nuclear Regulator. She is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Development and Support at the University of the Western Cape after serving as Dean of Students at the University of the Witwatersrand till the end of 2016.

BA, BA Hons (University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban South Africa) MA, PhD,   (University of Siegen, Germany)

Key Academic Publications

1997, - Contemporary English Performance Poetry in Canada and South Africa: A Comparative Study of Thematic and Poetic Techniques. Dissertation publication, Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg, Band 135.

- “We Appear Silent To People Who Are Deaf To What We Say" Women of Colour Speak Out. Published in Selbst und Andere/s – Self and Other –Soi même et l áutre: Von Begegnungen und Grenzziehungen, Issue 7, Beitraege zur Kanadistik, Wissner, pp. 41 - 53:)

-“Double Talk and Multiple Moralities?" Reflections on the Nobel Prize in the African Literary Context: Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer. (Published in the LiLi, Jahrgang 27, Heft 108, J. B. Meztler 1997 (Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik/ Journal for Literature and Linguistics).

1996 -"We have Something To Say for Ourselves!" Contemporary First Nations Oral Text Performances. (Published in the ZKS (Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien), 1996, 16. 1, Band 29, pp. 139-147)

1995, Traditional Oral Texts in New Contexts: New Directions in South African Performance Poetry? (Published, in Across the Lines: Intertextuality and Transcultural Communication in New Literatures in English, ASNEL Papers 3, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 93-102

- Breaking the Silence: Concepts of Anger and Identity Assertion in Contemporary English Poetry Writing of First Nations Women. (Paper Published in Ahornblätter,  issue 9, 1996, pp.145-156)

2016,- South African Higher Education Reviewed: Two Decades of Democracy, Task Team Report on Research. Published, Council on Higher Education, Pretoria, ISBN: 978-0-9946785-4-3, pp.193-240.

2018, - A university that epitomizes a society in transition, University World News series on Transformative Leadership, December 2018. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20181212131033134