Rate My Professor Sioux McKenna

Professor Sioux McKenna is Professor of Higher Education Research at Rhodes University and Director of the Centre for Postgraduate Studies. She has worked in academic development since 1992, beginning as an English Second Language lecturer at Mangosuthu Technikon. She subsequently spent fourteen years at the Durban University of Technology, where she served as Director of the Centre for Higher Education Development, overseeing foundation programmes, entrance testing, student and staff development, curriculum development, and online learning. She later joined the Centre for Higher Education Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she taught on the coursework Master’s programme in higher education and supervised students at Master’s and doctoral levels. At Rhodes University, she developed the doctoral programme in higher education studies within the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning before assuming her current directorship role, in which she supports postgraduate scholars and supervisors across the institution while continuing to supervise in the higher education studies programme.

Her research focuses on academic literacies and disciplinary differences, institutional differentiation, and postgraduate education. Key publications include the co-authored book Understanding Higher Education (2021) with Chrissie Boughey, the edited volume Building Knowledge in Higher Education (2021) with Chris Winberg and Kirstin Wilmot, and Going to University (2018) with Jenni Case, Delia Marshall, and Disa Mogashana. She holds a PhD in Higher Education from Rhodes University, an MA in Linguistics from Stellenbosch University, and a BA and Higher Diploma in Education from the University of Natal. Professor McKenna has received the 2022 Internationalisation Award and the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Senior Teaching Award. She coordinates the PhD in Higher Education Studies and contributes to institutional efforts in postgraduate development and teaching excellence.