Professor Raymond Mazisi Kunene, the Poet Laureate of Africa, was a prolific writer who published literary works in IsiZulu and translated some into English in order to reach a wider audience of readers. During the period when he was in self-exile, he worked for 17 years as an academic at the University of California- Los Angeles. While he was still in California, he was awarded a D. Litt by the University of Natal for his creative and critical contribution to South African literature. In 1993, he returned to the University of Natal, Durban, to assume the position of Professor in the then Department of Zulu Language and Literature (now African languages, Linguistics and Development modules within the School of Arts). The Mazisi Kunene Chair commemorates the life and works of the poet laureate. The School of Arts, in the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) seeks to make an appointment to the Mazisi Kunene Chair. In line with the vision of the University and the College of Humanities, the Mazisi Kunene Chair is an initiative to (a) recognize the contribution of Mazisi Kunene and integrate it into academia, literature and the arts, (b) preserve his works for present and future generations of students, scholars, academics, researchers, patrons of arts and literary studies, and society at large, and (c) provide access to the work of Mazisi Kunene and other scholars working in African languages for reference by students, scholars, academics, researchers, and ordinary citizens locally and globally.