Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The Archbishop was born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. After leaving school he trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South Africa. After three years as a high school teacher he began to study theology, being ordained as a priest in 1960. The years 1962-66 were devoted to further theological study in England leading up to a Master of Theology. From 1967 to 1972 he taught theology in South Africa before returning to England for three years as the assistant director of a theological institute in London. In 1975 he was appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, the first black to hold that position. From 1976 to 1978 he was Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.

Tutu is an honorary doctor of a number of leading universities in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. In 2001, the Desmond Tutu Educational Trust, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, launched the Desmond Tutu Footprints of the Legends Awards which recognizes leadership in combating prejudice, human rights, research and poverty eradication. Since 2004, he has been a Visiting Professor at King's College London. In November 2008, Tutu was awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding. He is a world renowned figure who served as a powerful force in breaking down apartheid and also as a model to humanity through his leadership of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Archbishop Tutu has participated in the Semester at Sea program on numerous occasions in the past, sailing on partial voyages in both 1984 and 2005 and speaking to the students in Cape Town on other occasions. The Archbishop's first voyage with Semester at Sea was in 1992 and he sailed a full voyage in spring 2007. The SAS Desmond Tutu Distinguished Chair in Global Understanding was established in his honor in June 2008 in New York City.

His publications include Crying in the Wilderness. The Struggle for Justice in South Africa (1982); Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches (1984); and The Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution (1994).