Prof. Maxi Schoeman holds a PhD from the University of Wales (Aberystwyth). She joined UP in 2000, and served as professor and head of the Department of Political Sciences. She currently also serves as chair of the Core Social Sciences Cluster in the Faculty of Humanities. She is a member of the University Council and an adjunct professor in the School for Public Policy at George Mason University in the United States. In 2016, Professor Schoeman was appointed as the deputy dean: postgraduate studies and ethics in the Faculty of Humanities (University of Pretoria). She maintains close research ties with the African Leadership Centre in Nairobi and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra. Prof Schoeman is a member of the Advisory Board of the African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Sciences Research Council in New York, deputy chairperson of the Institute for Global Dialogue and a trustee of the Institute for Security Studies.