He moved to South Africa in 1975 where he worked for five years as an ethnoarchaeologist in the Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg.

In 1998, he was appointed as a Fellow of the University of Cape Town, and the following year became the inaugural Dean of the Higher Education Development Unit,[3] charged with coordinating support for students from underprivileged backgrounds.

In 2002, he was promoted to deputy vice-chancellor[3] and held this position for six years with responsibilities for strategic, academic and budget planning.

He was appointed as the acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC): Transformation at the University of Cape Town after Loretta Ferris decided not to stand for another term.

[7] His wife, Professor Brenda Cooper, is an academic specialising in post-colonial and African literature.