Photo by LUCIAN COMAN

Kweku Bentil (MSBC '75, PhD '90) calls it “the biggest challenge” of his career. He is the founding vice chancellor and president of Botswana International University of Science and Technology. With a background in civil engineering, construction, teaching and educational administration, he is creating the $1.5 billion, 6,250-acre campus in the wealthy diamond-mining region of Africa.

What are the differences between the university you're building and the ones you've attended in America and England?

The biggest difference is we're going to approach this from a holistic perspective, which means students who graduate with degrees in engineering, science and technology will have a very broad background in business, management, entrepreneurism, human relations — those kinds of skills.

Talk about the world view of Africa.

Botswana has a good history of fiscal management. It's very wealthy, has a lot of diamonds. What they want to do is develop it economically. They hope this university will be a driver of that economic development, not only in Botswana, but within the region. [The government hopes this university will] produce scientists, engineers and technologists who will be businesspeople, but also conduct applied research to help solve problems in Botswana and the region. So the biggest expectation is that it would drive change in terms of economy and social development. That's a tall order — very challenging.

What kind of culture shock will this be for your family?

When you think of Africa, you think it's a jungle and all that, and you get here and it's fully developed. There are five-star hotels, good roads, good restaurants, shops and malls. It's not as backward as people seem to think it is. It won't be much of a culture shock at all.

What does this opportunity mean for you personally and professionally?

It's the biggest challenge I have ever taken on in my life. Building a university from scratch — from nothing. Just all the different aspects of it: the physical construction, the human resources, getting the curriculum set up. Having a background in construction and engineering, and in academics, it's a wonderful opportunity to put all those things together. The biggest motivation for me is making a difference. I believe by doing this I'm going to make a difference in the lives of people for many, many years to come.

You've attended or worked at many universities. Do you call yourself a Gator?

I'm a full-blown Gator. I stayed up until one o'clock to watch the Gator football national championship. They didn't show it on television there so I watched it on the computer.

UF professor Brisbane Brown says you can accomplish more in one hour than he can in four hours. What is your secret?

The secret is working hard, getting organized and surrounding myself with good people. When I was a student here, he was my mentor, and I have not made a career move without talking to him ... He also served as a mentor to my son, who earned his master's in building construction [at UF].

What do you want to accomplish with this university?

One thing I hope to accomplish is to come up with a university that will engage in research, engage in the community and make a difference in the lives of people, not only in Botswana, but in the whole region. And if I can do that, I think I will have done my job.