Distinguished Professor Salazar is a graduate in philosophy, politics and literature from École normale supérieure and the Sorbonne (Paris). He is a distinguished professor of rhetoric at UCT and director of the Centre for Rhetoric Studies. He is a former director in rhetoric and democracy at Jacques Derrida's foundation, Collège International de Philosophie, Paris.

He is a life fellow at UCT and has held a continuous A1 rating since the academic research rating agency of South Africa's inception. He is the 2008 laureate of the Harry Oppenheimer award.