Bult - University of the Free State

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Prof. Teuns Verschoor. Nuus News In a year where the UFS made headlines around the world for the wrong reasons, there were also many blessings and achievements to celebrate. In his opening address earlier this year, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector, listed some of the achievements that we can be proud of. 2008 was also a year of many blessings “The year 2008 was for this University, as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would have phrased it, an ‘annus horribilis,’ Prof. Verschoor said. “On this occasion, last year, we optimistically spelt out the strategic priorities that we would have liked to drive, only to be confronted one month later with a triad of tragedies, to wit: the vandalism committed by protesting students, the disclosure and world-wide broadcasting of the Reitz video, and class disruptions in close pursuit.” About 80% of management time was spent on these crises and minimazation of its impact on the core role of the UFS. And there were many dark clouds building up on the horizon. “But as a university, we put our shoulders to the wheel and we succeeded to a large extent in limiting the damages. We honestly and straightforwardly acknowledged our mistakes and failures, in the belief that we thereby indicate that today we are wiser than yesterday.” Many blessings came our way: • Major support was received from the Fulbright Commission in South Africa for the placement at the UFS of internationally-renowned scholars from the US to assist in the establishment of this institute. • Where we expected a decline in the number of first-year students for 2009 due to all the negative publicity; our student number increased. • The Career Preparation Programme experienced a large growth in student numbers and now has more than 800 students. We provide this bridging opportunity for students who would otherwise not be able to prepare themselves for the University entry requirements. • The Master’s Degree in Sustainable Agriculture presented by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development has the most students (70) in the sixteen years of the programme. • Staff excelled in many spheres. Prof. Maryke Labuschagne received the National Science and Technology Forum Award for research capacity building that resulted from the training of a large number of mainly black post-graduate students from South Africa and Africa over the last ten years. • Prof. Hendrik Swart of Physics and Prof. Jannie Swarts of Chemistry received R10 million from the National Equipment Program of the National Research Foundation, and R3 million from Sasol to purchase state-of-the-art equipment. The UFS is one of the leaders in nanotechnology research. • The School of Nursing received a financial injection of R16 million over four years from The Atlantic Philanthropies, an international philanthropic foundation with a strong focus on community wellbeing and health care. • The UFS, in collaboration with US-based agencies, was appointed as the lead grantee to spearhead a 10-year research and development programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates and WK Kellogg Foundations. The WK Kellogg Foundation has already granted R8 million to the UFS to lead the initial 18-month exploratory phase. This programme will revise agricultural education curricula in Africa to become more responsive to the needs of smallholder family farms to achieve improved productivity, food security and economic development in Africa. • The Centre for Accounting will receive close to R12 million over the next four years from the Thuthuka Bursary Fund to train black students as chartered accountants. • DiMTeC concluded two international cooperation agreements in risk management with the United Nations University and the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. • The University of Minnesota and the Duke State University of North Carolina, visited the UFS, and memoranda of cooperation will follow. • The strategic role that we play in Africa was also highlighted by the fact that almost 200 international students from fourteen countries obtained their qualifications at the UFS in 2008. International student numbers increased from 1 800 to 2 200 over the past two years. • The assessor of the Association of Commonwealth Universities 2008 Internationalisation Benchmarking Review has commended the UFS on its excellent progress towards supporting internationalisation. • The Student Development and Success Division has received R1 million from the Council on Higher Education for a national pilot study to identify the drivers of student success. • Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management received unconditional accreditation for Construction Management from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The honours programme in Construction Management is also unconditionally accredited. • The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors confirmed the UFS’s accreditation. • The Centre for Education Development received a grant of $100 000 from Hewlett Packard. • We received R73,3 million in special funds from the Minister of Education, of which R30 million is for education training, R6 million for research equipment and R17,1 million for Health Sciences. • There were also achievements on the sports field. The hockey team won the University Sport South Africa (USSA) B section, three soccer players were in the USSA team, rugby won the USSA competition for the second time, netball made gold at the USSA tournament for the fourth consecutive year, and the ladies’ tennis won the USSA tournament. • Four Kovsies are in the SA u.21 team who will participate in the world cup on the Cook Islands in August this year. • The UFS was the host for the three-nation men’s hockey tournament in March, where teams from South Africa, Germany and Russia battled it out. 8 Bult 9 Photos: Hannes Pieterse
Nuus News Na maande van oortuiging (lees soebat) kom die e-pos toe: dit is reg vir Dinsdag, so 3 uur. Intussen het ek al sy afskeid op 13 Februarie met ‘n uitvoering van die Odeion Strykkwartet bygewoon om my te bewapen, as die onderhoud nie ‘n werklikheid sou word nie. Daardie Dinsdag maak Frederick Fourie, uitgetrede Rektor en Visekanselier, by sy huis in Dan Pienaar, Bloemfontein, gewilliglik ‘n venster oop op ‘n sy van die mens wat ‘n verbintenis van 38 jaar met die UV het, deur moeilike tye, maar ook vreugdevolle tye. Waar begin jou verbintenis met die UV? Behalwe dat hy in ‘n ‘akademiese huis’ groot geword het met sy pa die eerste hoof van die Departement Handel, was hy as musiekmens reeds as skoolkind by die UV betrokke. Hy en sy broer, Pienaar, het reeds op skool die universiteitskoor met tjello en viool begelei. Hoe het jou pad geloop? “Ek het nie geweet wat ek wou swot nie. Ek wou nie musiek swot nie – ek wou nie my liefde vir musiek bederf deur dit ‘n werk te maak nie. Ek het nie geweet of ek argitektuur, B.Com of B.Sc wou swot nie. Toe swot ek maar B.A. met Wiskunde, Ekonomie en Filosofi e as hoofvakke. En dit het goed uitgewerk!” Daarna het sy loopbaan ‘n pad gevolg via Harvard tot professor in 1982. Sy bestuursloopbaan begin in 1994, Frederick Fourie – net mens Deur Leatitia Pienaar as departementshoof van Ekonomie. Vanaf 1997 is hy dekaan, in 1999 viserektor, en vanaf 2003-2008 rektor – ‘n fase in sy loopbaan wat hy in 2008 afgesluit het. Daar was soveel hoogtepunte in sy topbestuursloopbaan van tien jaar, dat dit moeilik is om net sekeres vas te pen. Daarom wil ek weet van die hoogtepunte wat oor, sê, twintig jaar nog vir hom sal uitstaan. “Die Eeufeesvieringe in 2004 sal altyd vir my uitstaan. Ek was bevoorreg om toe rektor te wees. Dit was ‘n wonderlike belewenis… die besef van ‘n waarlik ou universiteit, die eregraadtoekennings, die opening van die Eeufeeskompleks, die vieringe voor die Hoofgebou, die afsluiting met die vuurwerkvertoning, die bekendstelling van die geskiedenisboek. Dit Photo: Leatitia Pienaar was wow-oomblikke vir ‘n trotse instelling. Pragtige momente wat my altyd sal bybly. Dan was daar ook die herinrigting van die Hoofgebou, die fi siese omgewing wat so skouspelagtig verander het en ‘n ‘nuwe’ kampus gelewer het…” Te veel om op te noem. Maar die laagtepunte, wat jy wil vergeet? “Die Reitz-goed. Die vandalisme een week en die Reitz-video ‘n week later. Die slegte (en onnodigheid) daarvan, en die onverdiende skade aan die UV se beeld as ‘n progressiewe, denkende plek, sal ek nooit uit my gestel kry nie. En die stiksienigheid van politici en sekere alumni wat alles probeer behou, maar in die proses alles kan verloor. Hulle besef nie hulle gaan dalk alles verloor as hulle ‘tradisies’ net so wil behou nie. Die UV kan veeltaligheid verloor. Die protesaksies het grense oorgesteek van wat die UV moet en kan wees. Ons was so naby daaraan om iets wonderliks reg te kry. As jy oor 20 jaar terugkyk, waarvoor sal jy onthou wil word, as jy alles afstroop? “Ek sal eerstens graag onthou wil word vir die versterking van die akademie, vir die sterk uitbou van die navorsing, en die akademie as loopbaan. Sommige sal altyd die fi nansiële draaistrategie onthou. Maar dit was bloot ‘n middel – weliswaar ‘n essensiële en dramatiese een – tot ‘n doel: ‘n akademiese draai na ‘n baie goeie universiteit met baie goeie onderrig, navorsing, steundienste en fasiliteite. Die plan het daaroor gegaan om die UV ‘n hoë-gehalte plek, met hoë-gehalte mense en ‘n uitstekende kampus, te maak. Navorsing moes die ruggraat wees, met genoeg robuustheid ingebou. Ons sien reeds iets daarvan in die sterk groei in navorsingsuitsette, asook die strategiese akademiese klusters. Ek sal graag wil sien of die kluster-inisiatief werk. As dit suksesvol deurgevoer word, kan die UV in 5-10 jaar ‘n wêreldleier in die klusterareas wees.” Die ander groot projek was oor diversiteit en transformasie. “Ons het ‘n wonderlike pad geloop met die uitgebreide veeltaligheidsbeleid, kreatiewe denke oor billike indiensneming, die intitisionele handves en die beleid oor diversiteit in koshuise. Daar is ontsettend baie intellektuele werk ingesit rondom hierdie aspekte – om nuwe moontlikhede te ontdek, om nie vas te val in òf-òf denke nie. “Ons het ‘n model vir ware nierassigheid probeer skep. Die konsep van ‘n sense of belonging staan sentraal hierin. Ons wou iets anders doen en nie net reseppies vir transformasie toepas nie. Die pad is nog onvoltooid. ”So, ek is hartseer dat die werk nog nie afgehandel is nie. Maar ek besef ook dat groot kulturele veranderinge tyd neem, selfs dekades. As ek eendag terugkyk, sal ek nuuskierig wees om te sien of die benadering van inklusiewe diversiteit en veeltaligheid die toets van die tyd deurstaan het, en of ‘n institusionele handves dit soos ‘n grondwet kan onderskraag. Ek hoop nie die droom van ‘n tuiste vir almal sal verbrokkel nie.” Nou kom ons by die mens, Frederick Fourie. Almal weet van sy liefde vir musiek en sy passie vir motorfi etse – ja, hy ry nog sy motorfi ets. Hy het nadat hy sy pos ontruim het lang tye in sy tuin deurgebring en dit as’t ware herskep. “Dit was terapie. Dit is wonderlik om tuin te maak, veral die kreatiewe deel daarvan. Sonder vergaderings.” Frederick sien homself ook as “sendeling” vir ernstige musiek. Hy wil veral sien hoe die musiek-boodskap na elke dorp en township in die streek uitgedra word. Sy belangstellings is eintlik te veel, en moontlik kry hy nou tyd daarvoor tussen navorsing en konsultasiewerk deur. Ontwerp is ‘n passie. “Ek vrek oor ‘n mooi gebou of ‘n mooi motor. Dit was wonderlik en kreatief om by die herinrigting en ontwerp van geboue op die kampus betrokke te wees.” Wat van die pad vorentoe? “Die plan is om terug te gaan akademie toe. Ek gaan navorsing, studieleiding en konsultasiewerk doen in byvoorbeeld mededingingsbeleid – een van my spesialisvelde. Ek is ‘n gewone mens, ‘n akademikus en wil dit doen. Dit sal lekker wees om weer op ‘n ander vlak ‘n bydrae te lewer tot die UV – nie as rektor met al die bagasie van die amp nie, maar bloot as akademikus. Ek wil nie ophou bou aan die plek nie.” 10 Bult 11
Page 1 and 2: Bult Nuus Redakteur / Editor: Leati
Page 3: Nuus News Jonathan Jansen wants to
Page 7 and 8: Nuus News It is a cursed evil to an
Page 9 and 10: Foto: Prof. Jan-Albert van den Berg
Page 11 and 12: Nuus News Regter Hefer roep tere he
Page 13 and 14: Nuus News Boyden central to astrono
Page 15 and 16: Nuus Dr Luis Schwalbach, vetenarian
Page 17 and 18: Navorsing Research Die kokkerot in
Page 19 and 20: Navorsing Research Nicolene Cloete
Page 21 and 22: Personeel Staff Photos: Hannes Piet
Page 23 and 24: Personeel Staff Letticia at home in
Page 25 and 26: Personeel Johan Meyer praises the b
Page 27 and 28: Students Graduates should do youth
Page 29 and 30: Studente Kompetisie lok steeds room
Page 31 and 32: Studente Students Die ‘groot appe
Page 33 and 34: Alumni Veritas word dertig Huis Ver
Page 35 and 36: Alumni Alumni Hulle bly vir ons kos
Page 37 and 38: Alumni Therese wil nog magic maak D
Page 39: Alumni Johan and prof. Helena van Z

Bult - University of the Free State

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?