The University of the Free State (UFS) is honoured to announce that world-renowned economist Prof Jeffrey D. Sachs will deliver the inaugural Vice-Chancellor Prestige Lecture. 

Titled “Strategies for Rapid Long-Term Growth in Africa”, the lecture will examine pathways to inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the continent. Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS, will deliver a formal response following the lecture.  

The Vice-Chancellor Prestige Lecture Series is a new initiative introduced by Prof Hester C. Klopper, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS. The series forms part of the university’s commitment to fostering intellectual engagement and advancing thought leadership on issues of both regional and global significance. 

About the speaker: Prof Jeffrey Sachs 

Prof Jeffrey Sachs serves as University Professor and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he previously led the Earth Institute (2002 – 2016). Recognised as one of the most influential economists in the world, Prof Sachs is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, and Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development.

He has served as Special Adviser to three United Nations Secretaries-General and currently acts as an SDG Advocate under Secretary-General António Guterres. Before joining Columbia, he spent more than two decades at Harvard University, where he earned his BA, MA, and PhD degrees. 

A recipient of 42 honorary doctorates, including one conferred by the UFS in 2015, Prof Sachs’ numerous accolades include the 2022 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, the Legion of Honour (France), and the Order of the Cross (Estonia). His most recent publications include The Ages of Globalisation: Geography, Technology, Institutions (2020) and Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development (2022).

About the respondent: Prof Philippe Burger 

Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS since 2022, has served as Professor of Economics since 2007. He was a Fulbright Exchange Scholar (2016/17) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and is the author of Getting it Right: A New Economy for South Africa, launched at the IMF, World Bank, and RAND Corporation.

He is also a Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow at the UN University World Institute for Development Economics Research, where he leads the Macro-Fiscal workstream for the SA-TIED II project.  Prof Burger has served as an advisor to the IMF and OECD and is a former President of the Economic Society of South Africa. 

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