Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
05 February 2018 Photo Johan Roux
Prof John Mubangizi appointed as UFS Dean of the Faculty of Law
Prof John Mubangizi.
The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the appointment of Prof John Mubangizi as Dean of the Faculty of Law during a meeting held on the Bloemfontein Campus on 22 January 2018. He assumed office on 1 February 2018.

“Prof Mubangizi’s extensive experience and scholarly contributions are most valuable to the university and the faculty, and I look forward to working with him,” says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Prof Mubangizi's academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Laws (LLB, Makerere University, Uganda), a Master’s in Public Law (LLM, University of Cape Town), and a Doctor of Laws (LLD, University of Durban-Westville). Prof Mubangizi also has several professional qualifications, including a Diploma in Education from Makerere University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Law Development Centre). He has been awarded several certificates in his area of academic specialisation, including a Certificate in Human Rights from the Institute of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France), and a Certificate in International Humanitarian Law from the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.

He has been a full professor for more than twelve years. From January 2005 to April 2007, he served as Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). From May 2007, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Law and Management Studies at UKZN, with the responsibility of leading the academic and research strategy and realising the mandate of the college and the university.

One of the highlights of Prof Mubangizi’s research profile is the authorship of a book entitled The Protection of Human Rights in South Africa: A Legal and Practical Guide (2004 and 2013), which is widely used by scholars, practitioners, and students of human rights law in South Africa. He has published more than 60 publications, most of which are in SAPSE-accredited peer-reviewed journals. Furthermore, he has presented more than 40 academic papers at international conferences across the globe. He is rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) as an established researcher.

Prof Mubangizi is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), and has served as member and advisor to the Council of ASSAf. He is currently the Chairperson of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of South Africa, and a member of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). In addition, he serves on various committees and in different ad hoc positions at institutional, national, and international level.

News Archive

Inaugural lecture challenges leaders in higher education
2012-10-30
Dr Mamphela Ramphele
Photo: Stephen Collett
29 October 2012


Lecture (Pdf format)

According to international statistics, South Africa’s school performance is rated 140th out of 144 countries. South Africa is also ranked 143rd out of 144 countries when it comes to  the quality of mathematics and science. About 600 000 South African graduates are unemployed and about 500 000 learners are failed by our current education system.

Dr Mamphela Ramphele brought these shocking statistics to the light at the inaugural lecture of the Annual Prestige Lecture at the Faculty of Education on Thursday 25 October 2012 at the University of the Free State (UFS).

This lecture will henceforth be known as the Mamphela Ramphele Prestige Lecture.

Dr Ramphelefocused her lecture on ‘Educating the 21st century citizen’.

“One of the defining characteristics of the 21st century is the vast number of choices that confront us every day at a personal, professional and political level.”

She asked if 21st century South Africans are equipped with the skills to make the choices that confront them daily.

“The failure to transform our apartheid education into one characterized by equity and excellence, is producing graduates who lack self-confidence.”

Dr Ramphele said that in South Africa about 1/6th of government expenditure goes to education, but the outcomes remain shocking.

For Dr Ramphele the answer lies in creating platforms for open conversation about South Africa’s painful past and the agenda for radical socio-economic restructuring should include the fundamental transformation of education.

She praised the UFS, under its current inspirational leadership, for its role as change agents through the education.

Prof. Rita Niemann, senior professor at the Faculty said the Annual Mamphela Ramphele lecture is to further expand and celebrate education in South Africa.

“Dr Ramphela has given us so much food for thought by challenging leaders in higher education to speak out about the questionable state of education in South Africa and to become engaged in the ‘revolution of the spirit’ in order to deliver citizens who own and shape the country.”
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept