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05 October 2018
The public participation process regarding the review of the position of the MT Steyn statue in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus is concluded and the reflective column in front of the statue has been removed. The reflective column was placed in front of the statue to elevate engagement and solicit comments from the university community regarding the position of the statue.
 
The public participation process started on 9 July and was concluded on 9 September 2018. During this process, the university community had several opportunities to submit oral and written submissions regarding the position of the statue. The oral and written submissions received during the public participation process were analysed by an independent analyst and a report was provided to the special task team. The broad themes that emerged from the public participation process included opposition to the current location; opposition to the removal; removal to alternative positions off campus; and the addition of other statues next to the statue.
 
The public participation process was by no means a vote on the matter; the aim was to obtain as many opinions and comments about the position of the statue as possible, as it forms part of a broader endeavour to review the position of the statue.   
 
The process going forward is as follows:
 
(i)            The report on the public participation process will be incorporated into the draft Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), and the heritage consultant will submit the final report to the special task team;
(ii)           The special task team will engage with the final HIA and make recommendations to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor;
(iii)          The Rector and Vice-Chancellor will discuss the HIA assessment and the recommendations of the special task team with the university’s executive management and will subsequently make recommendations to the UFS Council for consideration during its meeting in November 2018. 


Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

News Archive

Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support HOD selected as prestigious Fulbright scholar
2015-06-24

Hetsie Veitch and Gabriela Schroder
Photo: Valentino Ndaba

Hetsie Veitch, who has served as the Head of the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support at the university for the past seven years, recently won the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship for studies in the USA. Hetsie has been placed at the renowned Syracuse University in Upstate New York, where she will read for a PhD in Disability Studies in the School of Education.

By focusing on matters of social justice in the pedagogy of higher education, Hetsie will explore the creation of universally accessible learning spaces for students so that she can apply these ideas on her return to South Africa in four years.

Under her leadership, the Unit for Students with Disabilities (USD) was transformed into the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) in order to reflect new approaches to universal access and universal design.“It is my ultimate goal,” says Hetsie, “to create an institutional culture that includes and welcomes all students with disabilities.”

It is difficult to fully capture the enormous contribution Hetsie has made to the UFS in disability justice, by establishing platforms for students with disabilities that enable them to be appreciated as individuals, and to excel in academic studies.

One of our star students, Gabriela Schröder, also won the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Gaby, as she’s called, will be taking up doctoral studies in Biochemistry at a leading university in her field, namely North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Gaby earned her BSc Honours degree in Biochemistry at the University of the Free State, after also completing her undergraduate studies in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Kovsies.

She participated in the F1 Leadership for Change Programme (Class of 2011) as part of the first-year cohort that went to the University of Vermont. In 2012, she was selected to participate in the elite Stanford Sophomore College Programme with students from Oxford University (UK) and Stanford University in California.

In 2014, Gaby was awarded the Dean's Medal, a distinction which is presented to the best final-year student studying towards a Bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. She was also the proud recipient of the Senate Medal, awarded for academic excellence in the achievement of a Bachelor’s degree at the university.

 

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