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21 May 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Ian van Straaten
Dr Thandi Gumede
Dr Thandi Gumede graduated with a PhD in Polymer Science. She is from Intabazwe, Harrismith.

The Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State was a hive of activity on 17 and 18 May 2019, when over 800 degrees, diplomas, and certificates were conferred on deserving achievers. These included six PhDs and 14 master’s degrees across the four faculties.

Congratulating the graduates on both days, was Africa’s youngest PhD and Industrial Psychology lecturer, Dr Musawenkosi Saurombe, and Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

Be like heat

Dr Saurombe started her address by relating her school journey that saw her starting Grade 1 at age 5, thus later matriculating at the age of 15, having skipped Grades 3 and 10. She went on to emphasise the importance of building an honourable character.

“As a graduate, you will soon realise that your degree is useless if you do not have character,” she said to an attentive audience that continued to marvel at her remarkable school history. She encouraged graduates to be like heat that cannot be seen but can only be felt. “Noise can often be seen and heard, but it cannot be felt. However, while heat cannot always be seen, it is always felt. Be like heat and may your presence always be felt,” she said.

Do not focus on yourself

Prof Francis Petersen also encouraged graduates to look beyond their degrees by developing a set of critical values.
 
“For us as the university, this ceremony is not just about your degrees. It is about the values that you must live by,” he said. “As a graduate of the UFS, do not just believe what you are told. Ask questions and engage critically. Secondly, do not just focus on yourself. Remember that you are part of a community and it is your responsibility to make our world a better place for others. You need to be socially responsive to the needs of your community. Thirdly, remember that integrity plays a very important role. This will determine how others value you,” he said.

The two ceremonies also saw three current SRC members graduating. They are Lebohang Miya (BEd FET – Accounting and Business Studies), Duduzile Mhlongo (BA – Geography and isiZulu), and Mhlongo Sinemfundo (BA – Geography and isiZulu).

News Archive

Papers at Theology conference at the UFS published in academic journal
2009-08-21

 
Theology is also a theme outside of the church. This was once again proven with the recent special edition of an academic journal that specifically focused on this theme. The Journal for Christian Scholarship (JCS) dedicated its first special edition for 2009 to a conference on missionary work and conversion to Christianity. This conference, organised by Prof. Pieter Verster of the Department of Missiology in the Faculty of Theolog, was presented at the University of the Free State (UFS) last year. Papers by international speakers from, amongst others, Brazil, India and the Netherlands were recorded in this edition. The JCS is an accredited academic journal that is distributed both nationally and internationally. Here Prof. Daan Strauss (left) from the Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS and editor of the JCS, presents a copy of this special edition to Prof. Francois Tolmie, Dean of the Faculty of Theology. Mr Hugo Hayes (second from the left) executive officer of the Association for Christian Higher Education, and Prof. Pieter Verster, head of the Department of Missiology at the UFS, also attended the occasion.
Photo: Lyzette Hoffman

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