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25 August 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Supplied
Nicole Morris champions leadership development in her role as Director: Student Affairs.
She describes herself as passionate about leadership development in Africa and constantly seeking new ways of developing and nurturing talent. Her current role as Secretary-General of the National Association of Student Development (NASDEV) bears testimony to this. Closer to home, she is the Director: Student Affairs, having joined the Qwaqwa Campus just as COVID-19 was about to hit South Africa and the entire globe. During August, she hosted, among other things, a Women’s Month Webinar Series that focused on the theme of Intersectionality Between Politics, Feminism and Social Justice, and featured Pilani Bubu, South African Music Awards Winner of Best African Adult Contemporary Album in 2020. 

She was previously the Manager: Development and Leadership Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand. 
Meet Nicole Morris.

Please tell us about yourself: Who you are and what you do.

My name is Nicole Morris – a daughter, friend, traveller, seeker of knowledge, and trailblazer.

Is there a woman who inspires you and who you would like to celebrate this Women’s Month, and why?

My mother – a phenomenal beauty who did not allow any challenge to repress her infectious laughter and her search for beauty and progress through any and all entrepreneurial ventures.

What are some of the challenges you have faced in your life that have made you a better woman?

Fear! The fear of failure, the fear of succeeding! Fear, fear, fear! And then realising that fear is nothing, but False Evidence Appearing Real! Now, having learnt to feel the fear and doing my thing, has anyway liberated me. 

What advice would you give to the 15-year-old you?

It is OK to not fit in, it is OK to ask questions, and it is definitely OK to want more.  What is important, is to know that you are always living your truth.

What would you say makes you a champion woman [of the UFS]?

An irrepressible ability and desire to find solutions to challenges big and small, and smiling and laughing throughout the journey.  

Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us; some people and experiences ignite them, and some dampen them. Each of us has to discover what will set off those explosions in order to live; the combustion that occurs when one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul. That fire, in short, is its [the soul's] food.

 


News Archive

UFS works closely with employees in the post-Reitz settlement process
2013-05-20

20 May 2013

In the light of an article in IOL News on 18 and 19 May 2013 and in Sunday Independent and Sunday Tribune on 19 May 2013 in which it is alleged that the University of the Free State (UFS) has failed to honour its commitment to the five Reitz employees we are pleased to report on the ongoing process and progress made with respect to their employment.

The university remained consistently true to the settlement agreement and High Court order of 2011 and cannot apologise for complying with the law. It was therefore impossible for us to talk to our colleagues directly until last week when we had a breakthrough meeting, which was cleared by the Human Rights Commission (HRC), and matters were resolved.

The UFS continues to work closely and now directly with the five employees to ensure that their rights as employees remain the highest priority in the post-settlement process.
 
All but one of the conditions of the Reitz settlement (own business) has already been met; however, we are in the process of providing training and support for the establishment of an independent business led by the employees.

After some delays, and frustration on all sides, we have found the right training provider for them and are satisfied that the process remains on track. The business office (furnished) has been allocated at the South Campus in Bloemfontein.

Already in late 2012 the Chair of the HRC expressed his satisfaction with the commitments made by the university to the process. By 30 June 2013 this outstanding commitment to establish an independent company with trained employees would also have been met in full.

Beyond the settlement agreement, the UFS has also committed to providing free education and training to the children of the employees so that their next generation of families emerge as strong, independent, well-trained and productive members of society. The child of one of the colleagues is in fact finishing Grade 12 this year and we are in discussion about possible studies at the UFS. This is our pledge and commitment as a university.

This final step in the post-Reitz settlement is being led by Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector of the University of the Free State.

 

Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director Strategic Communication
Tel: +27 (0) 51 401 2584 / +27 (0) 83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 (0) 51 444 6393
Web: www.ufs.ac.za

 

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