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14 December 2020 | Story André Damons
Dr WA Lombard
Dr WA Lombard from the Department of Agricultural Economics in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences was a winner of the Joseph F Donnermeyer New Scholar Award from the International Society for the Study of Rural Crime.

A researcher and lecturer from the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Agricultural Economics has received an international award for his research on the economic impact of stock theft in South Africa.

Dr WA Lombard from this department in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences was announced as the winner of the Joseph F Donnermeyer New Scholar Award from the International Society for the Study of Rural Crime (ISSRC) earlier this month (December 2020).

Award for an early-career researcher

Dr Lombard received the award for the research he conducted for the article: ‘Economic impact and factors affecting sheep and goat theft in South Africa’, published in Acta Criminologica: African Journal of Criminology & Victimology. The award is bestowed on an early-career researcher for a publication pertaining to rural criminology during the past 12 months. An early-career researcher is someone who has received a PhD within the past seven years and is showing stable research development.

“Winning this award is a very big honour for me. You always wonder if others view the research you are doing as important. It makes it even more special knowing that researchers from around the world could have won this award. I didn’t think I stood a chance,” said Dr Lombard.

According to him, this was the first award he had entered for after being encouraged by Mr Willie Clark from UNISA’s School for Criminal Justice and chairperson of the Stock Theft Prevention Forum.

Rural-crime research receiving attention

“It is great to know that research conducted by the UFS is considered valuable and of good quality by researchers around the world. It is also good to know that rural-crime research is receiving attention. Many feel this field of research is being neglected,” added Dr Lombard.

The award is named after ISSRC president, Joe Donnermeyer, and acknowledges his many years of work, his pioneering role in rural criminology as a sub-discipline, and his strong and ongoing support and mentorship for emerging academics.

• The other winner is Dr Kate Farhall of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Melbourne Technical College in Australia.

News Archive

Faculty delivers one of the first doctorates in a black Hebrew religious tradition
2009-10-12

Black Hebrew Pentecostalism is a religious tradition neglected in research until a recent doctoral thesis brought its rich tradition to the research community. Dr Fred Sherron, Bishop of the Gideon Knights of Yahshua Messiah, Brooklyn, USA, received his PhD in Theology in April this year at the University of the Free State. He studied two communities in New York, disclosing unique features of these communities, resulting in a unique spirituality. This research has made contributions, not only to the general corpus of knowledge of this religious tradition, but also to the academic discipline of spirituality. This was one of the first doctoral theses in spirituality at the Faculty of Theology, also enlarging the international alumni of the faculty. Prof. Rian Venter from the Department of Systematic Theology was his promoter. During the presentation of the certificate were, from the left: Prof. Francois Tolmie, Dean: Faculty of Theology; Dr Sherron; and Prof. Venter.
Photo: Lyzette Hoffman.

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