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07 December 2020 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling | Photo Sonia Small
From the left; Lelanie de Wet; Andre Damons; Ilze Bakkes and Barend Nagel.

The University of the Free State Department of Communication and Marketing (DCM), together with Student Recruitment Services (SRS), have managed to bring home four awards during the annual IABC Africa Silver Quill Awards programme. The Quill Awards programme salutes and recognises business communication excellence across the continent. It is the second time this year that DCM has received recognition from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Earlier this year, Barend Nagel: Audio-visual Specialist, won a 2020 IABC Gold Quill Award of Merit for his Gender-based Violence awareness campaign photographs.

Furthermore, André Damons, who was recently appointed as Senior Media Relations Officer at the UFS DCM, won two 2020 Vodacom Journalist of the Year regional awards for the Free State, Northern Cape, North-West and Limpopo region in the features and sports category for work done while he was still a Network24 journalist in Bloemfontein. 

During a time like this

Effective communication is always important, but even more so during times of uncertainty and change. 2020 has created numerous challenges for any communications team, but also several opportunities. In true Kovsie spirit, the UFS managed to not only survive, but also to thrive. Lelanie de Wet from the DCM won two Awards of Excellence. One for the Kovsies Multilingual Mokete in the communication management category for diversity and inclusion, and one for the UFS Virtual Graduation in the special and experiential events skills category. The judges praised her entries for its exceptional quality and standard: “Brilliant. Congratulations on a significant accomplishment.” 

Doing the same, differently

Barend Nagel from the DCM and Ilze Bakkes from Student Recruitment Services both entered the UFS Virtual Open Day (VOD). Barend received an Award of Merit for his website-related work for the VOD in the skills category. Besides being commended for his innovative and resourceful approach, Barend impressed the judges with “superior production values and strong images”. Ilze Bakkes from the UFS SRS entered the VOD as a campaign to showcase the work her team has done to conceptualise and facilitate this first-of-its-kind open day. The entry received an Award of Merit for its detailed target audience insight and short production timescale, among others. The judges were also impressed by the innovative approach and effective use of internal and external resources. “It is our first Silver Quill,” Ilze beamed, “we are over the moon!”

A step ahead

The competition during this year’s Silver Quill Awards were tough, seeing that all communication teams had to reinvent and rethink the best way to reach their stakeholders with limited communication channels. “It is a huge honour to again be recognised by the IABC for our projects and campaigns. I am very proud of my colleagues, who not only worked right through all the national lockdown levels to keep everyone informed, but also managed to maintain and exceed their level of operation,” said Lacea Loader, Director: Communication and Marketing at the UFS.   

News Archive

Prof Jonathan Jansen steps down as UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector
2016-05-16

Statement by Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS (pdf)

Statement by Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson: UFS Council

Prof Jonathan Jansen will step down as Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS) on 31 August 2016.

He will take up an invitation as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in the USA in September 2016. The fellowship, which was awarded to him earlier this year, is an opportunity for him to further advance his career as an internationally renowned academic in education. Prof Jansen’s departure is a great loss for the university, but the Council accepts his decision to step down and pursue his academic career as well as other opportunities.

The Council is grateful for the vision and the inspirational leadership that Prof Jansen provided during his tenure at the UFS. He has led the university through difficult and complex times – from after the Reitz incident up until the recent student protest actions. He brought stability and respect for the university – nationally as well as internationally.

The Council appreciates Prof Jansen’s drive to further the academic performance and transformation of the UFS. To this end he was instrumental in the improvement of student success and graduation rates, the increase in the percentage of academic staff with doctoral qualifications, the increase in research outputs, the growth in staff diversity, and the growth in third-stream income.

Furthermore, Prof Jansen played a significant part in developing the UFS as a place where the embrace of diversity and the integration of the university provide a backdrop for academic excellence. Under his leadership, the UFS made great strides in fulfilling its social responsibility to serve the community. He was the right leader at the right time for the university.

On behalf of the Council and the entire university community, I thank him for his contributions as a capable, energetic and dedicated leader and wish him the best for his future.

Prof Jansen was appointed as Vice-Chancellor and Rector on 1 July 2009 and his term of office was extended for another five years by the Council on 1 July 2014. 

In the event that the position is not filled by the end of August 2016, Prof Nicky Morgan, current Vice-Rector: Operations at the UFS, will act as Vice-Chancellor and Rector. The Council will shortly start the process to appoint a successor through a national and international search.

Released by: Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Tel: +27(0)51 401 3422/2707 or +27(0)83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27(0)51 444 6393

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