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New South Campus principal brings wealth of ODL experience to UFS

01 January 2020 | Story Eugene Seegers | Photo Kaleidoscope Studios | Sonia Small

Kaleidoscope - Dr Maria Madiope - New South Campus Principal — Dr Maria Madiope took over the reins of the UFS South Campus at the beginning of January 2020.

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the appointment of Dr Maria ‘Marinkie’ Madiope as Principal of the South Campus for Open Distance Learning (ODL) during a meeting held on 20 September 2019. Dr Madiope took over the reins of the UFS South Campus at the beginning of January 2020.

Educator at heart

Educating and empowering others are key aspects of Dr Madiope's life. She has served as the Director for University Teaching and Learning at Unisa since 2015 and takes her role incredibly seriously, achieving a transformative curriculum at the colleges under her care since her appointment.

Dr Madiope holds a PhD in Education from Unisa, with a specialisation in Didactics; her next two degrees where completed at the then RAU, which is today known as the University of Johannesburg: a BEd in 1999, followed by an MEd in 2001, both specialising in Computer-based Instruction. She previously obtained her BA Ed in 1985 and a BEd in 1988 from the University of the North. Her initial training as a teacher was from the Hebron College of Education from 1980-81.

Dr Madiope is also the editor of the only journal in ODL, Progressio, since 2016. Her expertise in E-learning is another of her strong points. Together with her team, Dr Madiope designed and developed the first online course in Curriculum Transformation, which is being piloted at Unisa. Her work has been rewarded with awards such as the Unisa Gender Activism: Advocacy and Promotion of Women’s Rights 2013, Unisa Woman of the Year 2013, and Unisa Best Performer 2013.

Dr Madiope brings with her a wealth of experience to UFS and her vision is to increase access to a wider base of learners with potentially having more African learners enrolled. The first point of call would be to have more learners coming from Lesotho and then the rest of the SADEC region, having the UFS become a leading distance-learning university. One of the key projects that Dr Madiope wishes to tackle is early childhood development. “I believe in educating educators to ensure that they are best equipped to provide the latest and relevant Early childhood and development practices that are on par with the rest of the world,” she says.

Community leader

In addition to being an experienced educator and administrator, Dr Madiope is instrumental in community projects that lie close to her heart. Whether it is large-scale advocacy for women’s rights or her personal involvement in the supply of sanitary towels for schoolgirls as part of a programme to empower the girl child through exposing them to options, it is humbling to watch her compassion in action.

She further intends to strengthen the relationship of the university with TVET Colleges and community colleges by providing mutually beneficial programmes that will up-skill those colleagues by giving them an opportunity to work with experienced UFS staff members. She says, “Reaching out to colleagues in TVET and Community colleges will offer them the opportunity to advance their lecturing and learning programmes, which will only lead to benefiting their learners and South Africa as a whole.”

News Archive

UFS appoints Prof Francis Petersen as Vice-Chancellor and Rector

2016-12-02

Prof Francis Petersen

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) is pleased to announce that it has decided to appoint Prof Francis Petersen as Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.

Announcing the decision to appoint Prof Petersen today (Friday 2 December 2016) during the quarterly Council meeting on the Bloemfontein Campus, the Chairperson of the UFS Council, Judge Ian van der Merwe, said the university was fortunate to be able to appoint a candidate of such good quality to the position.

Prof Petersen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Institutional Innovation at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and Prof Lis Lange, Vice-Rector: Academic at the UFS, were in line for the position. The university’s Selection Committee expressed equal preference for both and the two candidates were therefore recommended to Council for the position.

“It has been a truly participatory and transparent selection process, which has assisted in the Council being able to make this decision. The higher-education sector has been through a difficult and challenging time during the past few months and the Council is thankful that a leader like Prof Petersen can head the university in 2017 and beyond,” said Judge Van der Merwe.

In his statement of intent, which was submitted earlier as part of the application for the post, Prof Petersen indicated that it is important to imagine the UFS’s location in South Africa and Africa, to realise the challenges within this context, now and in the future, so as to sharpen the university’s focus to become a more inclusive, academic excellent institution, embedded in a culture of innovation. “Therefore, the ideal of academic excellence must be supported by an institutional framework of diversity and inclusivity. The Academic Project should focus on a unique educational experience for every UFS student, the enhancement of student throughput-rate in academic programmes through dedicated academic support, graduate attributes, and curriculum change and renewal,” he said. He furthermore stated that research and innovation must focus on impact and international visibility. “It is thus not only the increase in research and innovation output, but the quality and impact thereof.”

Prof Petersen was previously the Dean of Engineering and the Built Environment at UCT. He brings to the position of Vice-Chancellor and Rector his extensive experience of management in both the industry and academic sectors. He has been the executive head of strategy at Anglo American Platinum and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology). He is a member of the UCT Council, non-executive director on the Board of Pragma Holdings, non-executive director on the Board of the Unlimited Group, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Seedcap (Venture Capital) Trust. Among others, he previously served as member on the Board of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the National Advisory Council on Innovation, and the Council of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

He graduated from Stellenbosch University with a BEng (Chem Eng), MEng (Metal Eng), and PhD (Eng) degrees and completed a short course on Financial Skills for Executive Management. He is a recipient of the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Award for research excellence, and was visiting professor at the Cape Technikon and extraordinary professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stellenbosch University. He is a regular reviewer of journals, and member of a range of editorial boards for international journals.

Prof Petersen is also a registered professional engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa and a Fellow of both the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and the South African Academy of Engineers.

Prof Petersen succeeds Prof Jonathan Jansen, who stepped down as Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS on 31 August 2016. An international executive search agency specialising in academic appointments has assisted the UFS Council in its search for top-quality candidates.

Released by:

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

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