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17 June 2020
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Story Dr WP Wahl
The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) prioritises innovation to meet the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition among students. To this end, several student volunteers and student governance structures are collaborating with the DSA on various initiatives.
During 2019, various conversations were held about the possibility of creating a health-promoting food environment at the UFS where students and staff are well informed and empowered to take appropriate action regarding their food and nutritional needs. These conversations resulted in an institutional strategy to address the food environment at the UFS. Student representatives serve on a technical committee that directs the implementation of this strategy. In this regard, several initiatives have already been launched.
Students from residences and other student communities have planted vegetable gardens on the Bloemfontein Campus with the assistance of KovsieACT and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Students and staff are already harvesting and distributing vegetables to needy students every week. Measurements were put in place to continue this during the COVID-19 period. The following vegetables were planted: spinach, cabbage, beetroot, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.
Food parcels, donated by Tiger Brands and Gift of the Givers, are continuously handed out by DSA staff and student volunteers. In this regard, 540 food parcels have already been handed out on the Bloemfontein Campus during the COVID-19 period alone. During the same time, 117 students received food parcels on the Qwaqwa Campus. The innovation of this food parcel project rests on the fact that business, NPOs, UFS students, and DSA staff are collaborating to address food insecurity and malnutrition.
More collaborative initiatives will be implemented over the next 12 months. The DSA staff and students are already working with the Department of Dietetics and Consumer Sciences to create information packages about the preparation of low-budget nutritious meals.
Related article:
Vegetable tunnels established to continue the fight against food insecurity
UFS appoints a dean for the Humanities
2008-12-08
The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) has recently approved the appointment of Prof. Lucius Botes as the new dean of the Faculty of the Humanities during its last meeting of the year. He will succeed Prof. Gerhardt de Klerk, who will be retiring at the end of the year.
Prof. Botes is currently the Director of the Centre for Development Support (CDS) at the UFS and is also Programme Director of the Postgraduate Programme in Development Studies, which he initiated some nine years ago, and has produced more than 170 alumni from 20 different countries.
Prof. Botes has been an employee of the UFS since 1983 and was appointed as Director of the CDS in 1999. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology and a strong research background.
He was among others a member of the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council of the Free State from 2001-2005 and associate academic fellow of the World Economic Forum from 2001-2006. Prof. Botes is currently Director of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) and the International Association for Community Development, to name a few.
“The Faculty of the Humanities is a very large and diverse faculty. It presents a huge leadership and management challenge. I will strive to lead the faculty to a next phase of excellence in terms of quality teaching and learning, research and community-service-learning outputs. It is important that the faculty should grow and develop in such a way that it will be regarded, especially by both outside role players and our partners, as a pivotal asset of knowledge, human and social capital,” said Prof. Botes.
Prof. Botes will commence his duties as dean on 1 March 2009. Prof. Engela Pretorius, Vice-Dean of the faculty, will act as dean in the mean time.
Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
8 December 2008