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19 May 2020 | Story Charlene Stanley
The five postdoctoral fellows are from left; Dr Sibanengi Ncube; Dr Hyden Munene; Dr Joyline Kufandirori; Dr Joseph Kachim; Dr Victor Gwande
An unprecedented total of five postdoctoral fellows from the University of the Free State’s International Studies Group (ISG) recently heard the good news that they have been selected for the prestigious African Humanities Programme (AHP), presented by the American Council of Learned Societies. The programme is funded by the well-known Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Unique achievement

“This is indeed a remarkable accomplishment – all the more outstanding because we received close to 500 applications for our 45 postdoctoral fellowships this year,” says Prof Fred Hendricks, AHP Associate Director for Southern Africa. It is unique in the history of the AHP to award so many scholars from one relatively small programme and is an accolade to “the concentration of talent developing at the University of the Free State,” according to Prof Hendricks.

“I jumped for joy when I received my acceptance letter and couldn’t contain my excitement,” says a delighted Dr Sibanengi Ncube, one of the five UFS recipients. For him and Drs Joseph Kachim, Joyline Kufandirori, Victor Gwande, and Hyden Munene, this award allows an academic year free of teaching and other duties to either revise their dissertations for publication or for their first major research project after obtaining their PhDs. As fellows, they are also eligible for additional benefits such as residential stays for writing, manuscript development workshops, and publication support.

Dr Ncube, an economic historian with research interests in the histories of commodities, agricultural policies, international commodity trade and rural economies’ interactions with global value networks, plan to use the opportunity to revise his PhD thesis for a book. The provisional title of his envisaged publication is, Beyond the State: Global, Regional and Local Relations in Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry since 1947.

“The award does not only bring money for books and media to enhance my work, but it also makes me an American Council of Learned Societies’ African Humanities Program Fellow, in itself a very important addition to my academic CV,” he enthuses.

Producing new knowledge from Africa

According to the American Council of Learned Societies, the goals of their African Humanities Programme are to encourage and enable the production of new knowledge and new directions for research, to strengthen the capacity of early career researchers and faculty at African universities, and to advance the humanities by establishing networks for scholarly communication across Africa and with Africanists worldwide.

“We are immensely proud of our scholars who have been selected to be part of this,” says Prof Ian Phimister, Head of the International Studies Group (ISG) at the UFS. “They can use the scholarship funds to travel to archives across Africa for their research. Some of them already have book contracts in place, which means that they can now move ahead towards publication very quickly.” 

ISG scholars having international impact
  
To be awarded five of these fellowships in one year, is yet another feather in the cap of the ISG, which has established itself as a key contributor to the academic and research effort in the SADC region and further afield. 

The ISG was formed in 2012, after the need was identified to recruit senior research professors who would not only lead by research example and refereed publication, but also attract and recruit high-calibre postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to the UFS, driving the research-led transformation of the university as a whole.

After national and international advertisements, followed by a rigorous selection process, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are recruited in the field of Southern and Central African Studies, usually engaging with wider regional and global processes. Comparative world history is also catered for. 

The young scholars come from across the globe – from places such as Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Minnesota, to institutions closer to home, such as the Universities of Zambia, Botswana, Pretoria, and Stellenbosch University. Their study fields encompass a wide variety of disciplines, such as anthropology, development economics, history, politics, and sociology. Just over two-thirds of the PhD students and postdoctoral fellows are black and more than half of them are female.

“This cohort of exceptionally clever young people drawn from throughout South and Southern Africa, as well as from elsewhere, has been hard at work for the past seven years or so.  Twenty of them have already passed through the ISG’s programme, many of them subsequently taking up posts at renowned institutions such as the London School of Economics, the University of Kent, the University of St Andrews, and also here at the UFS. The fact that they are proving themselves to be internationally competitive is particularly gratifying,” says Prof Phimister.

Scholars publish in renowned national and international journals during their tenure at the UFS. The ISG’s completion rate for PhD theses is within three to three and a half years – roughly half of the national average of seven years. 

Academic incubator

“As an economic historian who was introduced to Professor Ian Phimister’s works in both my honours and master’s courses, I needed no persuasion when an opportunity arose for me to work under him in the ISG,” says Dr Ncube, one of the AHP recipients. “Words really fail me when I try to describe the value of my time at the UFS International Studies Group. It is an academic incubator – a home-away-from-home environment characterised by unprecedented collegiality across the board.”

News Archive

UV vestig hom afgelope eeu as leier op verskeie terreine
2004-05-11

Michelle O'Connor - Volksblad - 11 Mei 2004

Ondank terugslae nou 'n 'gesonde volwassene'

HOEWEL die Universiteit van die Vrystaat (UV) vanjaar sy eeufees vier en met 23 000 studente die grootste universiteit in die sentrale deel van die land is, was dié instelling se geboorte glad nie maklik nie. MICHELÉ O'CONNOR het met prof. Frederick Fourie, rektor, oor die nederige begin van dié instelling gesels.

DIE behoefte aan 'n eie universiteit in die Vrystaat het reeds in 1855, kort ná die stigting van Grey-kollege, kop uitgesteek.

Grey se manne het hulleself teen 1890 begin voorberei om die intermediêre B.A.-eksamens af te lê. Dié eksamen het hulle toegang gegee tot die tweede jaar van 'n B.A.-graad aan die destydse University of the Cape Good Hope, nou die Universiteit van Kaapstad.

"Presidente F.W. Reitz en M.T. Steyn het destyds albei die stigting van 'n universiteit hier bepleit. Die grootste rede was sodat die seuns van die Vrystaat nie weggestuur word nie.

"Dié twee se droom is op 28 Januarie 1904 bewaarheid toe ses studente hulle onder dr. Johannes Bril, as hoof/rektor van Grey-kollege, vir die graad B.A. ingeskryf het. Dié graad is aanvanklik deur die Kaapse universiteit toegeken.

"Net die klassieke tale soos Latyns en Grieks, die moderne tale, Nederlands, Duits en Engels, filosofie, geskiedenis, wiskunde, fisika, chemie, plant- en dierkunde is aanvanklik aangebied.

"Die UV se geboue het gegroei van 'n klein tweevertrek-geboutjie wat nou naby Huis Abraham Fischer staan, en verblyf in die Grey-kollege se seunskoshuis," sê Fourie.

Volgens hom is die universiteit se eerste raad en senaat tussen 1904 en 1920 saamgestel. Die eerste dosente is aangestel en die eerste geboue opgerig. "Dié tyd was egter baie moeilik.

"Die instelling het teen 1920 net 100 studente gehad en was geldelik in die knyp. Daar was geen vaste rektor nie en geen vooruitgang nie. Vrystaatse kinders is steeds na ander universiteite gestuur.

"Ds. J.D. Kestell, rektor van 1920 tot 1927, het egter dié instelling finaal gevestig.

"Hy het self studente van oor die hele Vrystaat gewerf en geld by onder meer kerke en banke ingesamel. Kestell het selfs Engelse ouers oortuig om hul kinders na die Greyuniversiteitskollege (GUK) te stuur en teen 1927 het dié instelling met 400 studente gespog.

"In die tydperk tussen 1927 en 1950 het die GUK weer verskeie terugslae beleef.

"In dié tyd was dit onder meer die Groot Depressie en die Tweede Wêreldoorlog. Die armblanke-vraagstuk het regstreeks op studente en dosente ingewerk en die politieke onderstrominge van dié tyd het die instelling ontwrig.

"Die GUK het egter oorleef en die Universiteitskollege van die Oranje-Vrystaat (UKOVS) is in 1935 gebore," sê Fourie.

Hy sê in dié tyd is verskeie fakulteite gevestig en teen 1950 het die UKOVS met 1 000 studente gespog.

Teen 1950 het dit 'n onafhanklike universiteit geword en die naam is verander na die Universiteit van die OranjeVrystaat (UOVS).

Dié tydperk is gekenmerk deur Afrikaner- en blanke selfvertroue en heerskappy. Studentegetalle het tot 7 000 in 1975 gegroei en heelwat vooruitgang het in dié tyd plaasgevind.

"Tussen 1976 en 1989 sukkel dieuniversiteit weer met onder meer ekonomiese krisisse, die land se politieke onstabiliteit en word die UOVS geï soleer.

"Een ligpunt in dié tyd is die toelating van die eerste swart studente, die nuwe Sasol-biblioteek en die fakulteit teologie wat die lig sien.

"Tussen 1990 en vanjaar het die UOVS verskeie op- en afdraandes beleef. Die universiteit doen nie net die eerste stappe van transformasie nie, maar begin ook aan 'n beleid van multikulturaliteit werk.

"Die UOVS se naam verander in 1996 na die Universiteit van die Vrystaat/University of the Free State en in 2001 word die Sotho-vertaling bygevoeg.

"Geldelike druk en probleme neem drasties toe en personeel word gerasionaliseer.

"Teen 2000 begin die UV met 'n draaistrategie en studentegetalle neem tot meer as 23 000 toe," sê Fourie.

Hy sê die UV het die afgelope eeu nie net verskeie terugslae oorleef nie, maar homself ook op verskeie gebiede as 'n leier gevestig.

Die universiteit behaal sy eie geldelike mikpunte, neem 'n nuwe taalbeleid van veeltaligheid aan en herbelê in personeel.

Die instelling inkorporeer die kampusse van die Vista- en Qwaqwa-universiteit en groei internasionaal.

Die UV vestig ook fondamente van 'n institusionele kultuur van verdraagsaamheid, geregtigheid en diversiteit.

"Die baba het in die afgelope eeu 'n gesonde volwassene geword."

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