Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
21 April 2021
|
Story Eugene Seegers
|
Photo Supplied
Adelia Chauque graduated with distinction during the April Virtual Graduations hosted by the UFS.
On 20 April 2021, 693
South Campus students graduated during a
virtual ceremony, with 213 of them achieving distinctions. One of these is
Adelia Chauque, the newly elected South Campus SRC member for Policy and Transformation. During her journey as a student, Adelia says that she had numerous obstacles to overcome. For instance, she mentions that her “biggest challenge was completing my tasks with an unstable data connection during the pandemic”. Despite this impediment, Adelia managed to excel in her studies and obtained her qualification with distinction.
Adelia says her family was her biggest support system. “Due to the network problems that I faced my family had to drive me around until we found a stable connection that enabled me to write my tests.” Other support came from the university itself. “I received a lot of support from the academic adviser, Mr Chwaro Shuping,” she says. “Although he couldn't arrange for me to return to campus, he called regularly to ensure that I was still academically active.”
After overcoming these hurdles, Adelia is continuing her academic journey. “I am enthusiastic and eager to learn or to better myself. Due to that, I am furthering my studies by enrolling for a second degree programme in
Administration majoring in Industrial Psychology. I am very ambitious, in the sense that I strive for perfection and consistency with an organised and maintainable future, therefore being part of the SRC enables me to assist students and myself with a secured and comfortable learning environment to achieve our goals at the institution.”
Adelia balances her responsibilities in the SRC portfolio of Policy and Transformation on the South Campus by having a schedule planned that ensures she does not fall behind. She concludes, “During the morning, I attend my prescribed lectures to ensure that I will continue to slay academically. Then I am visible in the SRC office from 12:00 to 16:30. After hours, I contribute my time to study, but I remain available to students who prefer texting.” The university is keen to see the heights to which Adelia will attain in the coming years.
“I am enthusiastic and eager
to learn or to better myself.”
Adelia Chauque, South Campus SRC:
Policy and Transformation.
Two academics will be sorely missed
2013-04-02
|
 
|
Prof Andrew Marston and Prof Bannie Britz
Photo: Supplied
02 April 2013 |
The staff and students of the University of the Free State (UFS) are deeply saddened by the recent passing in Bloemfontein of two of the university’s most esteemed and renowned academics, Prof Bannie Britz and Prof Andrew Marston.
Prof Britz was the Head of the Department of Architecture from 1992 to 2000. He was renowned in his field, winning numerous prizes for Architecture, including the Gold Medal for Architecture from the South African Academy of Arts and Sciences.
“As professional architect and urban designer, Prof Britz was a much awarded architect who received numerous award of merit from the South African Institute of Architects for buildings erected in South Africa over the years,” said Martie Bitzer, Head of the Department of Architecture.
Apart from his acclaim elsewhere, Prof Britz also played a major role in the day-to-day activities of university’s staff and students. He was responsible for the design of the many walkways on campus and the refurbishment of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus. For the many contributions in his field, Prof Britz was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the UFS in 2007.
Prof Andrew Marston, a specialist in natural product chemistry and methods associated with the isolation and analysis of medically important chemicals from plants, was appointed from Geneva, Switzerland in 2009 under the UFS Strategic Cluster for Advanced Biomolecular Research.
He obtained a B-rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) in 2011, and was consequently appointed as a senior professor in die UFS Senior Professor Programme. “He has made valuable contributions to the UFS in terms of teaching and postgraduate supervision, as well as research. In his short stay at the UFS, he already co-authored more than ten papers in international chemistry literature,” said Prof André Roodt, Head of the Department of Chemistry.
His research group was part of a multilateral agreement in the European Union (EU) with a number of African and three European universities. He obtained new research funding from the Seventh Framework Programme of the EU for the Building Sustainable Research Capacity on Plants for Better Public Health in Africa project, from the Norwegian Research Council for bioprospecting and the isolation and structure determination of compounds from plants and algae, and from the South African Rooibos Tea Council.
The memorial service for Prof Britz took place on Friday 5 April 2013 in the Berg-en-Dal Dutch Reformed Church in Bloemfontein. The service for Prof Marston took place in the Trinity Church, Charles Street, Bloemfontein.