Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
27 August 2021 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studios)
Transforming the South Campus to a digitised university, Dr Maria Madiope is a resilient and strong guardian of the future generations.

Dr Maria ‘Marinkie’ Madiope, who grew up in Garankuwa Pretoria, is not your average professional woman. Her academic record speaks of vigilant style and resilient independence. Dr Madiope is currently the South Campus Principal at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

What is the best thing about your job?
It has given me the opportunity to transform the South Campus to a digitised university. I cannot express the feeling I have when welcoming students to the UFS and then presenting qualifications to them, especially to students who have gone through very traumatic home, personal, or academic times. 

What is the best and worst decisions you have ever made?
The best decision I have ever made was embracing education and making sure that I am not only certificated but learn to empower others in a very humble way. I don't want to think about my worst decisions. There's too much regret in everyone's lives to maintain our wavering joy.

What does the word woman mean to you?
It describes a proud warrior. A resilient and strong guardian of the future generations. The archetypal matriarch who is fearless and also tender, powerful but not afraid to demonstrate weakness, and self-sufficient yet dutiful. She is everything and anything, because she knows that she in control of whoever she wants to be. Her entire being is guided by this knowledge and self-love.

Which woman inspires you, and why?
My mom inspires me. She always had a smile on her face no matter how hard she worked, and she loved everyone. Her greatest strength is her ability to let nothing, and no one, remove her crown. “Strong winds may blow, but a QUEEN will bobby pin that thang in place and persevere because she is more than a conqueror.” I am also inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise about the struggle to overcome prejudice and injustice. It is one of Maya Angelou's most popular poems. When read by victims of wrongdoing, the poem becomes a kind of anthem, a beacon of hope for the oppressed and downtrodden.

News Archive

“Arts Festival” Rally promises to be great fun!
2008-06-17

The annual Amazing Rainbow Rally, presented by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and UFS Marketing, will take place on Friday, 11 July 2008 during the Volksblad Arts Festival on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

Teams will start at 12:00 at the Protea Hotel in Nelson Mandela Drive, before proceeding to the campus. This year’s rally will have a new twist, namely that all the checkpoints will be on the campus.

Corporate companies in Bloemfontein and departments at the UFS may still enter as there is still place for four teams. A team consists of two team members who must work together to complete a route with various checkpoints. Teams must complete tasks at every checkpoint to be able to proceed to the next checkpoint. The team, who finishes first after having successfully completed all the tasks, is the winner. Last year, Pieter Skein and Steyn Strauss of Naudés Attorneys were the winners of the rally.

The “Arts Festival” Rally promises to challenge teams physically, mentally and even artistically. Festival goers will also have the opportunity to see how their favourite team is doing.

The rally will be presented for the fourth time in 2008. The main goal of this year’s rally is to raise funds for the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health’s “Beds of Hope” Campaign. This campaign seeks to increase the number of intensive care beds in the paediatric and neonatal wards. Currently, around 250 children and babies in central South Africa cannot receive the life-saving care they need because of a lack of facilities.

Enquiries about the rally can be directed to Ms Adéle van Aswegen at 051 401 3535 or Ms Ilse Smalberger at 051 401 2415.

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  
17 June 2008
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept