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03 August 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studios)
Prof Hendri Kroukamp.

Prof Hendri Kroukamp, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Donald C Stone Award from the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA). The award pays tribute to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to IASIA through excellence in leadership and enhancing the image of the profession, as well as other distinguished service to the success of the organisation. The award followed a call for nominations and a recommendation process managed by the Stone Award Selection Committee, after which the Management Board endorsed the award to Prof Kroukamp for his contributions to the organisation and to the advancement of public administration in the world.

“I am humbled by the gesture; it is a real honour to receive the award. For me, this is a validation of the work that members of the organisation do to find solutions to the problems faced across all levels in the public sector,” says Prof Kroukamp. 

A dedicated public servant, Donald C Stone was the founder of the American Public Works Association. He is popularly recognised for his contribution to the implementation of the Marshall Plan, organising the executive office of the President of the United States, and the formation of action-oriented professional associations that serve global society. In 1961, Prof Stone was the founding member of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration, an association of organisations and individuals whose activities and interests focus on education and the training of public administrators and managers.  IASIA is an entity of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS). 

More about Prof Kroukamp
Prof Kroukamp is currently Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS (in 2018, he acted as Vice-Rector: Academic at the UFS, responsible for, inter alia, providing strategic leadership to the university and for the overall operational management of the academic portfolio of the university). He is a National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researcher in the field of public administration and management, and a member of various national and international associations, editorial boards, and management boards. Prof Kroukamp is married to Tertia, a clinical psychologist, and they have two children, Dinki (29 years) and Hendri (27 years).

News Archive

"We cannot train for unemployment"
2009-11-16

The prestige forum was attended by, from the left: Prof. Dirk van Damme, Head of the Centre for Education research and innovation at OECD in Paris, France; Dr Saretha Brüssow of the Planning Unit: Teaching and Learning; Mr Francois Marais, Director of CHESD; Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector Academic Planning and the guest speaker; and Prof. Magda Fourie of the University of Stellenbosch.
Photo: Gerhard Louw
“We cannot train for unemployment. We must continuously look at what employers and the world want, and update,” Prof. Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning at the University of Stellenbosch, recently said at a prestige forum for teaching and learning at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof. Fourie, former Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS delivered the second Magda Fourie Prestige Lecture at the forum. The forum was presented by the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Learning (CHESD) and the Planning Unit: Teaching and Learning. Various presentations were made on innovations in teaching and learning at the UFS.

Prof. Fourie said research has shown that the knowledge, skills, competencies and values of students are out of sync with the needs of the world out there. Higher Education must look at the context in which it operates and the relevance of its teaching and learning. “We are busy with the cultivation of humanity,” she said.

The UFS is doing excellent work with its bridging programmes and other universities will have to give attention to it. The UFS is also excellent in its extended programmes and have more women and foreign students than the national average. The UFS, however, has a lower percentage of black students than the national average.

The UFS is also excellent in terms of postgraduate students. The national average is 36%, with the UFS boasting 47%. Prof. Fourie expressed her concern for the low throughput in Business and Economics at the UFS where only 13% of those who enter the system graduate. “These are the people we need for this country’s economy.”

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