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29 March 2021
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1. Its support of and confidence in the leadership of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Francis Petersen and his team, and duly recognises the efforts and results achieved at the University during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the current nationwide student protest on the payment of student debt.
2. In this context, the Council also distances itself and deplores the statements made by the leadership of the
Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC), on national television on Monday 15 March 2021, as it pertained to the demand for the immediate resignation of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and the statements pertaining to the Chancellor, Prof Bonang Mohale, and Chairperson of the Council, Dr Willem Louw. The Council notes that Mr Katleho Lechoo, President of the ISRC subsequently retracted the utterances.
3. The Council strongly affirms its confidence in the relationship between the leadership of the UFS and the ISRC and expresses its appreciation for the University leadership’s commitment to continuously engage with students about matters of concern to them. The Council furthermore encourages positive and constructive engagement by the ISRC with the University leadership, as this contributes to shared-understanding of the challenges faced by the South African higher education sector and the governance of the UFS.
First CAS Winter School brings researchers together
2016-08-01
International and University of the Free State delegates
during the three day Centre for Africa Studies
winter school.
Photo: Supplied
The first biennial doctoral Winter School by the Centre for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS) brought together UFS PhD researchers as well as current and new Africa Studies students specialising in the Conflict and Peace subfield.
According to Prof Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies, this was the aim of the Winter School, hosted in collaboration with the John and Elnora Ferguson Centre for African Studies (JEFCAS) in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. The Winter School took place from 18-22 July 2016 on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.
Doctoral students gain deeper insight during school
Prof Hudson said the Winter School was presented to share insights, and develop further understanding of the complex terrain of interdisciplinary studies.
“The School also provided an opportunity for the Centre’s newly-recruited doctoral students specialising in peace and conflict to gain deeper insight into Peace Studies methodologies,” said Prof Hudson.
Why male ex-combatants resort to violent behaviour?
To conclude the Winter School, Prof Donna Pankhurst from the University of Bradford presented a seminar. Her research paper, What is wrong with men? Revisiting violence against women in conflict and peacebuilding, tries to explain why men resort to violent behaviour after the end of combat duty. Prof Pankhurst described her research title as “a wacky title to grab people’s attention”. “This paper is part of a larger study which is exploring the extent to which post-traumatic stress disorder may impact on male ex-combatants' tendency to commit violence against women,” said Prof Pankhurst.