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17 September 2021 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Supplied
Mr David Noko, newly appointed Chairperson of the UFS Council.

During its third scheduled meeting for the year that took place virtually on 17 September 2021, the Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) appointed Mr David Noko as Chairperson for a term of four years, as from 1 October 2021.

Mr Noko, who was Deputy Chairperson of the Council, will take over the Chairpersonship from Dr Willem Louw, whose term will come to an end on 30 September 2021.
 
“On behalf of the Council, I congratulate Mr Noko and wish him all the best during his term of leading the Council of the UFS. With the skills and competence available in the Council, complemented by Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and his team, he has access to a formidable group of individuals to support him in the execution of this very important role,” said Dr Louw during the meeting. 
 
“I am humbled and honoured for the opportunity and thank the Council for their confidence and trust in me. Since serving on the Council, I have become an ambassador of the University of the Free State, talking to many stakeholders about the institution and how much it should be supported. I am here to serve and look forward to doing so in a professional and dignified manner, together with everyone on the Council and with the leadership of the university,” said Mr Noko.
 
Mr Noko is well-known and respected internationally as a business leader. He has a National Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Technikon Witwatersrand (now the University of Johannesburg), a Management Development Programme (MDP) Certificate from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Company Directorships from the Graduate Institute of Management and Technology. He also completed a master’s degree in Business Administration at the Heriot-Watt University and a Senior Executive Programme at the London Business School.
 
Before retiring from the corporate world in 2019, Mr Noko was the Executive Vice-President of AngloGold Ashanti, where he was responsible for the company’s global Sustainable Development and Government Relations portfolios. His career began at the General Electric Company (GEC) before moving to South African Breweries in 1987, and then to Pepsi-Cola International in 1994, where he gained extensive international exposure and global experience.
 
In 1999, Mr Noko was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Chefs (Pty) Ltd in South Africa, before joining De Beers in 2002. In 2006, he was appointed Managing Director and CEO of De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (DBCM), and in 2010 he founded his own company, CelaCorp (Pty) Ltd. He also founded ESG Advisory (Pty) Ltd, a company providing advisory services to corporates relating to environment, social and governance matters, mostly focusing on mining companies.
 
He is a member of the Institute of Directors SA and served on the boards of Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited, Harmony Gold (Deputy Chairman), AstraPak Ltd, and PlatiStone Holdings (Chairman). He is currently a board director of African Rainbow Minerals Ltd, Tongaat Hulett Ltd, and Aveng Moolmans (Pty) Ltd.

The Council also thanked Dr Louw for his service and for the impeccable leadership he displayed during the time he served.

News Archive

“Every journey begins with the first steps” – Marguerite van der Merwe
2016-07-08

Description: Marguerite van der Merwe Tags: Marguerite van der Merwe

Marguerite van der Merwe, recipient of University of the
Free State Chancellor’s Medal, with Chancellor
Dr Khotso Mokhele, at the Winter Graduation ceremony.

Photo: Johan Roux

Marguerite van der Merwe has dedicated her life to the enrichment and increased quality of life for others. At the University of the Free State’s Winter Graduations on 30 June 2016, Van der Merwe and her brother, Anthony Douglas Osler, were both honoured with Chancellor’s Medals for exceptional service to South Africa and the world beyond our borders. In the early 1980s, she learned about the Alexander Technique and her life since then has been about perfecting the technique and sharing it with others. The Alexander Technique teaches people of any age, gender, occupation or interest, how to be posture-aware and perfect, how to be aware and alert, and how to be calm and discriminating, all of which are part of a practical teaching to integrate these qualities consciously into all our daily human activities.  

She walks the walk

She understood the Alexander Technique to be the perfect way to develop the body both physically and mentally, as it develops the higher mental faculties like focus, attention, awareness, consciousness, discrimination, and unfolding of the psyche, thus developing the human potential holistically as a spiritual way of being. She received her training for the technique in Cape Town and London, thereafter she published The Art of Walking, a guide to the Alexander Technique.

Van der Merwe is an internationally-certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, has been offering this work and its application in the spheres of health, education, and performance skills for 30 years, both nationally and internationally.

Van der Merwe says that the South African higher education system should encompass a holistic approach to teaching and educating. Education should envisage a modern vision of education that supports the evolution of the potential of the human being as a holistic system – a competent, skilled, caring, kind individual, developed in physical, mental, emotional and sensorial aspects. She believes that students thus educated will model ‘wholeness’ and ‘humanness’ as they take their place in society, business, education, and entrepreneurship.

Enriching women’s potential

Apart from The Art of Walking, Van der Merwe published EVE-OLUTION, a book to inspire women to listen to their intuition, and empower women to repossess their bodily wisdom, freedom, and authenticity. Van der Merwe proclaims that it is important to liberate women to take charge of their own bodies, minds, and souls. The purpose of the book is to ensure that young women soak up wisdom and encouragement and for older women to express their wisdom, which needs to be respected and listened to.

“Females and feminine roles in society and family are being liberated and acknowledged in the actions of many women as we stand for equal opportunity, equal power, and equality in many fields,” says Van der Merwe.
“Our young women in business and the higher education fraternity, for one, are strong in their views, beautiful in their presence, outspoken in leadership,” Van der Merwe concluded.

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