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17 August 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela and Coreen Steenkamp | Photo Francois van Vuuren
Academic Leadership Programme
The new cohort of the Academic Leadership Programme.

Educational leaders serve a significant administrative, management, and leadership function in higher education. A departmental chair’s role differs fundamentally from other leadership contexts, based on the momentous transition from being an academic by profession to providing leadership at departmental level.
The Academic Leadership Programme (APL) was launched by the University of the Free State (UFS) Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to equip academics for various managerial positions. Faculty deans propose candidates for this programme; the second cohort has been chosen as the first is nearing completion. 
The first workshop commenced with an engagement with the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Francis Petersen, and the Vice-Rector: Academic, Dr Engela van Staden, who both shared strategic academic leadership perspectives during the orientation and welcoming of the APL. 
Such reflections highlighted the expectations of being an educator, the complexity, and the critical role of departmental chairs within higher education institutions. Academic leaders are thus expected to establish firm leadership within their departments, facilitate intellectual development, manage administrative duties, and strive toward resilient learning and teaching environments. 
“The position of departmental chairs remains critical for any higher education institution, as they provide leadership in advancing the discipline, teaching students, producing quality graduates, and serving the professional community,” said Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director: Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Research confirms that most academics succeed in these roles without formal leadership training, yet the expectation of developing or having certain leadership qualities or management competencies must fulfil the various functions of such a position. 


News Archive

International Bible scholars attend conference on Apocalyptic Literature and Mysticism
2017-09-18

Description: Bible Scholars Tags: Bible Scholars, UFS Faculty of Theology and Religion, Prof Francis Petersen 

Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor,
second from left, flanked by three
deans of theology: Prof Fanie Snyman (UFS),
Prof Jörg Frey (University of Zurich),
and Prof Gregory Sterling (Yale Divinity School).
Photo: Eugene Seegers


Apocalypticism and mysticism have become two key areas of research that have converged to form the heart of contemporary spirituality. It was with this in mind that leading local and international Bible scholars were invited to a collaborative international conference jointly hosted by the UFS Faculty of Theology and Religion and Yale Divinity School, with the theme Apocalyptic Literature and Mysticism—Investigating a Turn in Recent Apocalyptic Research.

It is perhaps unknown to many that a number of the most profound thinkers, both of Judeo-Christian tradition and other religions in general, were mystics. Their lives and writings speak of a longing for an intimate relationship with God, reflecting on universal existential questions such as understanding our human existence, our creation, and ultimately, the meaning of life.

Apocalypticism, on the other hand, focuses on texts and prophecies describing how an alternative, future world might replace our existing one, a process often cataclysmic in nature, thus, like the mystics, also reflecting on the deeper foundations of human existence and our possible demise.

Traditionally, both have been misunderstood and controversial, but more recent research has revealed their formative role in religious discourses, with many scholars finding growing commonalities between apocalyptic and mystical texts. Moreover, these commonalities help to establish a better understanding of Judeo-Christian traditions, as well as other religions in general.

This hugely successful UFS collaborative effort, as well as others of its kind, contribute to the growth of theology as a discipline, with a positive impact on the broader religious community, the church, and society as a whole in the common desire for a just, equitable, and humane world.

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