Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS shocked and saddened by the untimely passing of MEC Tate Makgoe

05 March 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang and Lacea Loader | Photo UFS Photo Archive

The management of the University of the Free State (UFS) is shocked and saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Tate Makgoe, member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in the Free State, who passed away on Sunday 5 March 2023 after a car accident.

MEC Makgoe was a UFS Council member as representative of the Free State Premier for two terms, from 1 November 2010 to 31 December 2018. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of Council in his second term.

“On behalf of the UFS Council, the university management, and the university community, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to MEC Makgoe’s family, Premier Mxolisi Dukwana, and the Executive Council of the Free State, as well as the Free State education sector at large, for the loss of a great leader,” said Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

MEC Makgoe had a strong relationship with the UFS, which saw him collaborating on numerous projects, including the Internet Broadcast Project from 2012 to 2022, which was aimed at supporting Grade 12 learners and teachers.

Prof Petersen acknowledged MEC Makgoe for his contributions to the university, the institution’s Council, and the province’s education sector. “We are proud to have been associated with MEC Makgoe. Not only in his capacity as MEC, but also as alumnus. He held an Honours degree in Commerce from the UFS and was registered for a PhD in Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the university at the time of his passing. In 2013, he received a Cum Laude Award during the Chancellor's Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony,” said Prof Petersen.

Through continued collaboration and under his leadership, the Free State reclaimed its top spot in the National Senior Certificate examination results in 2019 and has maintained it to date. “This would not have been possible without the leadership of MEC Makgoe; we salute him for the significant role he played, and for his contribution to the success of the province over the past few years,” said Prof Petersen.

News Archive

Marieka Gryzenhout receives NRF-NSTF Award

2013-07-03

Dr Gryzenhout
Photo: Sonia Small
03 July 2013

“The award serves to prove that my type of research is truly relevant.” These are the words of Dr Marieka Gryzenhout of the Department of Plant Sciences at the UFS, who received the T W Kambule NRF-NSTF Award as emerging researcher in June 2013.

The award from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) gives recognition to her outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation (SETI) in the country.

Dr Gryzenhout is also part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholar Programme.

“It was an honour to be chosen as a finalist, but to even win it? Die award indicates the importance of fungi and plant pathogens, and their presence in various biological systems and that it is important to identify and categorise significant plant pathogens and fungi to enable easier access for users of these names.”

Dr Gryzenhout was in the US on the evening of the awards ceremony, attending a workshop on the identification and research of another fungus group, Fusarium. “This group is extremely important, since it includes important plant pathogens, producers of toxins in food and feed, as well as animal and human pathogens, and it also plays important ecological roles.”

She attended the Kansas State University in Kansas and paid a visit to the Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens and Mycology Unit of the US Department of Agriculture in Illinois.

Dr Gryzenhout is also a finalist in the Women in Science Awards hosted by the Department of Science and Technology. The winner will be announced in August 2013. Prof Maryke Labuschagne and Rose Lekhooa are also nominees.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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