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UFS honours alumni at Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner

31 May 2023 | Story Sieraaj Ahmed | Photo Sonia Small

The University of the Free State (UFS) Chancellor, Prof Bonang Mohale, and UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, recently hosted the UFS’s 38 ^th UFS Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards (CDAA) Dinner. The event took place in the Callie Human Centre on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus and honoured 10 outstanding UFS alumni for their achievements in both their personal and professional capacities.

“The UFS’s CDAA Awards are important to help represent those without a voice, thereby releasing better humans who care deeply for each other and are meaningfully connected, incredibly constructive citizens who are catalysts of change – to change us from humankind to kind humans, simply because kindness is the highest form of intelligence. To change us from important people to persons of significance – from taking to giving, as a new form of transformative philanthropy,” Prof Mohale told awardees and other UFS alumni who attended the dinner.

UFS alumni excelling in their various fields

Gerda Steyn, who recently made history by becoming the first woman to win the Two Oceans Marathon four consecutive times, was recognised as the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award winner. This is the highest honour bestowed upon an alumnus and celebrates someone who serves to inspire fellow alumni, current students, and the community at large. Steyn’s parents, Pieter and Trudie Steyn accepted the award on her behalf. (A full list of awardees can be found at the end of this story).

Prof Petersen applauded all the winners as well as UFS alumni everywhere who excel in their various fields. “Excellence is part of our DNA, and our valued alumni across the globe are the products of this. We believe the impact our alumni are making at every level should be continuously encouraged for the greater good, through recognition and celebration of achievements. This is why the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony has shed light on the impact of our exceptional alumni for the past 38 years and will continue to do so.”

He urged all alumni to learn more about Vision 130, an elaboration of the UFS’s strategic intent to reposition the institution ahead of 2034, when UFS will commemorate its 130th anniversary. “Vision 130 is centred around the pillars of academic excellence, quality, and impact; creating maximum societal impact with sustainable relationships; and establishing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable university. The alumni honoured this year are an embodiment of our Vision 130, and we congratulate them and look forward to the great achievements that are on the horizon for you and the rest of the UFS community.”



Cum Laude Award winner, Dr Maryam Amra Jordaan, with Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and Prof Bonang Mohale, UFS Chancellor, at the 38^th Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner.		Kovsie Ambassador Award winner, Uyleta Nel-Marais, with Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and Prof Bonang Mohale, UFS Chancellor, at the 38^th Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner.

38^th Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards (CDAA) winners – 20 May 2023

Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

GERDA STEYN

Young Alumnus of the Year

SEBABATSO TSAOANE

Executive Management Award

PROF FRANCOIS STRYDOM

PROF ABDON ATANGANA

Cum Laude Award

DR SOLOMON WERTA

DR MARYAM AMRA JORDAAN

PROF ANDRIES STULTING

Kovsie Ambassador Award

REHAN GREEFF

UYLETA NEL-MARAIS

ELIZABETH MOKGOSI

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Art and science help us understand the world and our place in it

2017-10-28

Description: Art and science Tags: Art and science

At the event were, from the left: Tristan Nel, first-year Fine Arts student;
Dr Janine Allen-Spies from the Department of Fine Arts;
Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn from the Department of Microbiology,
Biochemical and Food Biotechnology; and Pheny Mokawane, a
Microbiology, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology student.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Although BioArt dates back as far as the 15th and 16th centuries with the work of Leonardo da Vinci, it is not every day that art and science combine. This rare phenomenon made its appearance when two totally different groups of students – studying arts and microbiology respectively – joined hands in an initiative to create BioArt.

This first-time undergraduate teaching collaboration between the Departments of Fine Arts and Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS), which is characterised by the use of living materials, such as enzymes, microbes and DNA, as well as scientific tools and methods, is exploring a number of questions.

Different outcomes for arts and microbiology students
According to Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn from the Department of Microbiology, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, one of the central questions explored in BioArt is the nature of ‘life’. “At which stage can matter be classified as being alive or living?” she asked.

“We realised that the outcomes for the two groups of students would not be the same. For the microbiology students, the focus would be on the understanding and effective communication of a microbiological concept. For the art students the focus would be on the execution of the assignment using visual elements and applied theory of art,” said Prof Pohl-Albertyn.

Dr Janine Allen-Spies from the Department of Fine Arts added: “Art students will also be exploring strangely or previously unforeseen gaps between art and science that can be filled with imaginative interpretations which may forward creative insights in both BioArt as a developing art form and microbiology as investigative science.”

Students’ understanding of microbial evolution reflected in art
The art students had to visit the microbiology labs for their assignment as this is mostly a foreign environment for these students. “The paint medium they had to use was gouache. This medium with its bright colours works well to depict microscopic organisms in art,” Dr Allen-Spies said.

On display at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology on the Bloemfontein Campus, at a recent event to introduce this new initiative to a wider audience, was a range of visually and scientifically compelling paintings and artefacts (such as paintings, poems, songs, apps) which explore a theme within microbiology from a BioArt perspective that uses creativity to communicate concepts dealt with in the module Microbial Evolution and Diversity.

Any parties who are interested in buying the art can contact Dr Allen-Spies at allenj@ufs.ac.za.

Paintings and artefacts reflects students understanding of BioArt. At the recent opening of the BioArt exhibition at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, was the work of Madeleen Jansen van Rensburg on display.

Pheny Mokawane, a Microbiology, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology student, wrote a poem for his BioArt project in the Microbial Evolution and Diversity assignment.

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