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13 December 2024
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Charl Devenish
Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rifa Tshivhase, Head of the Department of Surgery at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein, addressed graduates within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State on 10 December 2024.
Momentous and joyous – these are some of the words used to describe the December 2024 graduations at the University of the Free State (UFS). In celebration of the academic achievements of its students, the UFS hosted graduation ceremonies at the Callie Human Centre on its Bloemfontein Campus from 9 to 10 December 2024.
Prof Anthea Rhoda, acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, encouraged the graduates to always acknowledge and recognise the significance of this achievement as they transition from being UFS students to being UFS graduates.
Undergraduate and postgraduate achievements
At least 2000 undergraduate qualifications and postgraduate qualifications were conferred. As such, there were some standout academic achievements across the sessions. For instance, Itumeleng Pooe received his Advanced Diploma in Theology cum laude, making him the only graduate in the Faculty of Theology and Religion to receive his qualification with distinction during these graduations. In addition, Dr Bobuin Jr Valey Gemandze Oben – at just 28 years old – was the youngest PhD graduate from the Faculty of Law at the graduation ceremony, which took place on the morning of 9 December 2024.
Conferring Honorary Doctorates
Some highlights from these graduations were the recipients of honorary doctorates, as well as the keynote speakers. The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at the UFS conferred an honorary degree on Prof Murray Leibbrandt, Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research in the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). In addition, the Faculty of The Humanities at the UFS conferred an honorary degree on HE Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace, and Security.
On the final day of the graduations, graduates within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS were addressed by Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rifa Tshivhase, Head of the Department of Surgery at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein. In her address, Lieutenant Colonel Dr Tshivhase encouraged and challenged the graduates to actively seek out good in the world.
As the December 2024 graduations concluded, several of the graduates within the Faculty of Health Sciences indicated that the most memorable moments in the session were the cheers and applause they received as they walked across the stage.
Prof. Johan Grobbelaar named as Bloemfonteiner of the Year
2010-09-10
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Prof. Johan Grobbelaar.
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| Prof. Johan Grobbelaar from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) has been named as Ons Stad, Mimosa Film Group and ABSA’s Bloemfonteiner of the Year for 2009.
Prof. Grobbelaar is honoured for a total of 43 years’ loyal service to Bloemfontein and its people, as well as his invaluable contributions which brought Bloemfontein locally, nationally and internationally into the foreground. He has generated many firsts as well as awards in the field of research. According to Ons Stad, his leadership of the first two experimental research expeditions to Marion Island and other parts of the world has made him a true citizen of the world.
He is also Chairperson of the UVPERSU Union at the UFS and strives towards reconciliation, equity and equality. As one of the “architects” of the UFS remuneration model he has contributed thereto that the UFS’s salary negotiations are now the most successful of all higher education institutions countrywide.
Prof. Grobbelaar is also a Mangaung Councillor who campaigns for the best service to the Bloemfontein community.
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