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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.
Former UFS Dean awarded SAAWK medal for contribution to Bible translation work
2016-05-09
Prof Hermie van Zyl
Photo: Eugene Seegers
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Prof Hermie van Zyl, former Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS), was recently awarded the Ds Pieter van Drimmelen medal by the South African Academy of Science and Arts (SAAWK) for his contribution to Afrikaans Bible translation and other translation work.
Prof Van Zyl was part of the team that published the Interlinear translation of the Bible (New Testament) in Greek and Afrikaans. This translation takes the reader from the original text (Greek), to an almost verbatim version, to a rough translation, and, ultimately, to a more polished, finished translation in the target language of Afrikaans.
Other translations Prof Van Zyl has been involved in include the Afrikaans Bible for the Deaf (published in 2008), the direct translation of the Bible (of which the New Testament and the Psalms have already been published), the New Living Translation, the Parallel New Testament, and the Reference Bible. He is the first lecturer from the Faculty of Theology at the UFS to receive an award from the SAAWK.
“It is a wonderful privilege and an honour and really came out of nowhere,” said Prof Van Zyl. He added that he is grateful that, amongst all the wonderfully talented people at the UFS, he could make a modest contribution. He mentioned that the collegial conversations, seminars, and other discussions in the faculty over the years, were very stimulating. He singled out Prof Jan du Rand and Prof Francois Tolmie (another former Dean of the Faculty and long-time colleague in the department of New Testament Studies) as inspiration.
The official presentation of the medal will take place in the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria on 29 June 2016.
Prof Van Zyl was employed in the Faculty of Theology at the UFS for 29 years until his retirement in 2013. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of New Testament, and still lectures on occasion.