Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
13 December 2024
|
Story Anthony Mthembu
|
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.
Meet our Council: MEC Tate Makgoe – A proud vision for all
2016-06-07
MEC Tate Makgoe
Photo: Stephen Collett
The MEC of Education in the Free State, Mr Pule Herbert Isak Makgoe, is serving his third term on the UFS Council.
MEC Tate Makgoe, as he is known, holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Technikon Vaal Triangle, a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Unisa, an Honours in Commerce degree from the UFS, and a Master’s degree in Business Leadership from Unisa.
Early years
From an early age, he was acutely aware of the delicate and volatile political landscape in the country caused by draconian apartheid policies. He has been active in the political realm since 1984, when he left the country to join the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, in exile.
“I have devoted my life to the disadvantaged and marginalised in order to realise fully the objectives of true political transformation, and the total eradication of grinding poverty,” he says. His political activism landed him in Sun City prison from 1986 to 1991.
After the unbanning of the ANC, MEC Makgoe became a Northern Free State regional executive member and, in 1994, he was appointed as the ANC’s election campaign manager in the Free State. He has also served as provincial treasurer, and as a member of the executive committee of the ANC in the province.
MEC Makgoe’s current position
After serving as MEC in five portfolios in the Free State Province at different times - Finance, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Agriculture, Public Safety and Security, and Finance – MEC Makgoe was appointed as MEC for Education in 2009, a position he has held ever since.
In 2014, he received the prestigious Ubuntu Award for Education by the Turquoise Harmony Institute for his outstanding leadership role in steering the department to produce the highest matric pass rate in the country of 87,4%. Previous recipients of the Ubuntu Award include late former president, Nelson Mandela, and anti-apartheid struggle icon, Ahmed Kathrada.
Recipient of Kovsie Alumni Cum Laude Award
MEC Makgoe is also a former recipient of the Kovsie Alumni Cum Laude Award. The Cum Laude Award is bestowed occasionally on an alumnus for outstanding service or achievement on regional, national, or international level in his/her field of work. He is married to Ivy, and the couple have three children: Palesa, Maki, and Junior.