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01 February 2024 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo SUPPLIED
Prof Prince Ngobeni
Prof Prince Ngobeni, newly appointed Campus Principal of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Prof Prince Ngobeni as Principal of the Qwaqwa Campus as from 1 February 2024.

Prof Ngobeni completed his first qualification in Analytical Chemistry at the then Technikon North-West before furthering his studies at the then Technikon Pretoria. He completed a DTech in Chemistry at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in 2003. In 2016, he enrolled for a Doctor of Business Administration in Higher Education at the University of Bath in England. 

His lecturing career began at TUT in 1995 where he progressed from Head of Department: Chemistry in 2003 to Associate Dean: Faculty of Science in 2010, before being appointed as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at TUT in 2015 – a position he held until 2023. He also served as Interim Campus Rector of TUT’s Pretoria Campus from 2018 to 2020.

“With extensive years of academic leadership experience, Prof Ngobeni has the experience required to guide the Qwaqwa Campus towards the university’s Vision 130. The campus is already recognised as a leader in some of its unique research fields, and Prof Ngobeni’s strong research background will be valuable in this regard,” says Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS. 

Prof Ngobeni is a member of several professional bodies in his field of expertise, including MatTEK at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the South African Chemical Institute (SACI), the Society for Atomic Spectroscopy, and the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP). During his career, he has also secured research funding for individual projects and international partnerships. Prof Ngobeni also initiated chemistry practical sessions for local schools and participated in the Technology Station in Chemicals project, which offers a wide range of services designed to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the chemical sector.

His substantial list of publications in journals and books covers a range of chemistry-related and managerial topics. He is also a well-versed presenter at local and international conferences. 

“The Qwaqwa Campus has experienced major developments in recent years; I look forward to further contributing to the growth of the campus and to support the university in achieving its Vision 130,” says Prof Ngobeni. 

News Archive

UCT scholar in Philosophical Psychology of Black Existence to join Judge Albie Sachs on stage
2015-03-23

Dr Buhle Zuma, listed as one of the 2011 Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans, is coming to the Bloemfontein Campus. He will share a stage with civil rights activist and former Constitutional Court, Judge Albie Sachs, on Thursday 26 March 2015 in the Albert Wessels Auditorium at 12:30.

Respondent to Judge Sachs

A former Mandela Rhodes scholar, and currently a young lecturer at the University of Cape Town's Psychology Department, Dr Zuma is particularly interested in issues at the heart of our rainbow nation . His research asks the question: What does it mean to be human for black people after centuries of dehumanisation? Dr Zuma also looks at the role of desire and fantasy in the political imagination of post-apartheid South Africa. He describes his developing thought and work as the Philosophical Psychology of Black Existence.

Dr Zuma will act as respondent to Judge Sachs’ public lecture, ‘Sites of memory, sites of conscience’ [Hannes, please link to the article on the main website]. This lecture will form part of a series that focuses on how the creative arts represent trauma and memory – and how these representations may ultimately pave the way to healing historical wounds.

Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture Series on Trauma, Memory, and Representations of the Past

This lecture will launch of the Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture Series on Trauma, Memory, and Representations of the Past. It forms part of a five-year research project led by Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela [], funded by the Mellon Foundation []. The event is hosted by the UFS Trauma, Forgiveness and Reconciliation Studies [].

Dr Zuma lives by the belief that, if he imparts what he learns and knows lovingly and creatively, the world will be the better for it.

Details of the event:

Date: Thursday 26 March 2015
Time: 12:30
Venue: Albert Wessels Auditorium, Bloemfontein Campus
RSVP: Jo-Anne Naidoo at Naidooja@ufs.ac.za

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