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31 January 2024
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Story EDZANI NEPHALELA
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Photo ANJA AUCAMP
Dr Martin Laubscher’s thesis, crowned with the Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize, is testament to the university’s unwavering commitment to scholarly excellence.
In a historic triumph that reverberates over four decades since its inception, the UFS has clinched the coveted
Andrew Murray Prize – now renamed the Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize – for the first time. Standing shoulder to shoulder with institutions such as the University of Pretoria (UP) and Stellenbosch University (SU), this achievement marks a significant milestone in the UFS’ journey.
At the heart of this accomplishment lies the profound contribution of
Dr Martin Laubscher, distinguished Senior Lecturer specialising in Practical and Missional Theology in the
Faculty of Theology and Religion. Dr Laubscher’s dedication and scholarly prowess culminated in the groundbreaking work titled
Publieke teologie as profetiese teologie? (Public theology as prophetic theology), a revised edition of his doctoral thesis, which was originally crafted at Stellenbosch University in 2020, with a focus on the eminent Karl Barth.
Dr Laubscher received the Andrew Murray Prize for Theological Books in Afrikaans for his research and insightful analysis. The journey started when he realised, under the guidance of his study leader,
Prof Dion Forster, that his script had the potential to be published in Afrikaans. Sun Media’s interest in publishing this work in Afrikaans, led to it being the first-ever published thesis in Afrikaans. Dr Laubscher recalls, “I was grateful and excited about Sun Media’s interest. The book emerged within a year, and during a celebratory launch Prof Forster suggested I submit it for the Andrew Murray Prize.”
Earlier this year, Dr Laubscher was excited to learn that he was being shortlisted for the prestigious award. Reflecting on the significant moment, he shares, “The elation I felt upon receiving the news was unparalleled. I was not only celebrating a personal triumph, but also etching my name as the first laureate from our faculty to secure this prestigious accolade.”
Students win bursaries
2009-02-24
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Altogether eight students from the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Afrikaans, Dutch, German and French recently received bursaries from the “Suid-Afrikaanse Vereniging vir Neerlandistiek” (SAVN). Six third-year students received bursaries to the value of R6 000 and two postgraduate students received a bursary to the value of R7 500 each. Here are, from the left, front: Lizanne Dippenaar, SAVN scholar, Esté Kemp, SAVN scholar; Lillian Strauss, SAVN scholar, and Camille Ferreira, SAVN scholar; back: Carika le Roux, SAVN scholar, Anita van Vuuren, SAVN scholar, George Wasserman, who passed an internationally known German language proficiency exam from the Goethe Institute on level B2 with distinction, Susan Conradie, SAVN scholar, Elmarie Lubbe, SAVN scholar, and Beate Gadinger, who passed the language proficiency exam of the Goethe Insitute and has a scholarship from Deutsche Academische Austausch Dienst (DAAD). She also received a Sur-place-Stipendium bursary to the value of R15 000 for German.
Photo: Supplied |