Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
31 January 2024
|
Story EDZANI NEPHALELA
|
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.”
New DIRAP Directorate will path way for UFS
2010-08-13
 |
Seen at the launch are, from the left: Prof. Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning; and Dr Louis van der Westhuizen, Acting Director, DIRAP.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar.
|
A Directorate for Institutional Research and Academic Planning (DIRAP), a reconfiguration of the UFS Planning Unit, was launched at the University of the Free State (UFS). DIRAP will be at the forefront surveying and paving the way for the UFS’s strategic and academic planning, management information, institutional research and quality assurance.
The functions will be organised in a more integrated and structured manner than had previously been the case.
Dr Louis van der Westhuizen is the Acting Director of DIRAP, and the sub-directorates comprise Institutional Information, Quality Assurance, Teaching and Learning, Programme Design and Approval, and Student Development and Success.
|