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Trailblazing win: UFS wins its first-ever Andrew Murray Prize

31 January 2024 | Story EDZANI NEPHALELA | Photo ANJA AUCAMP

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.”

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Most read articles in international journal authored by UFS academics

2011-10-06

Prof. James du Preez, Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, and Prof. Lodewyk Kock, Outstanding Professor in the same department.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

FEMS Yeast Research, the top international journal in this field of research, recently announced their three "most read articles" of 2011, based on the number of downloads from their website. Of these three published papers, two are from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS). They are:

The article with the title, The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae – the main character in beer brewing, was authored by Prof. Bettie Lodolo and Mr Martin Brooks (Brewing Consultant and Chief Brewer of the SAB Ltd. Brewing Centre of Excellence in Alrode, Johannesburg, respectively), Prof. Lodewyk Kock (Outstanding Professor in the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology) and Prof. Barry Axcell (Global Chief Brewer, SABMiller, Sandton). Prof. Lodolo is also an Affiliated Professor in the UFS’s Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology,

The authors of the second paper entitled The alcohol dehydrogenases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a comprehensive review, are Dr Olga de Smidt (Researcher at the Central University of Technology and a former Ph.D. student of the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology); Prof. Koos Albertyn from the above department, and Prof. James du Preez Senior Professor and Head of this department.

The article by Lodolo et al. was also listed as one of the three most cited articles of 2010 published in this journal.

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