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31 January 2024 | Story EDZANI NEPHALELA | Photo ANJA AUCAMP
Dr Martin Laubscher
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.”

News Archive

Prof Britz heading to Yale
2013-04-22

 

Prof Dolf Britz
Photo: Supplied
22 April 2013

Prof Dolf Britz has been awarded the honour of an appointment at Yale Divinity School (YDS) at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States. Starting in August 2013, Prof Britz will be involved in research initiatives and the teaching of post-graduate seminars at the university, which was founded in 1701.
The appointment is the natural progression of a collaboration agreement between the University of the Free State (UFS) and Yale University which dates back to 2009 with the formation of the Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa. The strategic partnership focuses on increasing African access to quality education and is geared towards empowering new-generation African leaders in academic and faith-based organisations with primary scholarly resources, research, education and publication.
Prof Britz’s appointment is equally exciting to the respective faculties involved at the UFS and Yale.
“We are most grateful that the generous support by the University of the Free States makes it possible for Prof Britz to be with us in this capacity,” said Prof Carolyn Sharp, Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at YDS.

Prof Adriaan Neele, the Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale and extraordinary professor at the UFS, thinks Prof Britz’s appointment can be just as beneficial to YDS students.

“Prof Britz’s keen insight in historical primary sources will be very beneficial to Yale’s students and the faculty. His appointment demonstrates the strategic nature of the academic relationship between the UFS and Yale,” he said.

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