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Lecturers must be given space to do research, says A1-rated researcher

28 June 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

Prof Victor Houliston, Research Professor in the Department of English, is an A-rated researcher at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The University of the Free State (UFS) has added another National Research Foundation (NRF) A1-rated researcher to its ranks with the appointment of Prof Victor Houliston, Research Professor in the Department of English. This brings the number of the university’s A1-rated researchers to three.

The university also boasts the first A2 rating in the field of arts in the person of Prof Willem Boshoff, a senior professor in the Department of Fine Arts within the Faculty of The Humanities and one of South Africa's foremost contemporary artists. The other scholars with an A1 rating are Prof Maxim Finkelstein, the distinguished Professor at the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Prof Melanie Walker, Distinguished Research Professor and National Research Foundation (NRF) Chair in Higher Education and Human Development.

The A rating is for researchers regarded as world leaders in their fields. Prof Houliston received his rating in 2022 – three years after retiring from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

Consistent research output

Prof Houliston, who is an authority on early modern British and Irish Catholic studies (religion and politics) and has also published on John Donne (especially his prose works and sermons) and Renaissance rhetoric, says there is no formula for receiving an A1 rating.

“The definition of an A-rated scholar is someone who has achieved a certain reputation in their field internationally. That comes from a consistent research output, building up a portfolio of work in a particular field and moving the debate along, so that you become the go-to person on that subject.

“There is that sense of focus and some shifting of the picture or debate or understanding in your field. In science, the evaluation of a person's standing is more straightforward; in the humanities, research has a more subjective element so one's work is more vulnerable to criticism. In my case, as my research has evolved from English literature into historical studies, it has entailed archival and linguistic groundwork which makes it a little more objective,” says Prof Houliston.

The importance of Robert Persons

It is hard to say whether he chose his specialism, or his specialism chose him: an unexpected request for help from Guy Butler in 1988 led to his investigating the life and career of Robert Persons, an English Jesuit from the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Over the intervening 30 years, this Catholic activist has become widely recognised as one of the most important figures in early modern European history.

Prof Houliston started with a re-interpretation of Persons' published works, culminating in a 2007 monograph, Catholic Resistance in Elizabethan England. He is now editing Persons' extensive multilingual correspondence, as the leader of an international team of experts. The second volume was published earlier this year, with a third in preparation. He is also working with a team of South African classicists to translate Persons' Latin publications.

"As with most research, we work from the known to the unknown, pushing back further into the primary material – the archive."

Prof Houliston says that as a researcher, one must jealously guard one's time, which is difficult because the demands of teaching and administration have become more burdensome. Most academics show great commitment and idealism when it comes to teaching, so they are reluctant to leave students to their own devices. Ironically, this often leads those who are on the A-rating trajectory to take refuge in specialised institutes or centres of excellence and stop teaching, which can be a loss to students.

Given space to do research

“Lecturers at a university such as the UFS, with its goal of increasing its research productivity, need space to do research. Bureaucracy may have to retract a bit. Lecturers themselves have to learn where to draw the line,” he says.

"This may appear selfish, but it enhances the learning environment. If you were to ask students if they preferred to be in a university where high-quality research is taking place, they would likely say, 'Yes. That gives my degree greater credibility. I would want to feel that those who are teaching me are contributing to the increase of knowledge’.”

His advice to emerging researchers is to follow the advice of Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: conduct a weekly review of how they are managing to integrate research into their daily life as academics. Most lecturers are in a position where they only do research during vacations, but they can challenge themselves to carve out more regular times for research.

No slowing down

“That idea of constant review is important so that you are always moving forward. Many people just give up, because research is more challenging than, say, answering your emails, and you need energy and time. So, if you can reduce that start-up cost by doing a little every day, and preferably at the beginning of every day, it will make all the difference.

“The UFS, and especially heads of departments, can help to create a culture where scholars and researchers feel part of an interactive community. We need to move beyond the system to a sense of vocation. We have a vocation as university lecturers, professors and scholars, and everything else is secondary to the pursuit of knowledge. The system is merely a tool,” says Prof Houliston.

With multiple large-scale research projects on the go, as well as workshops and writing retreats, he is now busier than ever, with no plans for slowing down. He says: “I recently hosted a workshop for colleagues planning to apply for rating, to optimise their applications. One of my briefs is to enhance the research communities within the English department and the Faculty of Humanities in general, and especially amongst younger researchers.”

You could say he is speeding up. He recently completed a master’s degree in creative writing. "It's never too late to discover how many bad writing habits I have developed over the years!"

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorates during its centenary week

2004-10-07

The University of the Free State (UFS) will award 12 honorary doctorates on Thursday 14 October 2004 to a diverse group of outstanding South Africans and international experts.

This will be the last in a group of 18 honorary doctorates that the UFS will be awarding in its centenary year.

The awards comprise of a number of well-known language experts and writers, experts in higher education, first-time awards in community service and development studies, as well as music.

“This reflects quality and also diversity, a spectrum of convictions as well as the recognition of persons who played a major role in changing society in the last couple of decades, “ says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

The awards can be grouped in the following categories:

Language and literature:

Mr Karel Schoeman (D Litt (hc)) – well-known Afrikaans author and former student of the UFS. Some of the awards he has received include the Hertzog prize for prose (1970, 1986 and 1995), the CNA prize (1972 and 1994), the Old Mutual prize (1985 and 1991), the SABC prize for best television drama in 1990, the M Net book prize in 1997 and the State President award (former President Nelson Mandela: Order for Excellent Service – silver) in 1999. It is an honor for the UFS to have this gifted and creative person among its former students. This conferment is a fitting recognition of his status as leading South African writer.

Ms Antjie Krog (D Litt (hc)) – well-known South African poet and former student of the UFS. Her popularity as poet is evident in her piercing honesty and unequalled power of expression. Some of the awards she has received include the Eugéne Marais prize in 1973, the Rapport prize in 1987, the Hertzog prize in 1990 and the RAU prize in 2000. Her writing has been translated into seven languages. She has also received numerous honors for her involvement in and journalistic documentation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) proceedings. It is therefore an exceptional privilege for her alma mater to honor her with an honorary doctorate.

Prof Jaap Steyn (D Litt (et phil) (hc)) – recently, Prof Steyn again distinguished himself as biographer whose thorough research is apparent in the published biographies of illustrious writers such as NP van Wyk Louw and MER. The numerous awards, among which the Stals prize from the South African Academy of Science and Art for the Van Wyk publication, are a matter of record. He conducted the research for this great prize-winning work as honorary professor at the UFS.

Prof Jakes Gerwel (D Phil (hc)) – Chancellor of the University of Rhodes and Director of Naspers, Old Mutual, Gold Fields and Brimstone. His doctoral thesis was published in The Netherlands under the title Literatuur en apartheid. Konsepsies van “gekleurdes” in die Afrikaanse roman tot 1948 (1983). He received an honorary doctorate from Clark College ( Atlanta), the City University of New York and Missouri in the USA, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, the University of Natal, Rhodes University, the University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also outstanding professor in the Humanities at the University of the Western Cape, honorary professor in the Humanities at the University of Pretoria, and was the chairman of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Development Studies:

Dr Frederick van Zyl Slabbert (D Phil (hc)) – for his academic achievements, his endeavors for bringing about a peaceful transition in South Africa and his demonstration of the social investment role of the corporate sector. Dr Van Zyl Slabbert has received honorary degrees from the University of Natal and the Simon Fraser University in Canada. He has published seven books and various academic articles.

Community Service:

Prof Robert G Bringle (D Phil (hc)) – from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in the USA. He is currently Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology and Philanthropic Studies at the IUPUI and also Director of the IUPUI’s Centre for Service Learning. He is honored for his exceptional contribution to several of the UFS’s community service projects as well as his role in the advancement of a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to academic development and the integration of service learning within the faculties of the UFS. He has also made a valuable contribution to the conceptual framework of the UFS’s unique community service policy and more recently to the advancement of a research culture regarding community service.

Higher education:

Dr Khotso Mokhele (D Phil (hc)), President of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is honored for his contribution to the South African higher education sector. He has also made a substantial contribution to the development of the research capacity of universities and technikons in South Africa. Dr Mokhele was born in Bloemfontein and matriculated at the Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu.

Prof Saleem Badat (D Phil (hc)), the Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Prof Badat has devoted himself to transforming and building South African higher education, and has constantly challenged the higher education sector to retain the moral basis of higher education and tackle its challenges with intellectual honesty, ingenuity, creativity and courage. He is honored for his intellectual leadership in the development of a equitable, just and quality higher education system in South Africa.

Law:

Prof HA (Boelie) Wessels (D Legum (hc)) – for his contribution to the fields of Roman Law, Legal History at the UFS. He is currently a part-time lecturer at the UFS’s Faculty of Law.

Medicine:

Prof CJC Nel (D Phil (hc) Posthumous) – for the way in which he strived for the advancement of excellent medical education in the country. Prof Nel also did pioneering work in the field of transformation in higher education. Under his guidance the School of Medicine at the UFS became one of the first medical schools to adopt a parallel-medium system of instruction.

Music:

Prof Leo Quayle (D Mus (hc)) – for the significant contributions he has made to the development of music – not only in Bloemfontein, but also on national level and abroad. His initiative, enthusiasm and dedication contributed to the eventual founding of the Free State Musicon, as well as the first symphony orchestra and the first string quartet in Bloemfontein. Prof Quayle is a former head of the Department of Music at the UFS.

Prof Jack de Wet (D Mus (hc)) – well-known for his exceptional contribution to violin tuition in South Africa. As pedagogue of international stature, he still moulds violinists who compete at national and international level. At an advanced stage of his career, he still actively conveys his knowledge, experience and distinctive insight in his field of speciality to yet another new generation of young violin teachers. Today the symphony orchestras in Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth also stand on the foundations laid by him.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
7 October 2004

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