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Prof Nompumelelo Zondi assumes new role as Vice-Dean in the Faculty of The Humanities

25 March 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Lutendo Mabata

Prof Nompumelelo Zondi has been appointed as Vice-Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS). Prof Zondi assumed this new role on 1 March 2024 after serving as the Head of Department for African Languages at the University of Pretoria for seven years. “I consider this appointment as an opportunity of growth and learning more about higher education and the Faculty of The Humanities at large,” she said.

Prof Zondi indicates that part of her role is to spearhead the UFS Vision130 within the Faculty of The Humanities, and to ensure that the faculty assists the institution in becoming research-led, student-centred, and globally impactful.

Motivation for assuming this role

One of the primary reasons that led her to consider this role is sharing the knowledge she acquired as part of the Fulbright South African Research Scholar Programme. As a result of that experience and exposure, which went beyond the Ohio State University, she felt it befitting to implement some of the insights she acquired on a bigger scale. Therefore, even though she was impactful in her previous role, Prof Zondi believes that this is an exceptional and more desirable platform to do so. “I feel that I will have easier access to departments within the faculty, while also encouraging and supporting interdepartmental and faculty collaborations,” she explained.

A significant component of Vision 130

He believes that the elements that make up Vision 130 are interrelated. While she considers research central to Vision 130 – as she begins her journey at the UFS, she feels students deserve to be nurtured to further contribute to the university’s impactful research. Thus, student-centredness is the way to go. “I believe that students must be major role players in this Vision130; we must include them in the interactions and discussions that are part of the university’s strategic plan as well as in decision-making processes,” she said. As such, according to Prof Zondi, the more the faculty and the institution care for the students and involve them in Vision130 and in collaborations, the more research outputs the university will achieve.

News Archive

Publication on indigenous knowledge systems

2005-10-21

Dr Otsile Ntsoane (acting Director: IKS, Department of Science and Technology) and Prof Philip Nel (Director: Africa Studies at the UFS and guest editor of the publication) at the launch of the publication

UFS launches most comprehensive publication on indigenous knowledge systems
A unique collection of essays on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) was launched yesterday (20 October 2005) by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Programme of Africa Studies.

The essays are published as a special edition of INDILINGA, the African Journal for Indigenous Knowledge Systems and is an outcome of the colloquium on Indigenous Knowledge Systems that was presented last year by the UFS Director of Africa Studies in cooperation with the National Research Council.

“The amount and diversity of materials on IKS brought together under one cover is unique as there are no other South African publications of this magnitude on this issue. It contains papers of international experts on IKS such as Prof Fritz Wallner from Austria and Prof Gayatri Spivak, foremost postcolonial theorist from India,” said Prof Philip Nel, Director of Africa Studies and guest editor of the publication.

“The publication is a rich source field for students and scholars to exploit because most of the sources quoted in the articles are recent, fresh and relevant. The contributors are largely people responsible for managing, fostering and studying IKS in a responsible manner,” said Prof Nel.

“An added value of the publication is the inclusion of the policy document on IKS that was adopted by Cabinet in November 2004,” said Prof Nel.

“Millions of people in South Africa are faced with the painful choice of abandoning their heritage. In this choice, the study and management of IKS has a major role to play; on the one hand, to encourage as much assimilation of traditional knowledge as possible into the modern systems, and on the other hand to provide a “language” and a “grammar” for indigenous people through which they can access modernity,” said Prof Nel.

The IKS debate involves questions of African identity, protection of indigenous communities and practices, political aspects as well as the scientific integrity of the enterprise.

The publication displays the range of burning questions that have to be resolved in this field such as mainstreaming IKS in academic debate and practice, recognition and protection of the knowledge holders, bio-prospecting and bio-piracy, bio and ethnic healing, lack of textbooks and field manuals, etc and will prove worthwhile for future researchers.

“One of the main reasons for publishing this volume is the fact that IKS should be studied not only to provide a sense of pride in the past, or to engender respect for indigenous peoples, but also to enable people in indigenous mind sets to make a better transition into the world of science and technology,” said Prof Nel.

The guest speaker at the launch was Dr Otsile Ntsoane, acting Director of IKS at the Department of Science and Technology. In his speech Dr Ntsoane stressed the symbolic and concrete value of the publication. “The publication can have a great social impact and the research results can contribute to chancing the economic landscape of South Africa,” he said.

The publication can be purchased at R150 per copy. For more information, Ms Steffi Cawood, Programme Coordinator for Africa Studies at the UFS can be contacted at (051) 401-2614.

Media release
Issued by:Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
21 October 2005

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