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25 March 2024
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Lutendo Mabata
Prof Nompumelelo Zondi, the newly appointed Vice-Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS).
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.
Names are not enough: a molecular-based information system is the answer
2016-06-03
Prof Wijnand Swart (left) from the Department of
Plant Sciences at the UFS and Prof Pedro Crous
from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS),
in the Netherlands.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
South Africa is the second-largest exporter of citrus in the world, producing 60% of all citrus grown in the Southern Hemisphere. It exports more than 70 % of its citrus crop to the European Union and USA. Not being able to manage fungal pathogens effectively can have a serious impact on the global trade in not only citrus but also other food and fibre crops, such as bananas, coffee, and cacao.
The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted a public lecture by Prof Pedro W. Crous entitled “Fungal Pathogens Impact Trade in Food and Fibre: The Need to Move Beyond Linnaeus” on the Bloemfontein Campus.
Prof Crous is Director of the world’s largest fungal Biological Resource Centre, the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS), in the Netherlands. He is also one of the top mycologists in the world.
Since the topic of his lecture was very pertinent to food security and food safety worldwide, it was co-hosted by the Collaborative Consortium for Broadening the Food Base, a multi-institutional research programme managed by Prof Wijnand Swart in the Department of Plant Sciences.
Reconsider the manner in which pathogens are identified
Prof Crous stressed that, because international trade in products from agricultural crops will expand, the introduction of fungal pathogens to new regions will increase. “There is therefore an urgent need to reconsider the manner in which these pathogens are identified and treated,” he said.
According to Prof Crous, the older Linnaean system for naming living organisms cannot deal with future trade-related challenges involving pests and pathogens. A system, able to identify fungi based on their DNA and genetic coding, will equip scientists with the knowledge to know what they are dealing with, and whether it is a friendly or harmful fungus.
The fungus, Botrytis cinerea, cause of grey mould
disease in many fruit crops.
Photo: Prof Wijnand Swart
Embrace the molecular-based information system
Prof Crous said that, as a consequence, scientists must embrace new technologies, such as the molecular-based information system for fungi, in order to provide the required knowledge.
He presented this very exciting system which will govern the manner in which fungal pathogens linked to world trade are described. This system ensures that people from different countries will know with which pathogen they are dealing. Further, it will assist with the management of pathogens, ensuring that harmful pathogens do not spread from one country to another.
More about Prof Pedro Crous
Prof Crous is an Affiliated Professor at six international universities, including the UFS, where he is associated with the Department of Plant Sciences. He has initiated several major activities to facilitate global research on fungal biodiversity, and has published more than 600 scientific papers, many in high impact journals, and authored or edited more than 20 books.
Biography Prof Pedro Crous
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B