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21 November 2024
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Story Jacky Tshokwe
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Photo Supplied
Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean: Faculty of the Humanities.
On 8 November 2024, the South African Humanities Deans Association (SAHUDA) elected Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean of the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS), as its new President. This appointment marks a pivotal moment for SAHUDA, which represents a diverse network of deans who champion the prominence and future of humanities, social sciences, and the arts in South Africa and beyond. Prof Masoga, who has served as Vice-President of SAHUDA for the past year, brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to advocating for the role of humanities in addressing the challenges of our contemporary world.
As President, Prof Masoga envisions broadening the influence of what he terms ‘public and applied humanities.’ His aim is to advance a humanities framework that not only enriches academic discourse, but also engages with critical global and local issues. This approach, rooted in socially responsive scholarship, will prioritise areas such as computational and digital humanities, environmental humanities, and other interdisciplinary fields that intersect with the pressing concerns of our time.
“The humanities are more relevant than ever to understanding complex societal issues,” Prof Masoga explained. “Through public and applied humanities, we can bring the critical perspectives of our field into active dialogue with the challenges of a digital and ecologically threatened world.”
His election underscores the University of the Free State's growing influence in national and international conversations about the future of the humanities. For the UFS, this leadership role enhances its reputation as an institution deeply invested in fostering meaningful contributions to society. Prof Masoga’s presidency is set to amplify the university’s voice and perspectives in SAHUDA’s mission to fortify the role of humanities in education and public life.
Over the next two years, Prof Masoga’s tenure will include a focus on initiatives that strengthen the relevance of humanities scholarship, encourage interdisciplinary research, and cultivate public engagement. He will also prioritise fostering collaboration across higher education institutions in South Africa and internationally to ensure that humanities disciplines are equipped to address the diverse needs of our rapidly evolving world.
Prof Masoga’s commitment to SAHUDA’s mission reflects the values and aspirations of the UFS Faculty of The Humanities. His presidency is an invaluable opportunity for the university to contribute to the national agenda of reinforcing the humanities as a field essential to a healthy, critically informed, and culturally aware society. This achievement serves as a proud moment for the UFS and a beacon for the potential of the humanities to drive societal progress in South Africa and beyond.
Enactus heeds call to be of service to its communities
2017-01-17
The newly-elected vice president of Enactus
University of the Free State, Solomuzi Khati
(third from left) with members of Enactus on
the Qwaqwa Campus.
Photo: Thabo Kessah
The future of South Africa is in good hands if Enactus activities are anything to go by. Enactus is an international non-profit organisation bringing together student, academic and business leaders committed to using entrepreneurial action to improve lives. And the Qwaqwa Campus chapter is doing exactly that – changing lives.
Community engagement
This team of enthusiastic and energetic students have touched the Qwaqwa community in more ways than one through their community engagement activities. One such activity was when they adopted the Team Spirit Centre as their partner for development and empowerment.
“Up to now, the chapter has lived up to its purpose of assisting and uplifting the Qwaqwa community. As part of our programme, we identified a problem that we are currently helping to solve,” said Solomuzi Khati, the newly-elected vice president of Enactus University of the Free State.
Skills development
“We have realised that many centres housing orphaned and vulnerable children, like the Team Spirit in Makoane in Qwaqwa, are not sustainable. Our project introduced a business concept to the centre where we helped to plant vegetables so the owner Mrs Manthabeleng could then use and sell at a later stage,” he said. “In the process, students and Mrs Manthabeleng would develop various entrepreneurial, finance and business skills for future use on top of the centre generating income to sustain itself,” he added.
Appointment of Advisory Board
Khati also revealed Enactus was in the process of inviting business and community leaders into their Business Advisory Board. “This is a group of business people who are recruited to serve as mentors for our team. Typically, a Business Advisory Board is composed of 10-50 business leaders in the community. Board members can keep students informed of current business concerns and trends, provide financial or in-kind assistance for projects, critique annual reports and presentations, and provide networking opportunities.”