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UFS Critical Dialogue Series sparks conversation on ethical leadership

06 May 2025 | Story Tshepo Tsotetsi | Photo Supplied

The Office of the Executive Director: Student Affairs at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its annual Critical Dialogue Series on 29 April 2025 at the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus. The dialogue brought together students, staff, and university leadership for an engaging conversation around ethical and servant leadership in higher education.

A conversation rooted in purpose

In his opening address, Temba Hlasho, Executive Director for Student Affairs said the dialogue was designed to provoke honest reflection and engagement on issues that affect student experience and institutional culture.

“We believe that there has to be some sort of transparency in terms of having to talk about topical issues that are very critical, that also touch on the very nerve of student experience,” Hlasho said.

He encouraged student leaders to see the platform not as ceremonial, but as a call to action. “You are in a country today where ethics have almost decayed. You, as the future of this country, will rely solely on the young people to change the narrative.”

Leadership anchored in service

UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Hester C. Klopper delivered a powerful message on the importance of ethical and servant leadership in guiding the university’s direction. “Leadership – and specifically ethical and servant leadership – forms the cornerstone of what we stand for at the University of the Free State.”

She spoke about accountability, fairness, and leading with integrity. “It means treating every student fairly regardless of background or belief, and holding yourself accountable for your actions and decisions.”

Prof Klopper also highlighted the vital role student leaders play in shaping a culture of trust and excellence. “Leadership is not a title or a position, but a daily choice to serve with integrity, empathy, and purpose.”

Ubuntu, transformation, and power dynamics

The event’s keynote speaker was Prof Gordon Zide, an accomplished scholar, academic, intellectual, Africanist, author, transformation specialist, motivational speaker, and a former Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Vaal University of Technology. Prof Zide is also a former Registrar at the University of South Africa. Drawing from a lifetime of experience in the sector, he interrogated the moral responsibilities of leadership within the South African higher education landscape.

“Leadership is a function of being a servant and being in charge of others,” he said. “It also requires the capacity to give strategic direction for the effective, efficient, and valued functioning of organisations.”

He emphasised that ethical leadership should be grounded in values such as vision, passion, patience, integrity, honesty, decisiveness, character, and charisma. Reflecting on the African philosophy of ubuntu, Prof Zide remarked: “When talking about servant leadership, it’s important to recognise other people and say to yourself: ‘I am what I am because of other people.’”

He encouraged students, particularly the current generation, to take charge and assume ethical leadership roles in their spaces. Referencing prominent anti-apartheid figure Robert Sobukwe, he urged, “Even when we are no longer here, they will always remember that we were there.”

Prof Zide also noted the practical benefits of ethical leadership in institutions, saying that it improves brand image, boosts morale among staff and students, and strengthens the recruitment process. He concluded by challenging the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), saying its tendency to micromanage universities undermines the autonomy and leadership authority of institutional management.

A call to lead with intention

Reflecting on the impact of the event, Acting President of the Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC) Mpho Maloka said, “These kinds of conversations are needed because they help us go back to the ‘why’ – why we became student leaders in the first place, and how we can serve students in ways that actually make a difference.”

She added, “People have turned student leadership into something so political that others don’t even want to get involved. Dialogues like this bring it back to what really matters – serving students and growing as ethical leaders.”

As Prof Klopper concluded: “The lessons in ethical and servant leadership that you learn and practise here prepare you not just for impactful careers, but for responsible citizenship in a world desperately in need of ethical leadership.”

News Archive

Africa's Black Rhino conservation strategy must change

2017-07-10

The black rhino is on the brink of extinction. The study that was
published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the
species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation.
Photo: iStock

The conservation strategy of the black rhino in Africa needs to change in order to protect the species from extinction, a group of international researchers has found. The study that was published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation.

South African researchers took part
The researchers, which included local researchers from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG), have highlighted the fact that this means the black rhino is on the brink of extinction. "We have found that there is a decline in genetic diversity, with 44 of 64 genetic lineages no longer existing," said Prof Antoinette Kotze, the Manager of Research and Scientific Services at the Zoo in Pretoria. She is also affiliate Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State and has been involved in rhino research in South Africa since the early 2000s.

DNA from museums and the wild
The study compared DNA from specimens in museums around the world, which originated in the different regions of Africa, to the DNA of live wild animals. The DNA was extracted from the skin of museum specimen and from tissue and faecal samples from animals in the wild. The research used the mitochondrial genome.

"The rhino poaching ‘pandemic’
needs to be defeated, because
it puts further strain on the genetic
diversity of the black rhino.”

Ability to adapt
Dr Desire Dalton, one of the collaborators in the paper and a senior researcher at the NZG, said the loss of genetic diversity may compromise the rhinos’ ability to adapt to climate change. The study further underlined that two distinct populations now exists on either side of the Zambezi River. Dr Dalton said these definite populations need to be managed separately in order to conserve their genetic diversity. The study found that although the data suggests that the future is bleak for the black rhinoceros, the researchers did identify populations of priority for conservation, which might offer a better chance of preventing the species from total extinction. However, it stressed that the rhino poaching ‘pandemic’ needs to be defeated, because it puts further strain on the genetic diversity of the black rhino.

Extinct in many African countries
The research report further said that black rhino had been hunted and poached to extinction in many parts of Africa, such as Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, and Ethiopia. These rhino are now only found in five African countries. They are Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa, where the majority of the animals can be found.

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