Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS scholars elected to prestigious national academy, celebrating excellence across disciplines

31 October 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Supplied

Two University of the Free State (UFS) academics have been elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), joining the ranks of the nation’s most distinguished scholars. Prof Serges Kamga, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn, NRF-SARChI Research Chair in Pathogenic Yeasts and Professor of Microbiology, were recently recognised for their outstanding contributions to research, scholarship, and the advancement of knowledge.

In addition, Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo, an academic in the Division of Public Health within the Faculty of Health Sciences who recently made history as the first academic from the UFS to be inaugurated to the prestigious Global Young Academy – a network institution of the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board – was selected to the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) as one of the top young scholars recognised for engaged scholarship and scientific contribution. SAYAS provides early-career researchers with a platform to influence science, policy and innovation across South Africa and the continent.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, who is also a member of the academy and a member of the ASSAf Council, says: “Membership in the Academy of Science of South Africa is a hallmark of scholarly distinction. It is to be entrusted with the stewardship of knowledge. More than this, it is an affirmation that one’s work resonates nationally and globally in advancing knowledge for societal good.”

Celebrating UFS excellence

Since its inauguration in 1996 by former President Nelson Mandela, ASSAf has championed the use of science for the benefit of society. Its mandate spans all fields of scientific enquiry, promoting scholarly excellence, evidence-based solutions to national challenges, and international collaboration. With these recent elections, 23 UFS staff members now hold membership of ASSAf, reflecting the university’s growing national and global research impact.

SAYAS, established under ASSAf, empowers young scientists to shape scientific dialogue, influence policy, and tackle pressing societal challenges. Its mission is to create a vibrant community of early-career researchers driving innovation, education, and sustainable development.

Prof Reddy also remarks: “ASSAf and SAYAS are platforms where excellence meets responsibility, purpose, and service. It is, in fact, a call to shape the scientific imagination of the nation, to mentor with purpose, and to lead with intellectual generosity. My heartfelt congratulations to our colleagues who have received recognition from the academy. You make the UFS proud.”

Prof Serges Kamga: Human rights and inclusive development

For Prof Serges Kamga, being elected to ASSAf is both an honour and a validation of his lifelong commitment to the advancement of human rights and social justice. “My election demonstrates that I am on the right track in terms of scientific knowledge and activity to remove barriers between people and obstacles to full development of their intellectual capacity,” he says.

His research focuses on the human right to development, socio-economic inclusion, and equality, particularly for vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities. “I rely on scientific evidence to stress the need to build an equalitarian world, a world without barriers to the full development of human potential,” he explains. Personal experience in witnessing poverty and underdevelopment across Africa inspired him to ask: “If development is a human right inherent to all, why are we poor in Africa? Who pulls the strings of poverty nationally and globally, and why?”

Prof Kamga intends to use his ASSAf membership to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and foster responsible societal futures. “My engagement with colleagues will seek ways to break down artificial barriers between disciplines, institutions, and sectors to foster groundbreaking discoveries at the intersection of fields. Modern lawyers should bridge the gap between theory and practice to ensure relevance to their environments.” He also hopes to guide the next generation of legal scholars to combine strong theoretical foundations with practical relevance: “They should connect across disciplines, generate new knowledge, and advance innovative, sustainable solutions to society’s contemporary and future challenges.”

Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn: Exploring the frontiers of fungal biology

Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn describes her election as “a meaningful recognition of my contributions to the national research landscape”. Her research investigates bioactive lipids in pathogenic fungi, focusing on molecules such as oxylipins and prostaglandins that influence fungal virulence and host-pathogen interactions. “By exploring these pathways, I hope to uncover novel targets for antifungal therapies, especially in the context of rising antifungal resistance,” she says. Her work has already shown how polyunsaturated and marine-derived fatty acids can inhibit biofilm formation, a key virulence factor, in Candida species.

Her research also has public health significance through the South African Fryer Oil Initiative (SAFOI), which monitors the quality of frying oils nationwide. “My research on fungal lipids and edible oils is connected by a central theme: understanding how lipids influence health, whether through microbial pathogenicity or human nutrition,” she explains.

Mentorship is equally central to her work. “I foster collaboration and encourage open exchange of ideas, with shared credit and authorship as a non-negotiable principle. Students are supported to publish in reputable journals and present at both local and international conferences, and I actively connect them with global collaborators to help them see themselves as equals on the international stage. Over the years, I have had the privilege of mentoring a diverse group of students and postdocs (many of them first-generation scholars) who have gone on to lead in academia, industry, and government. Our current group reflects a rich diversity of cultures, languages, and identities, and I am committed to continuing the tradition of care and excellence that was instilled in me by my own mentors.”

Prof Pohl-Albertyn is optimistic about future discoveries in her field. “Advances in lipidomics and systems biology are allowing us to study bioactive lipids with increasing precision. Understanding how fungi adapt their lipid pathways in response to environmental pressures, such as climate change or antimicrobial exposure, could reveal new strategies to combat fungal infections and predict emerging pathogens.” She also hopes to use her ASSAf platform to advocate for greater awareness and investment in fungal disease research and to promote equitable access to research funding for African scientists.

Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo: Public mental health in a digital age

Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo’s research focuses on mental health, particularly the implementation of digital strategies for public mental health. Mental health, a silent pandemic of our generation, continues to receive limited attention. “My current research looks at digital public mental health strategies, allowing for holistic care and support, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries.” This research is an effort to advance public health strategies that prioritise mental health and health equity.

Dr Mulondo sees the academy as a platform to influence national scientific dialogue and shape policy through emerging efforts such as science diplomacy. “This opportunity allows me to impact policies, specifically in public health, for the betterment of people’s lives. Young scientists need more opportunities to interact with established scientists for intergenerational collaboration. This platform provides young scientists with mentorship as future national and global leaders. Furthermore, the platform provides young scientists with access to other leading scholars for interdisciplinary collaboration to address some of the wicked challenges of our generation.”

Through SAYAS, Dr Mulondo hopes to contribute to programmes that support the growth of young scientists, increase public understanding of science, and foster sustainable development. “I look forward to participating in these efforts to better place our nation and continent.”

A growing legacy of scholarship

The election of Prof Kamga, Prof Pohl-Albertyn, and Dr Mulondo underscores the UFS’ commitment to nurturing excellence across disciplines – from law and the humanities to microbiology and public health. Through the work of ASSAf and SAYAS members, the UFS continues to shape the scientific and academic landscape of South Africa, supporting a vibrant, inclusive, and forward-looking research community. Prof Reddy also emphasises that “recognition by a national academy is a powerful endorsement of one’s scholarly journey. It signals that your voice matters in shaping the intellectual, innovation, and developmental landscape as we aspire to create responsible societal futures”.

Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo has been selected as a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS).

News Archive

Position statement: Recent reporting in newspapers

2014-10-03

Statement by the Institutional Forum of the University of the Free State

You may have read reports in two Afrikaans newspapers, regarding recent events at the University of the Free State (UFS). Sadly, those reports are inaccurate, one-sided, exaggerated and based not on facts, but on rumour, gossip and unusually personal attacks on members of the university management.

Anyone who spends 10 minutes on our Bloemfontein Campus would wonder what the so-called ‘crisis’ is about.

We are left with no choice other than to consider legal action, as well as the intervention of the South African Press Ombudsman, among other steps, to protect the good name of the institution and the reputation of its staff. No journalist has the right to launch personal and damaging attacks on a university and its personnel, whatever his or her motives, without being fair and factual. In this respect, the newspapers have a case to answer.

But here are the facts in relation to the reports:

No staff member, whether junior or senior, is ever suspended without hard evidence in hand. Such actions are rare, and when done, are preceded by careful reviews of our Human Resource Policies, labour legislation and both internal and external legal advice. Then, and only then, is a suspension affected. A suspension, moreover, does not mean you are guilty and is a precautionary action to allow for the disciplinary investigation and process to be conducted, especially where there is a serious case to answer.
At no stage was the Registrar instructed to leave the university; this is patently false and yet reported as fact. We specifically responded to the media that the Registrar does outstanding work for the university and that it is our intention for him to remain as our Registrar through the end of his contract in 2016.
The Rector does not make decisions by himself. Senior persons, from the position of Dean, upwards, are appointed by statutory and other senior committees of the university and finally approved by Council. No rector can override the decision of a senior committee, and this has not happened at the UFS even in cases where the Rector serves as Chair of that committee. The impression of heavy-handed management at the top insults all our committee structures, including the Institutional Forum – the widest and most inclusive of stakeholder bodies at a university – which reports directly to Council on fairness and compliance of selection processes.
In the case of senior appointments, Council makes the final decision. Council fully supports the actions taken on senior appointments, including a recent senior suspension. The fact that one Council member resigns just before the end of his term, whatever the real reason for this action, does not deter from the fact that the full Council in its last sitting approved the major staffing decisions brought before it. The image therefore that the two newspapers try to create of great turmoil and distress at the university, is completely unfounded.

Even if we wanted to, the university obviously cannot provide details about staffing decisions, especially disciplinary actions in process, since the rights of individuals should be protected in terms of the Human Resource Policies and procedures of the UFS. But that does not give any newspaper the right to speculate or state as fact that which is based on rumour or gossip, or to slander senior personnel of the university. For these reasons, we have been forced to seek legal remedy and correction as a matter of urgency.

Make no mistake, underlying much of the criticism of the university has been a distress about transformation at the UFS; in particular, the perception is created that white colleagues are losing their jobs. The evidence points in the opposite direction. Our progress with equity has been slow and we lag far behind most of the former white universities; that is a fact. More than 90% of our professors are white; most of our senior appointments at professorial level and as heads of department are still overwhelmingly white. Reasonable South Africans would agree that our transformation still has a long way to go and only the mean-spirited would contend otherwise. But based on the two Afrikaans newspaper reports, an impression is left of the aggressive rooting out of white colleagues.

In the past few years the academic standard of the university has significantly improved. We now have the highest academic pass rates in years, in part because we raised the academic standards for admission four years ago. We now have the highest rate of research publications, and among the highest national publication rate of scholarly books, in the history of the UFS. We have one of the most stable financial situations of any university in South Africa, with a strong balance sheet and growing financial reserves way beyond what we had before. We now attract top professors from around the country and other parts of the world, and we have the highest number of rated researchers, through the National Research Foundation, than ever before. And after the constant turmoil of a number of years ago, we now have one of the most stable campuses in South Africa. Those are the facts.

The UFS is also regarded around the world as a university that has become a model of transformation and reconciliation in the student body. The elections of our Student Representative Council are only the most visible example of how far we have come in our leadership diversity. Not a week goes by in which other universities, nationally and abroad, do not come to Kovsies to consult with us on how they can learn from us and deepen their own transformations, especially among students.

Rather than focus on what more than one senior journalist, in reference to the article in Rapport of 21 September 2014, rightly called ‘a hatchet job’ on persons and the university, here are the objective findings of a recent survey of UFS stakeholders: 92% endorse our values; 77% agree with our transformation; 78% believe we are inclusive; and 78% applaud our overall reputation index. Those are very different numbers from a few years ago when the institution was in crisis.

This is our commitment to all our stakeholders: we will continue our model of inclusive transformation which provides opportunities for study and for employment for all South Africans, including international students and colleagues. We remain committed to our parallel-medium instruction in which Afrikaans remains a language of instruction; we are in fact the only medical school in the country that offers dual education and training in both Afrikaans and English for our students - not only English. We provide bursaries and overseas study opportunities to all our students, irrespective of race. And our ‘future professors’ programme is richly diverse as we seek the academic stars of the future.

We are not perfect as a university management or community. Where we make mistakes, we acknowledge them and try to do better the next time round. But we remain steadfast in our goal of making the UFS a top world university in its academic ambitions and its human commitments.

END

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept