UL Annual Report 2009

ANNUAL REPORT 2009 LOGO EMBOSSED

UNIVERSITY OF

LIMPOPO

M ission The mission of the University of Limpopo is to be a world-class African university which responds to education, research and community development needs through partnerships and knowledge generation. The University is committed to finding solutions for Africa.

ANNUAL REPORT 2009 The year in review, including narrative and financial reports, and visions for the future.

I choose to believe that if we all continue to put our shoulders to the wheel with real commitment, diligence and dedication, we will realise our key aspiration as a university committed to providing solutions to the challenges of Africa. – DR REUEL KHOZA, Chancellor of the University of Limpopo, from the Annual Report 2008

UNIVERSITY OF

LIMPOPO 1

Annual Report 2009 is published by the Marketing and Communications Department University of Limpopo PO Box X1106 Sovenga 0727 Limpopo South Africa www.ul.ac.za

Compiled by: Design and layout: Printing: Production Management: ISBN:

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David Robbins Sarita Rheeder-Rosa, Jam Street Design (Pretoria) Colorpress (pty) Ltd DGR Writing & Research cc +27(11)7929951 or +27 (82)5721682 978-0-620-47349-1 Material may be reprinted with acknowledgment

CONTENTS 04_ 06_ 08_ 10_ 14_ 16_ 18_ 20_ 22_ 24_ 27_ 29_ 30_ 36_ 40_ 44_ 49_ 54_ 56_ 58_ 60_ 62_ 66_

Message from the Chancellor Message from the Chairperson of the University Council Foundations of the Year under Review Report of THE Vice-Chancellor Report of THE DVC, ACADEMIC & Research Report of THE DVC, Medunsa Report of the Registrar Report of the Executive Director of Human Resources Report of the Executive Director of Student Affairs Report of the Executive Director of Libraries Report from the ACTING Executive Director of Marketing & Communications Faculty Reports Health Sciences Humanities Management and Law Science and Agriculture Research Roundup Report of the Chief Financial Officer Financial Spreadsheets Report of the University of Limpopo Trust Report of the Student Trust Fund Students Speak Council Member Profiles

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHANCELLOR Dr Reuel Khoza Dr Reuel Khoza, an alumnus of the erstwhile University of the North, has served as Chancellor of the University of Limpopo since November 2007. He’s a highly successful businessman and is currently chairman and major shareholder of Aka Capital. He’s also chairman of the boards of Corobrik, Nedbank Group, Murray and Roberts, and the Nepad Business Foundation, while holding directorships on the boards of several other prominent companies, and serving as President of the Institute of Directors in South Africa.

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THERE CAN BE little doubt that the University of Limpopo is moving towards a new era that will be measured by its effectiveness across the trio of focus areas – teaching and learning, research, community engagement – that comprise its core business. Equally obvious is that institutional historians of the future will mark 2009 as the year that saw the real beginnings of this process.

The foundations of this new era were laid in the post-1994 ‘size and shape’ debates surrounding tertiary education in South Africa. These debates led finally to the merger between the old University of the North and the Medical University of Southern Africa on 1 January 2005.

But the merger, which created a powerful new tertiary institution with huge potential, has not been without its difficulties, and for several years internal disagreements dogged the path of the new University of Limpopo. At the same time, increasing financial difficulties entrenched themselves in university affairs. I alluded to these difficulties in my inaugural address when I became Chancellor in November 2007. Since then, the road to recovery has been arduous but steady.

The major step towards this recovery was when in 2008 the then Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, appointed an independent assessor and a panel of experts to examine the situation. Out of this emerged the university’s Institutional Operating Plan; and it has been edifying to note during the year under review that the IOP has taken root and that the fruits thereof are already evident in the university's

financial affairs. But there is more to an institution than money.

It has now become axiomatic in well-run organisations – be they public or private – that employees, from those in the highest positions to those in the lowliest, generally deliver well on things that are managed by way of measurement.

The human tendency is invariably to do well those tasks the results of which are inspected rather than merely expected. It is gratifying, therefore, that the Human Resources function at the university is moving away from the old system of predetermined scales to a more flexible remuneration arrangement where scarce skills and exceptional performance (rather than simply holding down a job) are taken into account. These new approaches allowed the university to embark on several exciting recruitments during the year under review. I will mention only two.

The first is Professor Cosmas Ambe who was appointed to the newly established Nedbank Chair of Accounting at Turfloop in 2009. I note with real appreciation the work that this ambitious young academic is taking on. Not only is he heading the new School of Accounting and Auditing, but he has set his sights on rectifying some of the acute racial imbalances that continue to exist in the chartered accounting profession in South Africa.

The second is Professor Letticia Moja, our new Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal at Medunsa. It gives me real pleasure to welcome her home to the

institution where her illustrious medical career as a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology began.

She’s travelled far and extensively since her graduation in 1990, and already her wide experience and her noted people skills are having a positive impact at Medunsa – and indeed throughout the university.

Two other staff members of somewhat longer standing also deserve special mention. Professor Phuti Ngoepe has grown up with the Turfloop campus and continues to excel as a world-renowned scientist in computer-based materials modelling. Rathnum Naidoo is a much more recent acquisition. He joined the university as Registrar in August 2008 and his presence was quickly felt. I personally experienced this with regard to the proficient communication surrounding my frequent presence at graduation ceremonies throughout the year.

His administrative professionalism is proving to be a real asset to the university.

One area of special achievement in 2009 that I would like especially to mention must be the awarding of a Three Palms rating to the university’s Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL). The Palm ratings are established annually by the international agency, Eduniversal, and a Three-Palms rating is described as ‘an excellent business school’. In South Africa, this places our TGSL in the same category as the business schools of Unisa, and the universities

of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, as well as Rhodes University and that of the North West. To further enhance the performance and reputation of TGSL, it might be fruitful to engage the guest lecturing services of people with links to the University of Limpopo and prominent in business. I’m thinking of people like Dr Bennie Mokaba, Sasol’s CEO, and Gilbert Phalafala, one of the university’s pre-eminent benefactors and a business person of massive proportions; and what about Reuel Khoza? I must confess I’d love to be of service – and I’d do it for nothing.

It remains for me to offer my thanks and congratulations to all those many people who have contributed to making 2009 the breakthrough year it undoubtedly was. I appreciate the sustained efforts of the University Council and Senate and the executive team. The hard work of the staff, both academic and administrative, is also gratefully acknowledged.

Finally, I would like to recognise the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor Professor Mahlo Mokgalong, and his proven ability to reinforce and sustain the many improvements that have been effected in the running of our exciting institution.

With the limited resources at his disposal, definite progress is being made under his leadership towards our stated goals.

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MESSAGE from the of COUNCIL Judge Lucy Mailula Judge Lucy Mailula was born in a small village under 10 kilometres from the University’s Turfloop campus, where later she studied law, finally graduating with an LLB in 1981. She did her articles with a Pretoria law firm before working for the Bophuthatswana Attorney-General’s Office.

She was admitted as an advocate in Bophuthatswana in 1982, and then in the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1986. She has served as Chairperson of the University Council since 2008.

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IT IS GRATIFYING to be able to report that the year 2009 saw a marked improvement in the relationship between the University Council and the executive management of the institution. There seems to be a pleasing new sense of purpose and direction among Council members – and this is reflected in higher attendance figures at Council meetings. These observations emerged from the workshop held in October 2009 that sought to quantify the effectiveness or otherwise of the University Council. The workshop concluded, however, that there was still room for improvement.

It was found that one of the major reasons for the improved relationships and sense of purpose among university decision-makers had been the radical improvements in financial control and the enhanced monitoring procedures of various projects at the university itself. There can be no doubt that the Institutional Operating Plan (IOP) exercise, that dominated university activity in 2008 and during the first half of 2009, has contributed significantly to the more efficient operating of the university; and this increased efficiency in turn has contributed to the steadily improving morale and commitment of the Council.

The IOP has certainly helped to bring focus to the institution, and the vast financial improvements and the development of our strategic plan, due to commence in 2011, have brought a new confidence in the future. In addition, the internal audit finding regarding the Vice-Chancellor, Professor N M Mokgalong, that his management style is characterised by hands-on com-

mitment and confident control has further helped to improve the situation.

An area of real concern over several years has been the merger between Medunsa and the former University of the North. Several developments during the year under review have served to create confidence and we are hopeful that the situation will continue to improve until complete harmonisation is achieved.

Two developments in particular deserve to be mentioned.  The first is the recruitment of world-class personnel into the two top jobs at Medunsa. I’m referring to Professor Letticia Moja, the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor on the Medunsa campus, and Professor Errol Holland who was appointed the Executive Dean of Health Sciences (with responsibilities at Turfloop as well) halfway through 2009.

Both these highly respected health professionals have extensive managerial experience, and both have made an immediate impact for the good in their various spheres of responsibility.  The second development to have placed a special supportive spotlight on the Medunsa medical school has been the establishment of a dedicated Council sub-committee charged with ensuring that the complex merger process proceeds as smoothly and fairly as possible. This sub-committee comprises not only Council members, but also Medunsa management, students and academics, as well as the various labour unions active on that

CHAIRPERSON campus. The sub-committee has already held several meetings, as well as a workshop and focused roundtable discussion sessions to alleviate the merger-related tensions that remain.

It would be inaccurate to say that challenges do not still exist, but the University Council believes that a corner has been turned and that the merger will begin to benefit all those involved. It is particularly important that we continue to work for this to happen because the establishment of a second health sciences training platform at Polokwane is heavily dependent on the existence of a healthy Medunsa.

It is important, at this stage, to comment in somewhat greater detail on the importance of a successful University Council in maintaining an independent democratic approach to the governance of the University of Limpopo.

The growing success of the merger and Medunsa sub-committee reminds us of the work being done by other Council committees in areas such as remuneration, finance, audit, tender a nd procurement, and human resources. The emphasis is on financial controls and on risk management; and the Council has taken upon itself the responsibility of working with the university’s financial departments to ensure a high level of financial competency.

The last thing the Council wants is a qualified audit.

The great strength of the Council is that it brings together into one pot expertise from all walks of life. The legislation dictates the mix: so many ministerial appointments, so many representing students, academics, alumni and senior management. It is also important that the Council reflects the demography of the society in which the university operates. But above all, we need a diverse mix of people with one thing in common: commitment to a common cause. I think that with our 2009 Council we achieved an extraordinary level of commonality – and I thank each and every member very sincerely.

The University of Limpopo is strategically placed to impact upon African affairs generally, and those of SADC in particular. This should steel us as we face the challenges of the future. We have a serious challenge as our student numbers have continued to rise. We need more accommodation, more books in the libraries, more computers and other equipment: and there’s a limit to state resources.

I believe the Council has a huge role to play in this regard. Because of the rich mix of expertise and spheres of influence that Council contains, we could play a decisive part in finding partners to make good the shortfalls that may otherwise impede our progress in the years ahead. And I believe that sufficient impetus has been achieved within Council in 2009 to transform that hope into reality.

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THE FOUNDATIONS OF IT WILL BE useful to place the main activities of 2009 in the context of the ongoing efforts to get the university pointing in the same direction as its avowed vision and mission, and in fact to begin to proceed in a sustainable way along that path.

The merger early in 2005 opened up huge potential by combining the talents of the University of the North with those housed in the Medical University of Southern Africa. As is well known, the merger also created considerable difficulties. These were being methodically dealt with, to the point of the establishment of a Strategic Plan based on the institution’s agreed vision, when the financial fortunes of the university brought it into crisis. The response from the national Minister of Education was to appoint an assessor whose report led to the uncoupling of the university from its own vision and mission and the introduction of an Institutional Operating Plan (IOP) designed to bring stability – not least financial stability – to both campuses. This meant that the university’s strategic plan, and its own vision for the future, had to be placed on the back burner.

The year 2009 saw the successful completion of the IOP and the deliberate blending of the remedial actions contained in the IOP into a resuscitated Strategic Plan. In short, 2009 was the year that the University of Limpopo achieved the right to change gear from survival mode to controlling its own destiny once more. At the heart of this gear change stood the institution’s modified Strategic Plan.

Let it be clearly understood: that all the achievements – and challenges – recorded in this Annual Report need to be understood against this background. The successful implementation of the IOP had earned the university ‘the right’ to own its own strategy. The resultant sense of achievement, of self-determination and empowerment, and of an increasing faith in the future, must be the most important subtexts in the current Annual Report.

But what is the university’s Strategic Plan? It was first set out in 2007, and then modified during the latter half of 2009 to cover the timeframe 2010 to 2013. Modifications are continuing to occur, and no doubt the results of the Institutional Audit will elicit still more modifications. But in order to understand more fully the increasingly optimistic mood within the institution, it’s worth taking note of this summary of the 2009 version.

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‘The Strategic Plan 2010 to 2013 of the University reflects the continuing effort by the University to advance the frontiers of scholarship through its teaching, research and community engagement. Local, national and international dynamics attendant to the role of tertiary education in sustainable growth and development provide the context in which the Strategic Plan was developed.

‘The dimensions of growth, consolidation and sustainability are thus central to the current strategic management of the institution. Based on the need to achieve a balance among these dimensions, the university has formulated the following strategic objectives.'  Strategic Objective 1: To continuously strengthen the positioning of the university by striving for quality and excellence in everything it does.  Strategic Objective 2: To forge and sustain strategic partnerships, particularly those that will help the university to resource and deliver on its vision and mission.  Strategic Objective 3: To continuously improve organisational effectiveness and efficiency by keeping abreast of global trends, and always bearing in mind the university’s particular focus on the rural poor.  Strategic Objective 4: To continuously strengthen governance and management of the institution by implementing appropriate processes and mechanisms at all levels in the university.  Strategic Objective 5: To ensure financial viability and sustainability by working within accepted financial management principles, and by a renewed determination to source and grow ‘third stream income’.  Strategic Objective 6: To implement an integrated human capital strategy. This means that the university will seek to compete appropriately for the limited talent on the open market.  Strategic Objective 7: To provide an enabling and collegial environment by promoting a balance between task orientation on one hand and the opportunity for affiliation and process on the other.’

All these objectives will be constantly evaluated against measurable benchmarks, and will be pursued with three overarching goals in mind. These are:  To maximise growth, not only of student enrolment, but also of excellence in research and strategic partnerships, community engagement, and new partnerships with the public and private sectors, as well as civil society.  To ensure consolidation of successes and core competencies, and in particular in the university’s efforts to address the post-merger alignment and integration of the two erstwhile institutions into a single powerful whole.  To strive for sustainability by concentrating on fiscal discipline and the tenacious pursuance of all elements of the university’s funding model, which is designed to support its many programmes and special projects.

THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW The Strategic Plan epitomises the changing mood in the University of Limpopo, and presages the quality of the years to follow.

Key Strategic Drivers and High Level Interventions identified in the Strategic Plan.

Key Strategic Drivers

High Level Interventions

Striving for excellence

Compliance with applicable regulatory framework and exceeding minimum standards Enhancement of UL as an institution for provision of quality education Creation of new knowledge & technology, especially in niche areas Production of high quality graduates Regular curriculum review & development

Contribution to sustainable development

Co-ordinated community engagement, service, out of classroom and lifelong learning Finding solutions for the Southern African region and the continent Attracting a student base ardent on development issues Producing graduates capable of contributing significantly to development

Competition and positioning

Strategic branding, publicity & funding Advancing the ‘alchemy concept’ by producing quality graduates from poor backgrounds Promoting professional development and lifelong learning Finding higher education solutions for Africa Implementing an integrated human capital development strategy, including critical skills attraction and retention

Skills shortage in key academic and professional categories

Instituting effective staff development programmes in targeted areas Strengthening UL core capabilities and facilities Strengthening the UL funding strategy, including the institutional resource allocation plan

Institutional viability and sustainability

Maximising subsidy funding Implementing a differentiated fee structure Instituting effective measures for full recovery of fees Establishing strategic partnerships with all spheres of government for student support Establishing strategic partnerships & mobilisation of third stream funding Progressive implementation of a conducive organisational culture

Living UL core values

Developing and maintaining infrastructure in order to enhance quality of student life on campus Developing and maintaining infrastructure to enhance collegiality and cohesiveness among faculty Maintaining a performance management system in order to achieve task orientation as well as adherence to protocols, procedures and strategic objectives

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Report of THE Vice-Chancellor Professor Mahlo Mokgalong Professor Mahlo Mokgalong has served as acting, then interim, and finally substantive ViceChancellor of the University of Limpopo since the beginning of 2003. He studied biological science for his undergraduate degree at the university he now heads. Subsequent degrees included BSc (Hons) in Zoology, an MSc in Limnology, and a PhD in Parasitology. His research took him to many parts of the world, but Mokgalong has put aside his scientific interests to respond to the leadership demands of his alma mater.

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WE HAVE LIVED through turbulent times here at the University of Limpopo. My perception as we come to the end of the first decade of the 21st century, however, is that we are entering a period of greater clarity of purpose and one of huge potential. The year under review – 2009 – has witnessed some key events in this process. But to fully appreciate the importance of these events, it is helpful to sketch out the recent history of the institution – and indeed the recent history of tertiary education in South Africa.

A convenient starting point is 1994.

With the advent of democracy came a serious scrutiny of the disfigurements that the policy of apartheid had inflicted upon the nation’s fragmented higher education system. It did not take long for universities to divide themselves into two main groups: those that had been historically disadvantaged (those for race groups other than whites and consequently underfunded and underresourced, and usually situated in the so-called homelands) and those that had not been (those originally established for English and Afrikaans spreakers in the cities). This fundamental division threatened at times to split the sector, but firm policies and careful planning at the national level held universities on a non-racial and more unified course.

Both the University of the North and Medunsa were counted as HDIs (historically disadvantaged institutions). And make no mistake, there had been serious drawbacks in living and working on the wrong side of

the racial divide. There were difficulties, as well, for HDIs as the national Department of Education struggled to rationalise the tertiary education terrain. Apartheid had meant a huge amount of duplication, and before the end of the 1990s, most HDIs had been plunged into the so-called ‘size and shape’ debate and the mergers that followed.

Coupled with these convulsions came the internal pain of rationalisation within each institution.

The National Plan for Higher Education, introduced in 2001, compelled universities to submit for ministerial approval their proposed programme and qualification mix (the famous PQM campaign). The idea was to eradicate unnecessary duplication and to ensure a greater university relevance to regional and national needs.

At the University of the North, after a long and often bitter process, the institution’s eight old faculties, which contained 48 departments, had been reduced to three faculties containing in total only 11 schools.

What made the process even more difficult was that it coincided with the partial collapse of the institution.

The national Department of Education had been obliged to suspend the University Council and appoint an Administrator in an attempt to establish organisational and financial stability, a state of affairs that lasted until the beginning of 2003.

By then, of course, the university was embroiled in the complex process of merging with Medunsa.

The merger, first promulgated in

the Government Gazette in June 2002 and finally coming into effect in January 2005, added many layers of complexity to the task of maintaining and growing the organisational and financial systems established by the Administrator in the early years of the new century.

Meanwhile, the merged institution had made some progress in articulating its new vision and mission: to be a world-class African university that responds to educational, research and community development needs.

But these brave words soon came in for a battering at the hands of the financial and administrative realities of driving the merged university from the apartheid pasts of its constituent parts to its new place in the development of South Africa – and indeed in the SADC region as a whole.

By early 2007, and for many different reasons, the financial and administrative affairs of the merged university were in serious disarray, so much so that the then Minister of Education appointed an independent assessor to examine the situation. The assessor recommended that while the University Council and executive management should remain in place, the university should submit to the introduction of an externally guided institutional operating plan (IOP), and that we disconnect our short- and mediumterm planning from our mission and long-term goals. In other words, the idea of being a world-class African university had to be put on hold while we fought for our continued survival.

Throughout 2008, the work required to develop the IOP dominated university affairs. The details of the plan, and the considerable successes it achieved – not least in the financial management of the institution – are detailed elsewhere in this and the 2008 Annual Report.

Suffice to say here that by the middle of 2009, the positive effects of the IOP were being felt throughout the university. These effects are in the fields of financial controls, a tightened academic structure, new systems designed to recruit and retain high-quality staff, and a more integrated approach to research and research targets.

Perhaps the most gratifying for me, who has led the university through the frequently stormy waters of the past seven years, is the new sense of purpose and optimism that has begun to percolate out of all the various levels and constituencies that comprise the university community.

We are without doubt at a new beginning for the merged University of Limpopo. Appropriately enough, as we proceed from this point, one of the most important processes, begun in 2009 but only culminating towards the end of 2010, is an evaluation of our efforts so far, and of the strategies we have adopted to reach our desired goals. The Institutional Audit, conducted by the Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council for Higher Education, will bring renewed external scrutiny to bear on our efforts, and I am confident that we will pass this latest series of tests with flying colours.

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At the heart of our new direction and our new resolve stand two profoundly important fundamentals. The first is our Strategic Plan and the second is the practical action we have so far taken with regard to fulfilling it. I am referring here particularly to the planning that was undertaken in 2009 to realise our intention to launch, in 2010, a Rural Development and Innovation Hub (RDIH) at the heart of our endeavours in teaching and learning, research and community engagement.

But we must begin with our Strategic Plan, an evolving document that provides a step-by-step guide on how to proceed from the IOP survival mode back onto the track so clearly articulated by our vision and mission.

This plan is described in some detail in the background article that begins on page 8 of this report. Suffice to say here that guided by its core values, the Strategic Plan is the university’s road map for the next four years, as we strive to fulfil our mandate. The Strategic Plan will be a living document to be used to monitor and mark the university’s advancement in its commitment towards achieving excellence and relevance in teaching, research and community engagement.

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The RDIH speaks directly to our core functions and our rural focus, which is prescribed by our physical location in South Africa’s most rural province.

The aim of the Hub – its establishment is now planned for next year, depending on the appointment of a suitable executive director – is to find solutions for Africa via interdisciplinary innovation in research and project management. The

intention is to avoid the traditional academic ‘silo’ approach, and to bring the various faculties and centres of excellence at the university together in multidisciplinary endeavours that relate directly to our special rural focus area. It certainly seems likely that the installation of the RDIH will stimulate the university to identify and explore the many rural development challenges that require resolution, and in so doing will impel us into new directions in community engagement, and no less in research and teaching as well.

Such integrated thinking already lies at the foundations of our important partnerships with various universities in Flanders via the VLIRUOS funding agency in that province of Belgium. This funding relationship, cemented in 2009, will bring to the University of Limpopo an estimated R90-million over five years for research into community health, food security, water, and competent communities, with an overarching cross-cutting function that will incorporate data management and analysis, satellite imaging and other spatial analysis tools. The level of multidisciplinary co-operation required to tackle such diverse and interconnected research should be obvious. One of the most important events of the year under review was the opening of VLIR House, in a quiet corner of the Turfloop campus, from which the complexities of this multipronged project can be administered. The obvious linkages in basic thinking between the VLIR project and the university’s perception of its own way forward,

brings an urgency to the speedy establishment of a fully functioning Rural Development and Innovation Hub. In casting our minds back over 2009 it is difficult not to conclude that it has been a watershed year for the University of Limpopo. I personally believe that the notion of a ‘historically disadvantaged institution’, an HDI, is now obsolete. We have broken the shackles. We have reached a point where we can reclaim our vision and mission with p[ride and confidence. Our university is turning out to be a centre of excellence in itself, not merely a general environment in which small centres of excellence subsist. We are becoming the pride of our province, and of our nation. We’re one of a team of 23 public universities in South Africa, and we are no less than any of them.

In conclusion, I wish to thank the entire staff of the university, both academic and those in the support services, for their efforts throughout 2009. In particular, I acknowledge the expertise and loyalty of my executive team. I am also particularly gratified to report the high levels of co-operation and contribution that have been made by the University Council. This body has become much more involved in university affairs, and it is certainly no longer simply a rubber stamp or what is decided inside the university. Finally, I wish to record my personal thanks to our Chancellor, Dr Reuel Khoza, for his continuing support. Both his reputation and his commitment add real lustre to our cause.

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Report of THE Deputy Academic and Professor Peter Franks Professor Peter Franks was born in Johannesburg and studied psychology and political science at the University of the Witwatersrand. He continued his studies in the United States, finally graduating with a PhD in social psychology from the State University of New York in 1975. On returning to South Africa, he worked for the Human Sciences Research Council for ten years before joining the University of the North (now Limpopo) in 1992. He has taught at universities in the US, Canada and South Africa, and has occupied his present position at the University of Limpopo since 2007

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THE OFFICE OF the DVC: Academic and Research is the direct link between the institution’s executive management and the four faculties – Health Sciences, Humanities, Management and Law, and Science and Agriculture – that form the bulk of university core activity. Many important support services are also grouped within this portfolio, for example: Institutional planning, Quality Assurance, the Disabled Students Unit, Student Counselling, the Centre for Academic Excellence, the International Office, and the Information and Communications service (ICT).

Considerable effort has been expended in recent years in reshaping the university after the merger with Medunsa, and to bring it into line with the aims and intentions of the University of Limpopo’s mission and vision for the future. In particular, the Institutional Operating Plan (IOP) project has had far-reaching consequences for the way in which the university is structured and run. Now, the improvements made through this and other processes will be tested (in 2010) by our first full-scale Institutional Audit to be undertaken by the Council on Higher Education’s permanent Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC).

Our preparations for this important evaluation began in July 2009 with the formation of a steering committee which comprised the DVC Academic and Research and ten members including the DVC Medunsa campus, the university Registrar, the four Executive Deans, and the various directors of Quality Assurance, Institutional Planning,

and Research. Nineteen working groups were then established to deal with the 19 audit criteria laid down by the HEQC. The preparatory work for the Institutional Audit was well advanced by the end of the year under review.

But we must return briefly to the earlier IOP project that has laid the foundation for a potentially successful Institutional Audit. Since much of the IOP project’s work reached a conclusion in 2009 it will be worth examining some of the detail, particularly as it pertains to the new policy framework and academic structure, but also to the improved management information systems and ICT infrastructure.  The new Policy Framework is most adequately expressed in the Strategic Plan, a document which aims to maximise growth, ensure consolidation, and to strive for sustainability by concentrating on fiscal discipline and the tenacious pursuance of all elements of the university’s funding model.

(See page 8 of this Annual Report for a full description of the Strategic Plan)  The new Academic Structure. The revamping of the qualifications mix to be offered by the university continues, but certain basic principles have been installed to guide this process. The first is that the existing three-tier academic structure (Faculties housing Schools which in turn contain Departments) will be retained.

Within this structure, however, all academic programmes are being examined to establish their feasibility in terms of staff avail-

Vice-Chancellor: Research ability and financial viability. This means that small, loss-making programmes are being excised from university activity.  Management Information Systems (MIS). The IOP report had found that these systems were generally inadequate to support decision-making at the highest levels. To rectify this unsatisfactory situation, the MIS unit has been integrated into the Institutional Planning Office, and the expertise of this office into the university’s executive and senior management processes. Over the past two years a series of constantly updated MIS documents has been produced, and Professor Pieter Mulder, Director of Institutional Planning, is to be recommended for his efforts.  ICT Infrastructure. Computer systems on both main campuses of the university have had a major facelift. New software, specifically designed for South African higher education institutions, has been purchased; and by the end of 2009 all new infrastructure was in place and working well. Problems remain within Telkom, to which the systems are inevitably linked, many of them caused by Telkom’s endemic problem of copper wire theft.

With regard to academic support services, special mention must be made of the innovative work being

done by the Centre for Academic Excellence (CAE). This dynamic centre, established on the Medunsa campus but with university-wide responsibilities, is a direct descendent of UNIFY, the University Foundation Year programme. But under the direction of Professor Monie Naidoo the CAE’s focus has substantially broadened.

Particularly laudable are the new academic staff induction packages and the student-on-student mentoring programmes. The induction packages were launched on the Medunsa campus, but are now a feature of the university as a whole.

The same applies to student mentoring, although programme content differs at Turfloop where a higher percentage of rural students enrol. The programme is extensive: every first-year student has access to an older student mentor from the time they enter. The programme is yielding exciting results, and it is already deemed, like UNIFY before it, to be one of the best programmes of its kind in the country.

Professor Franks retired at the end of 2009, but was persuaded to stay on as DVC Academic and Research until mid-2010. He takes the opportunity presented by the Annual Report to thank his colleagues in the executive and all those staff members responsible to his office for their co-operation and contributions in 2009 – and over all the years of his tenure.

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Report of THE Deputy at Medunsa Professor Letticia Moja Professor Letticia Moja, originally from Ga-Rankuwa, obtained her MBChB degree from the University of Natal in 1982. She then continued her medical studies at Medunsa, specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. During the course of her career, she has worked as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State since 2003. She has also constantly upgraded her managerial skills, including being awarded an MBA in 2006. She returned to Medunsa to take up her present position in August 2009.

ONE OF MY first priorities when I joined Medunsa was to gain back the confidence of the staff and students in the future of the campus.

The merger had provoked uncertainty in the institution’s future and dealt a blow to morale. Although the decision had been irrevocably taken that there would be no relocation to Polokwane, anxiety prevailed.

Several interventions have helped to ease the level of anxiety, such as top-level management appointments, which include mine and that of Professor Errol Holland as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, as well as others. This has encouraged a more stable environment.

One of the programmes that was set in motion last year was a campaign to encourage staff and students to be a part of the turnaround history of the campus, called ‘I was part of the turnaround’. It encourages buyin and involvement in the progress of the campus now; not waiting to see what’s going to happen. Recruiting continues persistently.

Last year we were able to retain at least two staff members at Medunsa who had been offered positions in other universities. We were also able to expand our staff with excellent people from other institutions. This would naturally have been impossible if our future was in jeopardy.

We are no longer ‘bleeding’ staff members, as the perception has been over the past few years; we are definitely turning the tide.

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An exciting development on the academic staff side is that we have finalised our academic structure and

based it on the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) system.

Other campus appointments made in 2009 to improve operations on the Medunsa campus include a new HR Manager, a new Security Manager, as well as a Deputy Registrar. These appointments only came into effect at the start of 2010.

We also made progress in opening dialogue between management and the union, and developing a good working relationship between us.

We have sorted out some of the major challenges; though not yet all. This is important to the success of our institution and we continue to focus on resolving issues.

One of our responsibilities as an institution is to place the interests of our students high within the interests of the institution. With this in mind, I invested a significant amount of time in building student engagement and participation, and relationships between management and students is improving. The fact is that as from about October students are no longer available for discussions as they are preparing for exams, then writing exams, and then on holiday. But even so, progress was positive.

By mutual consent, no SRC elections were held last year, but we did manage to sort out issues that arose over the new SRC constitution.

We also found that the SRC had run out of budget before it completed its scheduled activities for the year. With extensive negotiation we sourced funds and the students were able to complete their year’s activities. Training in effective

Vice-Chancellor budget management was duly placed on the agenda for future members of the SRC. We also had highly positive negotiations with the students regarding the increase in fees for this year. The students negotiated and were extremely understanding. We agreed on 8%. No student unrest occurred throughout the process.

Registration plans were put in place before year end to ensure that on 2 January 2010 all students were registered and able to begin their clinical rotations right from the start.

This required great team work from the relevant administration staff and set an excellent precedent for the future. Pre-registration of students impacts positively on campus, eliminating the time wastage and chaos that can occur when students are registered on arrival on campus at the start of the year.

This campus infrastructure has suffered neglect over a number of years. 2009 was the start of the initial recording and evaluation of needs – assessing them in terms of ‘what must be done immediately’, as well as whether the jobs to be done are small or major.

The aim is to make this campus a good place to work at – as soon as possible. We started with the basics of trying to make the campus look clean and neat. Improvements were immediately visible and the response from students and staff was positive. While campus maintenance is improving and has shown marked improvement; we acknowledge that there is still quite a way to go.

But that was just the start. There is a lot more to do to improve working conditions. People who are unhappy at work because of minor issues such as broken air conditioners are likely to be less productive than those who have excellent and comfortable working environments. This goes for staff as well as students. All face work expectations that they need to meet. We must make sure that our operations budget is spent in such a way as to enable them to work well.

Improving residences is high on our list because that is where students spend a considerable amount of time; it’s also where they need to be able to work and study. However, in our negotiations we all conceded that there was little point in having excellent residences if we could not afford to have lecturers.

As regards non-core facilities on campus, such as, for instance, the stables and the matric performance college, I have also been given a mandate to assess all of these in terms of the value they add to the core business of the institution.

In conclusion, the ‘exciting and challenging’ period under review definitely represents a turning point in the recent history of Medunsa; I believe it shows that Medunsa has the potential to be a leading health sciences training campus, contributing strongly to UL’s output of competent and well-qualified young people, able to take their place in society – and to make a difference in the world. That’s after all what we’re about.

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Report of the Registrar Rathnum Naidoo Rathnum Naidoo first qualified as a teacher from the University of Durban Westville in 1975.

He followed this up with further qualifications from Unisa and Rhodes University where he graduated with a B.Ed degree in 1991. He has also studied private law at the University of Fort Hare. After holding several administrative positions at tertiary education institutions in the Eastern and Western Cape, he moved to Gauteng in 2003 to serve as Senior Deputy Registrar at Tshwane University of Technology, then moved to his current position at the University of Limpopo in August 2008.

THE REGISTRAR’S DIVISION at the University of Limpopo has two main legs or pillars. The first is Student Academic Administration, and the second is Governance. The first pillar contains the following sections: Admissions & Registration (enrolment management); Assessment Administration (examinations and tests); Student Records; and Certification & Graduations management. The second pillar comprises serving as secretariat to the Council and its committees and the Senate and its various committees. In addition, the Institutional Statute and all rules and regulations relating to academic administration are the responsibility of the Registrar’s Division.

In respect of the year under review, the following overall student statistics can be provided. It should be noted that this Annual Report contains separate detailed faculty reports for each of the four faculties that make up the total academic activity of the University of Limpopo. The statistics given here are intended to provide a useful overview.

With regard to admissions, the 2009 registration data showed that 13683 undergraduate and 2136 postgraduate students were admitted. These figures are broken down across the four faculties as follows: Health Sciences Dentistry

286

Health Care Sciences (Medunsa)

1034

Medicine

1255

Health Care Sciences (Turfloop) TOTAL

901 3476

Humanities Education Language & Communication Studies

1130 733

Social Sciences

1641

TOTAL

3504

Management & Law Economics & Management

2429

Law

1246

TOTAL

3675

Science & Agriculture

18

Computational & Mathematics

771

Molecular & Life Sciences

823

Physical & Mineral Sciences

532

Science & Agriculture

346

Agricultural & Environmental Sciences

556

TOTAL

3028

With regard to the Certification & Graduations management function mentioned above, a total of 2987 students graduated from the University of Limpopo in 2009. This figure represents 18.9 % of the total student body registered at the beginning of that academic year. The breakdown per qualification is as follows: Undergraduate Certificates

134

Undergraduate Diplomas

121

Undergraduate Bachelor Degrees Postgraduate Certificates Postgraduate Diplomas Honours Bachelor Degrees

2129 101 42 365

Masters Degrees

84

Doctoral Degrees

11

TOTAL

2987

As has been stated, the second pillar of the responsibilities undertaken by the Registrar’s Division relates to its duties as secretariat to the University Council, which is governed by Section 27 of the Higher Education Act (Act 101 of 1997) and Senate, and the various standing committees to emanate from these bodies. There are currently five Council committees: Audit Committee, Finance Committee, Human Resources Committee, Tender and Procurement Committee, and the Medunsa Campus Committee. The Senate is accountable to the Council for regulating all teaching, learning, research and academic functions of the university and all other functions delegated or assigned to it by the Council.

Both the Council and the Senate meet at least four times a year.

An assessment on the performance and effectiveness of Council was held during the year under review. Four Council meetings were held during the year under review and the attendance during these meetings was very good, the average attendance being around 80 percent. The outcome of the assessment was also extremely positive with numerous commendations and a few recommendations for improvement. The assessment of Council will in future be done annually so as to ensure continuous improvement.

The Senate is accountable to the Council for regulating all teaching, learning, research and academic functions of the University and all other functions delegated or assigned to it by Council. Senate met four (4) times in 2009 as stipulated in the Standard Institutional Statute. These meetings alternate between the Turfloop and Medunsa campuses and were reasonably well attended.

Communication is a major challenge in having two campuses some 300km apart, but extensive use was made of the available video conferencing technology to ensure that Senate Committees met regularly as scheduled. At the same time, communication to members of Council and the Chancellor received high priority in the year under review.

A major challenge in the Registrar’s environment has been the need to upgrade those systems upon which efficiency is often dependent. It is envisaged in the new year (2010) to transfer various important processes and procedures on line.

During 2009, the Registrar’s Division has been restructured with the inclusion of two Deputy Registrars posts, one for each campus. The new organogram has been approved, and the new posts have been filled.

In conclusion, it is gratifying to note that the year 2009 has been a very successful year for the Registrar’s division. As everyone is aware, success depends on people. The best practices and systems in the world will amount to nothing, unless there are motivated people to make them work. Therefore, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to all staff members in the division for their contribution and efforts.

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Report of THE Executive Human Resources Joseph Moloto Joseph Moloto received a B.Admin degree, majoring in Industrial Psychology, from the University of the North (now Limpopo) in 1981, followed by an Honours degree in the same subject. He completed a two-year Advanced Leadership Programme, offered jointly by the CSIR and Wits in 1995/6, and an Advanced Executive Management Programme at SBL in 2003. He has worked for the KwaNdebele National Development Corporation, the HSRC, the Centre for Cognitive Development, the CSIR and the Department of Public Works. His experience in higher education began with the new century when he joined Unisa as executive director of human resources. He returned to his alma mater to take up his current position in February 2008.

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IT IS TRUE to say that the human resources function at the University of Limpopo has been dominated by the aftermath of the institutional merger (between the University of the North and Medunsa) that created the new-look institution in January 2005. It is equally true that the transition for both partner institutions, particularly in its emotional manifestation, is not yet over.

However, I do believe that an end is in sight.

The first two or three years after the merger were spent trying to unlock merger resistance among staff. Only in 2008, did the situation begin to settle down – after the then Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, had announced that the merger would not mean the relocation of Medunsa but a strengthening of facilities at its existing location and the establishment of a new fully-fledged health services delivery site in Polokwane.

This cleared the way for a change of human resources approach from the sort of administrative role that the merger had obliged us to play to a much more strategic one.

The merger looked set to go ahead without concerted objection, and this brought a measure of stability.

From that base we began to work out our blueprint for the way ahead.

What were our short, medium and long-term goals, and how best could we achieve them?

Throughout 2009 we were able to work hard at developing our new human resources (HR) policies, practices and procedures. These would form the foundation as we turned our attention to strategy, articulating

the HR role that would be to support the institution as it set its sights on fulfilling the ambi-tions articulated by its overarching vision and mission.

As well as establishing a sound set of practices and procedures relating to the whole range of HR responsibilities, and mapping out the way forward for the next few years in what we have called our ‘strategic direction document’, considerable work was accomplished in 2009 on one of the main HR challenges confronting the university: how to attract and retain high-quality staff.

Our main concern in dealing with this important issue was to move away from the old style of remuneration packages, linked to predetermined scales with set benefits and perks. This one-sizefits-all model is outmoded. Once people reach their scale maximums, they have, literally, to wait for dead men’s shoes to advance further. This is hardly attractive to young professionals with ambition and drive, whether they are involved on the academic or administrative side of the university’s activities.

Our effort, therefore, has been to bring the university into a new era of increased flexibility. This has meant a much more active management of the remuneration process. In essence, the new approach is more versatile. It is based on the total cost to the institution, and is tied directly to the financial fortunes of the institution, or more specifically to the faculty or department where the new recruit will be

Director, deployed. This means that scarce skills can be more suitably rewarded.

But this improved approach to remuneration is only one aspect of the university’s new ‘attraction and retention policy’. Other important aspects include:  Enhancement of health, social, educational and recreational facilities, so that a satisfying work and living environment is created for staff in general and particularly for those who stay on campus.

These facilities have to be maintained properly, marketed, and packaged into our recruitment drives.  Nurturing of good leadership and management practices at all levels, thereby creating an environment, necessary for encouraging, vigorous pursuit of university objectives.  Career and succession planning, to ensure that valued and talented employees find meaning and promotion opportunities in their jobs.  Piggy-backing on the perception and reality of the positive economic development taking place in the provinces where the campuses of the university are located. This should serve as a selling point, for attracting and retaining skills.

With these and other improvements in place, we are now ready to populate the university’s new organisational structure (from the level of director upwards) with highquality personnel. But two factors need to be emphasised. The first is that the improvements outlined here are being carefully phased in rather than being rushed in via a big-bang approach. The second is that the merger upheaval isn’t yet behind us. Some of the problems of today are the result of ill-considered solutions imposed yesterday. Ahead for HR lies the need for planning, the need for inculcating a culture of planning, and the need for a constant process of review and evaluation.

One thing seems certain, however.

The end of the merger process will be better than the beginning. One institution plus one institution will be equal to the power of three. Major expansion of university activity is on the cards, as well as new innovations, new originality, and a greater emphasis on self-financing initiatives. We have needed surgery (and the merger is a part of that procedure) to heal the wounds of being historically disadvantaged.

But a new era is approaching, and we’re well within reach of it now.

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Report of THE Executive Student Affairs Professor Esther Mokhuane Professor Esther Mokhuane is head of Clinical Psychology at Medunsa and Executive Director of Student Affairs for the University of Limpopo. An alumnus of Medunsa, she holds a doctoral degree in Psychology (Unisa), a fellowship in Public Health from the University of Washington, and an Internship in HIV/ Aids at the Seattle Community Mental Health. She has extensive experience of academic teaching and student life and has also received training in auditing higher education institutions. Mokhuane is active in the HPCSA where she holds two positions – as Chairperson of the Professional Board of Psychology and Chairperson of the Health Committee.

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THE MANDATE OF the University of Limpopo’s Student Affairs Department is based on the World Declaration on Higher Education for the 21st Century. It states that higher education institutions should be topquality enterprises that are studentcentred and seamless in their delivery of services, while providing an enabling environment.

With this in mind, our vision is to be an outstanding Student Affairs Department that provides optimal services aimed at enhancing student life in a healthy, safe, and supportive environment that is conducive to studying.

Student Affairs plays an advocacy role on behalf of students both within and outside the university, and is an interface between academic life and student life outside the classroom.

This is achieved through engagement with various stakeholders such as academia, university management, police, safety and security, health services, sports organisations, social and welfare departments, arts and culture, the religious fraternity, the Department of Education, the judiciary, and communities served by the university.

The activities of Student Affairs are wide-ranging, and include:  Student counselling – both educational and clinical  Student financial aid and student employment  Student wellness programmes in sports, arts, culture and recreation  Campus health, life skills and health services  Student transportation and outreach

 Residence management  Student safety and security  Catering and food services  Disabled student unit  Student business initiatives  International student services  Student governance and student organisations  New student programmes and services  Developmental learning centres Every student who passes through our doors is better equipped to cope with the challenges they face than when they came. Here we record a few specific challenges and achievements of the year under review.

Students face many challenges on a daily basis; challenges such as dealing with bereavement, financial constraints, coping with relationships, health concerns, academic issues, and substance abuse.

These situations are likely to have an impact on their academic performance.

In instances when students lose loved ones such as parents, friends, relatives or partners, they often withdraw from classes and friends while trying to come to terms with their grief, possibly presenting with adjustment disorders. In such cases, Student Affairs will allocate a counsellor to help the student effectively cope with their grief.

A bereavement support group was recently established which enables students to share their experiences with others who have travelled this journey under the guidance of a therapist. This facility has already had a positive impact on several grieving students.

Director, Another challenge that the department deals with is students who don’t manage their relationships in a socially acceptable way. This can lead to abuse of women on campus by partners or lovers who view women as possessions. The Student Counselling Unit has seen an increase recently in the number of cases of abuse of women by partners.

To meet this challenge, an awareness campaign directed at both male and female students is under way to inform students on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in a relationship. The aim of the campaign is to empower both genders to treat each other with respect and dignity and to respect human rights as enshrined in our constitution. A support group for abused partners is also being established.

Substance abuse is an ongoing problem. Some students are also motivating for alcohol to be sold on university premises. However, in our extensive experience, alcohol is invariably a catalyst in situations where fights and stabbings break out among male students.

In an effort to discourage students from drug and alcohol abuse, regular group therapy sessions have been set up for students who have difficulty controlling their addictions.

A therapist or a psychiatrist supports the sessions. Where students have been referred for external rehabilitation, group therapy and support groups after rehabilitation are used to prevent relapse. To further address this issue, a committee has been established specifically to tackle substance abuse and develop prevention programmes.

When it comes to non-performing

students, these are often referred to Student Affairs for academic counselling and mentorship. By then the students’ self-esteem is often already low. This requires that the department first addresses the emotional problems the students have, and thereafter, if appropriate, to allocate an educational counsellor to address the academic needs. If mentorship is needed, the student is referred to a mentor. Follow-up reports are made in every case to keep accurate track of each student’s progress and for record purposes.

On the financial side, some students face severe financial constraints, with no bursaries or family support.

While these students try to find work, they often end up with money problems, such as unpaid meal card accounts. Eventually their studies are negatively affected. Often in these situations, students come to the department voluntarily for counselling.

The Financial Aid Bureau has been able to assist students by arranging sponsorship through provincial government bursaries or loans, private sponsorships, or through financial institutions. Here credit must be given to the University of Limpopo Student Trust Fund, which is funded by donations from the Student Representative Council (SRC) to assist financially needy students with bursaries.

Student Affairs is proud of the students who have made good use of the support provided to them and who have contributed to the excellent pass rate among students engaging with our programmes. We look forward to identifying more opportunities to build productively into our students’ lives.

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Report of THE Executive Libraries Makgabela Chuene Makgabela Chuene was born in the ga-Dikgale district in Polokwane and attended the University of the North (now the Turfloop campus of the University of Limpopo) where she graduated with a B Admin degree in 1975.

While employed in the Turfloop library, she completed a Higher Diploma in Librarianship, and a B.Bibl Honours degree through Unisa. In the late 1980s, she went to New York where she completed her Masters degree at the University of Long Island. She acted as the University Librarian in 2004 and from December 2006 to April 2009 and as an Executive Director (Libraries) from April to December 2009 and was appointed permanently to this position on 1 January 2010.

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SINCE THIS IS the first time we are contributing to a combined annual report, I would like to give a general overview of what the libraries division of the university comprises and what we offer to our main users, the students.

There are two main libraries at the University of Limpopo, one on the Medunsa campus with more than 70 000 books and journals, and one on the Turfloop campus with more than 190 000 books and some printed journals. The latter library houses various specialist sections, such as an Africana collection, a law library, and a comprehensive assemblage of government documents such as gazettes and Acts of Parliament. There are also two other libraries located in the Polokwane Mankweng Hospital Complex which also house books and journals. All the libraries use the Innopac Millenium System and are thus able to share information. All University of Limpopo students and staff are free to use any of the libraries.

The way in which the libraries are organised and staffed provides further insights into the services they offer. Each library is divided into four sections: acquisitions (where new titles are purchased), technical services (which is responsible for cataloguing), client services (which staffs the lending library facilities), and information services (which provide ‘reference library’ expertise). This last section is staffed by subject librarians who are usually attached to the various faculties. This means that there are three subject librarians servicing the needs of the three faculties

(Humanities, Management and Law, Science and Agriculture) that are housed on the Turfloop campus and one at Medunsa Campus servicing the faculty of Health Sciences.

Under each subject librarian are assistant librarians who specialise in providing for the information needs surrounding the various schools, or groupings of schools in each faculty.

Both libraries have started collecting materials to develop university archives. There are staff members who are also archivists and we hope to use them in organising and managing this collection.

The libraries will continue to offer traditional information services while also embracing information technology. In addition there is a 24/7 online reference service called Ask-A-Librarian. We keep up with technological advancements affecting libraries and where possible apply them for the benefit of our users.

In 2005, significant changes were made to the way in which the Turfloop library used its periodical and journal purchasing allocation.

Library staff noticed that many of the journals received were rarely used, the covers still virtually unopened when newer issues replaced them. The least-used periodicals were cut from the subscription lists. At the same time, many publications became available through online databases. Online subscription prices negotiated by the South African National Library and Information Consortium reduced costs still further and increased the range of publications available. It has been possible through these adjustments to divert

Director, around R4-million each year from periodical subscriptions to the purchase of new books. The Medunsa campus library subscribes to about 550 print periodical titles, most of which can be replaced with electronic versions with time.

We facilitate access not only to materials owned but also to information located elsewhere at far away places. Libraries thus serve as conduits and connect users with a global information society. This is done through, among other methods, the 37 subscriptions to online databases and open access journals.

For convenience of users, we plan to enhance access and optimise database usage by creating links that will enable users to search many databases simultaneously.

Users must be able to access the Library catalogue while surfing the popular Google website. We have been and are negotiating for 24/7 and off-campus access to electronic information including the Library Online Public Access Catalogue and to enable users based at the Turfloop campus to access databases and electronic information originally (before the Merger) subscribed to

by Medunsa and vice versa.

We have also started to develop an Electronic Theses and Dissertations Repository, where University of Limpopo theses and dissertations are prepared and processed for online access. The next phase will be to develop an Institutional Repository by uploading all research publications by our university staff and students. This will result in research efforts and output of the

university being locally and globally known and accessed.

With regard to the general underpreparedness of new students enrolling at the main campuses of the University of Limpopo, important progress has been made in recent years. Bearing in mind that most high schools in Limpopo remain seriously underresourced, it should come as no surprise that very many of our new students do not know how to use the libraries. We have a course in information literacy, which is currently a module in the university’s Centre of Academic Excellence bridging courses. Before long this will become available to students interactively online.

But not every student undergoes the bridging course. Our proposal now, therefore, is that information literacy should be compulsory for all first-year students at the beginning of the first semester.

Degree lecturers do complain that there is no time to release students for this purpose, and this is a valid complaint from lecturers responsible for the timely completion of crowded first-year curricula. So our ultimate medium-term aim is to ensure that our course is actually integrated into all first-year programmes – and also to alumni who are independent information seekers and lifelong learners. Should the resources be available, we are prepared to offer this course to high school learners so that they would be encouraged to choose the University of Limpopo as their institutional first choice. Subject librarians have now embarked on offering instruction to masters and doctoral students in extracting

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relevant information from libraries and the web.

It needs to be acknowledged that since the merging of Medunsa with the old University of the North at the beginning of 2005, the co-operation of the Medunsa library staff has been excellent. All staff members have been more than willing to work in co-operation with each other – in spite of staffing shortages and other complicating factors.

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When one looks into the future, it is clear that for the general maintenance of the University of Limpopo as a first-rate teaching and research institution, it will be essential to redesign many of our spatial areas and library facilities.

We’re living and working in the technological age. Our libraries need to reflect that. Turfloop and Medunsa libraries have just over 170 and 153 computers serving 12 000 and 3 910 students. Admittedly, there are the various computer centres whose facilities should be factored in. Even so, the libraries themselves need more. In addition,

we should redesign our spaces to accommodate these technological changes and to make libraries aesthetically inviting. The entrance to the Turfloop library needs refurbishing to create one central service point for user convenience.

We plan to transform our libraries into centres of academic activity by introducing specially demarcated learning or information spaces.

To promote library services generally, we are formulating a comprehensive Communications Plan of which a framework has already been developed. Users are updated and made aware of developments and changes in facilities, collections and services.

Staff members are already members of university committees, and are being trained in using social networking technology like ‘web 2.0’ tools to communicate with students and staff. In addition, we are now proposing that a dedicated library website be established. This should serve as a gateway to our entire stock of books, journals and other periodicals, with sophisticated

search facilities to assist our students to find what they’re looking for.

The libraries receive their budgets from central university coffers. As can be imagined the funds are never enough! In 2009 the budgets for Turfloop and Medunsa were just under R8,7-million and R9-million respectively, while expenditures were R12,3-million and R9,25-million.

Large percentages – 133 percent and 89 percent – of the allocated budgets at Turfloop and Medunsa are spent on developing and facilitating access to collections and services.

It will be seen that to achieve most of our ambitions will require rigorous fundraising. We are prepared to roll up our sleeves because we know that the libraries are of high importance to the institution generally. They are the nerve centres and depositories of knowledge without which a university could not effectively function.

Report of THE (acting) Executive Director,

Marketing and Communications D K Mohuba D K Mohuba studied on the Turfloop campus during the turbulent 1980s. He did a BA degree, majoring in languages and social sciences. A teacher’s diploma followed, and finally he graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree. Thereafter, he taught for some years at the then Modjadji College of Education. In 1994 he returned to Turfloop as a Senior Public Relations Officer and worked in what was known as the Department of Development and Public Affairs. He was appointed Director of Public Relations and Communications in 1996, and has served as the university's spokesperson since then. He was promoted to his present acting position in November 2008.

THE DUTIES FOR which my department is responsible fall into several main categories: communications, events, alumni affairs, student recruitment. I will deal with each in turn, with particular emphasis on the situation as it unfolded during the year under review. Attached to my department are also several support units such as the university printing unit, graphics section, audio visual section, and the staff restaurant.

With regard to communications, the university has several regular publications, a fully functional website, and a media liaison function.

There are four main publications.

UL Witness, which carries on-campus news and appears six times each year. The Dawn, also bi-monthly, carries opinion articles to our external partners, including provincial government departments, provincial schools and alumni.

Limpopo Leader, a high-quality quarterly publication, that serves both internal and external audiences, including national government ministries, national and international funding agencies, and is also available at South African embassies and consulates throughout the world. During 2009, Limpopo Leader entered its sixth year of publication and has proved to be a powerful marketing tool for the university.

The Department of Marketing and Communications also produced, for the first time since the merger, an Annual Report 2008) during the year

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under review, a venture that has proved to be well worth the money spent on its production.

The university’s website, a new creation to combine the old websites of the University of the North and Medunsa, is an indispensable addition to our promotional arsenal, and is also now being usefully used in the field of student enrolments, examination results, and for other administrative and student communication purposes. Our media liaison desk distributed in 2009 around 30 media releases of important achievements and major events on both campuses, as well as fielding numerous media enquiries aimed at the university.

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Events planning and administration constitute an important part of the department’s responsibilities.

A highlight of our activities in this field was undoubtedly the ANC’s 2007 Conference. This placed Turfloop on the map as a worldclass event venue, and the number and variety of on-campus events has steadily increased. In 2009 we hosted, for example, the SACP Special Congress, the Mupangubwe Sports Festival, several church events, and our own Annual Law Week. In addition, Turfloop is the centre for matric marking in Limpopo, and of course we have our own graduations, as well as those of other educational institutions with large student numbers. President Jacob Zuma visited the Turfloop

campus as a guest of one of these 2009 events.

Student recruitment has become an increasingly important part of my department’s duties. The challenge is to find top-quality students from our local schools, particularly to identify those contemplating a career in the sciences. Our methodology revolves around school visitations, with members of my staff initiating such visits in collaboration with the relevant faculties, and also visits by schools to the university campuses. It is worth noting that some rural students have never in their lives seen the inside of a laboratory, so a lot of our work is to detect potential as well as examining actual school achievement. It is also very important that we constantly evaluate our performance in this aspect of our work, and so we are keenly interested in the level of first-year failure rates and other indicators of the quality of students being recruited. It is equally important that our catchment communities have an opportunity to critique our approaches and methods. A recent innovation in this regard is an evaluation form that is distributed in the areas that we target.

The University of the North began conferring degrees in the early 1960s, and Medunsa had reached a similar stage in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The result is that the combined institutions have produced tens of thousands of graduates. (The current annual

number of graduates is around 3 000 or 30 000 over the past decade.) But this has not translated into many thousands of active alumni. On the contrary, the lack of alumni participation in alma mater affairs is a major challenge for all South Africa’s historically disadvantaged institutions. The situation is gradually improving – in 2009 the university produced its first dedicated alumni magazine, On the Move – but there is still a lot of work to be done to inculcate a culture of identification and giving, not only of money but also of time and expertise.

In conclusion, the role of the Department of Marketing and Communications is to be, in highly practical and realistic ways, supportive of the institution as it strives to practise the spirit of its motto: to find solutions for the continent in which we all live and contribute. The University of Limpopo has lived through complex times, when it has been difficult to communicate positively to our various constituencies, and when it has been as difficult to convincingly market a merged institution that seemed to be divided against itself.

But I am personally gratified to see that the majority of our stakeholders are now seeing the merger not as an event but as an ongoing process, and that people on both campuses are beginning to accept the new combined branding that the Department of Marketing and Communications has worked so hard to promote.

HEALTH SCIENCES The Faculty Report

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Statistical details Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Haematology, Hand & Microsurgery, Intensive Care, Internal Medicine, Medical Physics, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Nuclear Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Occupational Medicine, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Otorhinolaryngology (ENT), Paediatrics & Child Health, Paediatric Surgery, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Physiology, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Psychiatry, and Urology.

THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES comprises five Schools: Dentistry, Health Care Sciences, Medicine, Pathology and Public Health.

The School of Dentistry has 11 departments: Community Dentistry, Maxillofacial & Oral Radiology, Maxillofacial & Oral Surgery, Operative Dentistry, Oral Hygiene, Oral Pathology & Oral Biology, Orthodontics, Periodontology & Oral Medicine, Prosthodontics, Stomatological Studies, and Integrated Clinical Dentistry.

The School of Pathology has six departments: Anatomical Pathology, Chemical Pathology, Forensic Pathology, Haematological Pathology & Clinical Haematology, Microbiological Pathology, and Virological Pathology.

The School of Health Care Sciences has six departments on the Medunsa campus and four departments in Turfloop campus. The Medunsa departments are: Human Nutrition & Dietetics with its associated Institute for Human Nutrition, Nursing Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, and Pharmacy. The Turfloop departments are: Medical Science, Nursing Sciences, Optometry, Pharmacy and Public Health. The programme of the department of Public Health is aligned with that of the School of Public Health.

The School of Public Health has five departments on the Medunsa Campus including Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Systems Management & Policy, Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Environmental & Occupational Health.

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schools is indicated by student and staff numbers in 2009, as well as by the number of successful graduates from the same year (but graduating in 2010). The tables below summarise this information:

The School of Medicine has 31 departments: Anaesthesiology, Anatomy, Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Community Health, Dermatology, Diagnostic Radiography, Radiology & Imaging, Family Medicine, Students and graduates School Dentistry

Students

Undergrad degrees

Postgrad degrees Total degrees

% of Students graduating

343

47

9

56

16.3%

Health Care Sciences

1175

150

31

181

15.4%

Medicine

1455

175

42

217

14.9%

58

-

-

0

0.0%

Public Health

139

-

44

44

16.3%

Faculty Total

3170

372

126

498

15.4%

Pathology

Staff and qualifications School Dentistry Health Care Sciences

30

Academic staff

Masters +

% with Masters +

Student numbers

AStaff/pupil ratio

Support staff

65

34

52.3%

343

1:5

13

99

53

53.5%

1175

1:12

17

Medicine

238

192

80.7%

1455

1:6

57

Pathology

44

42

95.5%

58

1:1

48

Public Health

27

24

88.9%

139

1:5

5

Faculty Total

473

345

95.8%

3170

1:9

140

HEALTH SCIENCES Comments from the Executive Dean – Professor Errol Holland Johannesburg-born Professor Errol Holland qualified as a doctor from the University of Cape Town in 1972. He was then awarded a one-year fellowship at the Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC, and completed a second year as a Senior Research Fellow at the Jerome F Holland Research Facility of the American Red Cross, carrying our research on blood platelets. He then returned to the Witwatersrand where he worked at several major hospitals, while at the same time studying for his postgraduate specialist degrees in internal medicine and clinical haematology.

During his distinguished career, he has worked at UCT and Wits, and has held senior positions within the Gauteng Department of Health. He took up his current position at the University of Limpopo on 1 April 2009.

THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES experienced a number of positive changes in the 2009 academic year, which will provide a stable platform for the attainment of excellence in our teaching, service learning, research and community engagement that we strive for.

These include:  The appointment of the DVC and Campus Principal as well as the Executive Dean.  More than twice the number of academic staff that were lost due to resignations and retirement were added to the staff structure.  New categories of staff were added, which will enrich the academic programmes, including those for Curriculum Development, Clinical Skills Training, Ethics Training, and Biostatistics.

These staff members, together with the Practice of Medicine staff, the Community Engagement office and the Directors of Schools, are included in the newly established Centre for Health Sciences Education, which will serve all programmes of the Faculty. The Centre is expected to become the command base for the Faculty where a cohesive strategic approach towards Health Sciences training is developed.

- An extended degree for the MBChB programme was planned for introduction in 2010, which is aimed at improving the performance of post-secondary school entrants during the first three years of the programme. If successful, it is the intention of Faculty to establish similar programmes for all professional degrees.

- Through the special Department of Higher Education and Training grants, the Faculty has initiated an infrastructure for effective electronic teaching and learning programmes as well as a structured approach to tracking and supporting students experiencing difficulties in coping with the rigours of university life.

- The MBChB curriculum has introduced community-based service learning in each of the first four years of the programme, which, together with the existing service learning programmes in the other Faculty programmes, will provide the basis for a comprehensive health science approach to community engagement.

- All the training programmes are accredited, indicating that all systems are in place for improved outcomes over the next three years.

- The integration of the Medunsa campus with the Turfloop campus, which remains one of the Faculty’s priorities. This is a single institution with common goals and a joint mission to serve the vulnerable. Medunsa has every reason to be proud of being part of the Polokwane initiative.

Key challenges The Faculty is now firmly positioned to constructively embrace the two greatest and most exciting challenges of our time.

The first is establishing an enriched training platform, spanning two provinces, with two Medical Schools.

31

Professor Errol Holland

I believe that these two training platforms have the potential to become world leaders in developmental medicine and the institution of choice for talented teachers and gifted students, particularly those with noble ideals to serve the most vulnerable. The commitment by the National Department of Health to build a new tertiary hospital adjoining the new Medical School in Polokwane and a new Dr George Mukhari Hospital will be a major historical achievement for the region.

The second challenge facing our Faculty is establishing modern, fullyequipped facilities in communities to serve as a learning basis for undergraduate training and to foster a structured postgraduate training and needs-based research programme. This scientific approach to development should address the challenges faced by the communities we serve.

Student support Students are experiencing difficulty in coping with their studies mainly in the first two years. This is confirmatory evidence of the poor secondary school preparation with which these students enter university.

32

A structured approach to supporting students in difficulty has been instituted. It aims at the early identification of such students (following on their first assessments) and the areas of support required, monitoring the support provided and the outcome of the support provided. For this purpose, a Faculty council, comprising the Directors of

Schools, the individuals within the Schools delegated to co-ordinate these functions, the Director of the Centre for Academic Excellence and the heads of the support providers have been appointed to oversee this initiative.

The mentor programme is one of the foremost strategies in addressing this matter. Special efforts have been introduced to prepare mentors for the important role they are playing. Everything is being done to ensure that their efforts are recognised and valued throughout the university community.

However, it is apparent that the majority of the students require additional training. The Extended Degree Programme for the MBChB degree was planned in 2009 and launched in 2010, consisting of foundation provision in the key disciplines to be encountered in the first three years of the standard programme. There is great expectation that this intervention will improve the throughput rate for the qualification.

The planning for the introduction of similar programmes for the other Health Science degrees will proceed once the programme has been assessed at the end of 2010, in terms of its efficacy and challenges to be addressed.

The appointment of additional staff for these programmes is mandatory.

Publication rate A further challenge for the Faculty is clearly evident in the research statistics for the year. Despite the

wealth of research activity within all Schools and the enormous level of participation of staff in national and international conferences, seminars and workshops, the publication rate is well below the national Department of Higher Education and Training standard ratio of 1.0.

We need strong initiatives to rectify this, through the use of the Research Development and the Improving Graduate Throughput grants, as well as funding available from the Medical Research Council to acquire the necessary infrastructure for an effective strategy to channel these academic activities towards scientific publications. It is this approach that will realise the important aim of providing national leadership for the transformation of the academic sector towards the resolution of the scourge of inequity that characterises our society, in keeping with the vision and mission of UL. Having said that, there are some individuals within various Faculty departments who continue to be published, and while all of them cannot be listed by name, a few are worth mentioning.

Dr Hendrick Motswaledi, who heads up the Department of Dermatology, had two articles published in 2009; one in South African Family Practice, the other in an international journal.

The research output of this department in total is commendable given the small size; four articles were published in non-subsidised journals; four papers were read at national congresses and nine posters were presented by Registrars

at the Intervarsity meetings involving University of Limpopo and the University of Pretoria. The department also hosted a Dermatopathology workshop with Professor H Francois Jordaan from the University of Stellenbosch.

Motswaledi is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Dermatology and has been a reviewer of several journals.

Professor Gboyega A Ogunbanjo, head of the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, has ensured that this department has been highly productive over the past few years. Sixteen papers were published in subsidised journals and seven presentations were given at conferences. Ogunbanjo is the Associate Editor of South African Family Practice journal, Editor in Chief of the African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, and is also a Board Member of two other medical journals. Meanwhile, the department is working hard to improve the research capacity development of emerging academic staff members.

Emeritus Professor Rob Stegmann of the Ophthalmology Department has an international reputation as an innovative researcher and creator of new ophthalmological operations. This reputation is continuing.

A research article was published in an international German journal.

Stegmann contributed three papers at international congresses and Dr Jan Olivier presented two posters.

Stegmann is a member of the International Editorial Board of the European Society of Cataract and Refraction Surgeons. The depart-

ment also participated in the World Sight Day and held a Cataract Surgery Week where extra surgery was performed. Stegmann was also nominated for the Bressler Prize in Vision Science 2010.

Research awards One of the departments that achieved significant awards for research in 2009 was the School of Pathology’s Department of Virology.

HOD Professor Jeffrey Mphahlele received a prize for ‘Researcher with Largest External Grants in the School of Pathology’ at the 5th University of Limpopo PPS Academic Day. Pieter Bos received the Abbott Award for innovative research and development in the field of Virology.

Professor Maphoshane Nchabeleng’s achievements include ongoing collaboration with several field sites, researchers and industry on HIV vaccine development and clinical trials.

International achievements In the international arena, several noteworthy achievements by departments and individual members of the Faculty must be mentioned.

Professor Pauline Kuzwayo of the School of Health Care Sciences’ Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Medunsa completed her second term of office in 2009 on the Board of Trustees of the Centro Internacional De La Papa, (International Potato Centre). She was one of 15 members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and she was elected Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chairperson of the Nomination and Governance Com-

33

mittee. Apart from several other positions that she holds, Kuzwayo was also appointed to the African Medical Research Foundation South Africa’s (AMREF - SA) Board of Directors in October 2009.

Professor T Alfred Ramukumba of the Department of Occupational Therapy is the Vice-Chairperson of the HPCSA OT Professional Board; Chairperson of the Occupational Therapy African Regional Group; and Education and Research Programme Co-ordinator of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.

Ms Monika Zweygarth of Medunsa’s Department of Pharmacy served as a rapporteur at meetings of the Technical Advisory Group to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland, regarding the review of the Quality Assurance Policy for pharmaceutical products.

From the School of Medicine’s Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Professor Francois de Villiers’ biography was printed in the Marquis Who’s Who in the World as well as in the Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care. De Villiers also completed his Fellowship with SA Faimer Regional Institute.

34

The MRC Diarrhoeal Pathogens Research Unit (MRCDPRU) was established in 1996 to address a national and continental disease need that was under-researched in Africa – rotavirus. It has been appointed and is funded by WHO and PATH as the Regional Rotavirus Reference Laboratory for basic

science, surveillance and burden of disease studies, and for technical support to other African laboratories conducting rotavirus research and surveillance.

Community activity Community engagement continues to be an important focus for the Faculty, and while there is ongoing activity in most departments, some projects require special mention.

The School of Dentistry sent 32 senior dental students to join the medical team on the Phelophepa Health Train (a 16-coach Transnet train that takes modern health services to South Africans in rural areas) for seven weeks in August and September, for two-week sessions. The students were given an opportunity to provide comprehensive oral health services, including screening and preventive care, to outlying communities in Mpumalanga, including Malelane, Mkhuhlu, Karino, Sabie, Burgersfort, Delmas, Bethal and Leandra. The response from the Phelophepa staff and our students was extremely encouraging, and the School will engage in this initiative in the coming years. The Phelophepa exercise provides an excellent outlet for service learning.

Dental School news For the School of Dentistry, the 2009 academic year was generally successful, with some areas requiring specific attention. There is overall buy-in by the academics of our hybrid curriculum which has components of problem-based, casebased and teacher-centred approaches, especially with the

Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme. All programmes within the School are accredited.

A few of the School’s academics received invitations as guest speakers or presented their research findings at international conferences in countries that included Italy, Thailand, Kenya and Finland, among others. The World Congress on Preventive Dentistry was held in Phuket (Thailand) and Professor Tshepo Gugushe, Director of the School of Dentistry, was invited as one of the guest lecturers. Another highlight is that Gugushe was appointed to the editorial board of the European Journal of Dental Education as well as being a board member of the International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations (IFDEA).

Even though the publication output dropped in 2009 compared to 2008, the scholarship of research is still well sustained, with several peerreviewed publications in both national and international journals.

The DoE’s Health Sciences Review Budget assisted in getting new staff and refurbishing some parts of the building, and plans are under way to upgrade the Phantom Head Laboratory to consolidate the School’s experiential learning strategies and thus improve the clinical competencies of its graduates.

The School of Dentistry’s commitment to community engagement is unquestionable. It has well-established community-based clinics that are utilised by Dentistry students for their service-learning

block. The reflective journals that flow from these activities have tremendous potential for qualitative research as well as inculcating the ethos of participatory action research.

In conclusion The achievements are measurable, and the challenges that still lie ahead if the Faculty of Health Sciences is to benchmark itself against some of the best medical schools in the world are real. But, in the words of Sir Winston Churchill: ‘Every day you make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an everlengthening, ever-ascending, everimproving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey.

But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.’

35

HUMANITIES The Faculty Report

36

Statistical details

The various faculty schools comprise the following departments:

 School of Education has five departments: Languages and Social Sciences Education; Educational Management; Educational Studies; Maths, Science and Technology Education; and Community and Continuing Education.  School of Social Sciences has seven departments: Anthropology and Archaeology; Criminology and Criminal Justice; History and Folklore Studies; Philosophy and Political Science; Psychology; Social Work; and Sociology.

 School of Languages and Communication Studies has six departments: African Languages; English and Foreign Languages; Fine and Performing Arts; Information Studies; Linguistics, Translation and Interpreting Studies; Media Studies and Communication.

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schools is indicated by student and staff numbers in 2009, as well as by the number of successful graduates from the same year (but actually graduating in 2010). The tables below summarise this information:

The Faculty of Humanities comprises three schools: the School of Languages and Communication Studies on the Turfloop campus; the School of Education on the Turfloop campus; and the School of Social Sciences on the Turfloop campus with some activity, notably in psychology, also taking place on the Ga-Rankuwa campus.

Students and graduates School

FTstudents

Undergrad degrees

Postgrad degrees

Total degrees

% of Students graduating

Education

537

102

102

204

38%

Languages & Communication Studies

696

98

57

155

22%

Social Sciences

1411

166

49

215

15%

Faculty Total

2644

366

208

574

22%

Staff and qualifications School

FT academic staff

Masters +

% with Masters +

AStaff/pupil ratio

Support staff

Education

31

26

84%

1:17

10

Languages & Communication Studies

44

29

66%

1:16

8

Social Sciences

47

29

62%

1:30

6

122

84

69%

1:22

24

Faculty Total

37

HUMANITIES Comments from the Executive Dean – Professor Nhlanhla Maake Professor Nhlanhla Maake joined the University of Limpopo after occupying lecturing and professorial positions at the Universities of London, the Witwatersrand and Pretoria. He also served as campus principal of the Sebokeng Campus of Vista University and Director in the office of the Campus Rector at the Vaal Triangle campus of North-West University. In the late 1980s he was invited by one of Britain’s most renowned Shakespearean scholars to present seminars at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University.

He has also received fellowships from the British Council, Aarhus University in Denmark, Yale in the USA, and the universities of Western Cape and the Witwatersrand. He is a National Research Foundation rated scholar.

38

THE 2009 ACADEMIC YEAR can be characterised as the year of energetic activities, as the Faculty of Humanities endeavoured to deliver on the Higher Education mandate of teaching, research, community engagement and the UL Strategic Plan (2010 – 2013). The partnerships of the faculty continued with several externally funded projects, endowed by the SANPAD, NRF, Ford Foundation, Unicef (Child Friendly Schools Project), DoE and LINK. Research and supervision of postgraduate students resulted in the publication of several accredited articles, peer reviewed articles, chapters in books, graduation of several Master’s students by -research and course work and two (Spring, 2009) and five (Winter, 2010) PhDs. The annual Spring Lectures and three other conferences were organised internally, the first being the flagship conference of the faculty, which brings together experienced and emerging researchers to present their works.

The Annual Cultural Festival, staged under the auspices of the Performance Arts Centre, involved more than two hundred cultural groups from the university’s catchment in the province and once again brought a wide range of artists to the campus to showcase their talents. It opened with great fanfare and closed with a grand finale.

Groups that excelled went away with prizes. There could have been no better way to celebrate the advent of spring.

The prolific presentation of papers by staff members cannot go without commendable mention. However, the translation of the papers into

accredited and peer reviewed articles has yet to be realised.

Professor E Ramani and Professor R N Madadzhe deserve special mention for their publications and success rate in terms of conference paper presentations and supervision of postgraduate students. During the course of 2009 Prof Makalela visited Belgium and the United States to establish new and strengthen existing research partnerships.

Several other members of staff distinguished themselves through establishment of partnerships and community engagement projects.

One of the flagship community projects was the teaching of spoken French to children of the surrounding communities at Ratang Bana Centre by our erstwhile French Lecturer, Ms Nxumalo.

A memorandum of understanding was signed with the National Film and Video Foundation and several members of the academic staff established and continued with new and old collaborative ventures with peers in other institutions; at home with Mangosuthu University of Technology, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, Alliance Française and Goethe Institute; and abroad with the Universities of Groningen, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Utrecht in the Netherlands, Universities of Washington and Texas in the US. The partnership between the Provincial Department of Education and the School of Education is growing steadily through the provision of the Advanced Certificate in Education to practising educators, school principals and deputies.

The curriculum for the Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (BIKS) was concluded by the Faculty of Humanities, in collaboration with the North-West University, University of Venda, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), National Indigenous Knowledge Office (NIKSO), South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the NRF. The hub for the IKS Centre of Excellence will be established at North-West University, and in 2010 UL’s Faculty of Humanities is preparing to establish one of three satellite IKS Centres. Preparation of module and course material will begin in 2010 and the commencement of the BIKS is scheduled for 2011.

The highlight of students’ activities in 2009 was the performance of Zodiac, a team of five students of the Faculty of Humanities, who reached the initial stage of the Sanlam Creativity for Progress Challenge which was held in May 2009, on the theme: ‘Investing in Rural Sustainability.’ They won the intra-varsity competition and proceeded to the intervarsity semifinals, where they emerged as one of four university teams, out of ten, which made it to the final presentations in Cape Town in September. Although they did not bring the first prize home, the team acquitted themselves with distinction. In this regard commendation is due to them for the diligence that they invested in the research and preparation of their portfolio and presentation. The indefatigable Mr Nagel deserves special credit for mentoring them.

On the down side, the faculty lost two established and well published researchers, Professor Idemudia and Professor Madu (School of Social Sciences), and three Senior Lecturers, Dr Kanjere (School of Education), Dr Khoboli and Dr Efthimiadis-Keith. Two of these scholars were recruited by other universities and one by the private sector. This has exacerbated the chronic dearth of postgraduate student supervisors, especially at Doctoral level. This problem is not parochial but universal to the institution, and can only be resolved through an integrated recruitment, selection and talent retention strategy. It is noted that the university is currently working on this. It is also with relief that the faculty acknowledges the establishment of an Organisational Development Division within the Human Resources Directorate and is looking forward towards its contribution in staff development.

The contribution of all the three Directors of School, Professors Madadzhe, Sithole and Dr Rampedi of the Schools of Education, Languages and Communications Studies and Social Sciences respectively, all Heads of Department, members of the academic and support staff is acknowledged with gratitude. Without their commitment the faculty would not have reached the milestones which mark our progress towards improving performance and rates of success.

There is an abundance of room for improvement but we are gradually advancing towards the high-water mark.

39

MANAGEMENT & LAW The Faculty Report

40

Statistical details The Faculty of Management and Law comprises three schools: the School of Economics and Management on the Turfloop campus; the School of Law on the Turfloop campus; and the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership situated at Edupark in Polokwane.

The various faculty schools comprise the following departments:  School of Economics and Management has five departments: Accounting and Auditing; Business Management; Economics; Public Administration; and Development Studies.  School of Law has five departments: Legal Pluralism and Jurisprudence; Criminal Law and Procedure; Mercantile

and Labour Law; Public Law; and a Legal Aid Clinic.  Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership has four departments: Master of Business Administration; Master of Public Administration; Master of Development Studies; and the Development Facilitation and Training Institute (DevFTI).

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schools is indicated by student and staff numbers in 2009, as well as by the number of successful graduates from the same year (but actually graduating in 2010). The tables below summarise this information:

Students and graduates School

Students

Undergrad degrees

Postgrad degrees

Total degrees

% of Students graduating

Economics & Management

2624

444

62

506

19

Law

1353

157

2

159

12

Graduate School of Leadership Faculty Total

237

-

14

14

6

4214

601

78

679

37

Staff and qualifications School Economics & Management

Academic staff 58

Masters +

% with Masters AStaff/pupil + ratio

Support staff

21

36%

1:72

9

Law

31

23

74%

1:32

10

Graduate School of Leadership

46

14

30%

1:19

6

135

58

43%

1:48

25

Faculty Total

41

MANAGEMENT & LAW Comments from the Executive Dean – Professor Obeng Mireku Ghanaian-born Professor Obeng Mireku was educated in his home country and in Liberia, ultimately studying law.

He was exposed early to South African politics when, in 1976, his university accepted a sizeable number of students escaping from the post-Soweto repressions. He first came to the country in 1985, teaching law at Fort Hare, Venda and then the University of the North.

He holds a Doctor of Laws cum laude from the University of Hanover in Germany, where he specialised in constitutional and human rights law.

42

AS IN PREVIOUS years, the Faculty of Management and Law was successful in executing its core mandate despite the challenge posed by an increase in student numbers without a corresponding increase in academic staff complement. With 60 academic staff members, 4214 students and a full-time staff-student ratio of 1:70, the faculty had one of the highest staff:student ratios at the university in 2009. Yet a lot of activities took place during the reporting year which are detailed in the various school reports. What can be highlighted though are three notable events – the Thuthuka Project, Law Week Conference and the short courses in management offered to public servants in Limpopo Province.

Thuthuka Project The University of Limpopo Thuthuka Project started in 2004 with three key objectives:  to build capacity at UL towards obtaining the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) accreditation for the UL academic programme in accountancy;  to identify and nurture talent from the rural areas of Limpopo and provide these students with a quality education and an opportunity to qualify as Chartered Accountants (CAs); and  to provide students with workplace readiness training with a view to enchancing their employability after graduation.

During the formative period of the project, there were many teething problems until 2008 when SAICA and the University Management put

in place a robust recovery plan for rolling out the project in a more efficient manner. The year 2009 was used to implement the recovery plan with a focus on the subvention of salaries of all chartered accountants and other accounting professionals among the teaching staff. Besides, the university appointed Professor Cosmas Ambe as the Nedbank Chair in Accountancy during the middle of 2009 to drive the project and provide strategic leadership for growth in the department.

The recovery plan has a life span of two years with SAICA accreditation targeted to be achieved by the end of 2011. The change control has resulted in the extension of the Thuthuka Project up to 2011 with an additional cash injection from the Department of Higher Education and Training for the year 2011.

During the year under review, 350 students registered for the programme. All these students were fully funded by the Thuthuka Project at UL. Out of the 35 students who successfully graduated with the B Compt degree in 2009, 15 proceeded to the University of Johannesburg for further enrolment into the 2010 CTA professional programme. There is enormous talent among the B Compt students and it will benefit the country to support as many of these students as possible towards their qualification as CAs – an extremely scare skill in the South African economy.

Law Week Conference The Law Week Conference took place from 28-29 September 2009

and was well attended by students, staff and legal practitioners from many parts of the country. Based on a central theme of 'Gender, Law and Social Transformation', this conference was the outcome of collaboration among the UL School of Law, four national and international institutions of higher learning as well as the national Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. One of the most prominent guests was South African Professor Penelope Andrews of Valparaiso University in the American state of Indiana. Funding for the conference was largely provided by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The Honourable Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr. A Nel, represented the national government and participated in the conference deliberations for two long days.

Short courses in management During 2009, the TGSL introduced a number of certificate programmes in management through specially

designed short courses for its clients drawn mainly from provincial, national and municipal government officials as well as business and civil society organisations. The launch of these short courses was in addition to the traditional MBA, MPA and MDev programmes it has been offering over the years.

The expansion of its outreach activities through short courses and the Master's degree programmes resulted in the award of Three Palms from Eduniversal as an excellent business school in South Africa.

With the Three Palms rating, TGSL is placed in the middle category of business schools in the country.

Another major activity undertaken in 2009 was the marketing of the TGSL short courses beyond the Limpopo province by showcasing these programmes in Nelspruit, which resulted in many clients from Mpumalanga province coming to register for short courses at TGSL in 2010.

43

SCIENCE & AGRICULTURE The Faculty Report

44

Statistical details The Faculty of Science and Agriculture comprises four schools: the School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on the Turfloop campus; and the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences; the School of Molecular and Life Sciences; and the School of Physical and Mineral Sciences, straddling both the Turfloop and Medunsa campuses of the university. (See the Executive Dean’s report for details of a new departmental arrangement as it straddles the two campuses.)

The various faculty schools comprise the following departments:  School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has five departments: Agricultural Economics and Animal Production; Agricultural Extension; Aquaculture Research Unit; Geography and Environmental Studies; and Soil Science, Plant Production and Agricultural Engineering.

 School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences has three departments: Mathematics and Applied Mathematics; Computer Science; and Statistics and Operations Research.  School of Molecular and Life Sciences has three departments: Biodiversity; Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology; and Physiology and Environmental Health.  School of Physical and Mineral Sciences has two departments: Chemistry; and Physics and Geology, which houses the Materials Modelling Centre and the Science Centre.

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schools are indicated by student and staff numbers in 2009, as well as by the number of successful graduates from the same year (but actually graduating in 2010). The tables below summarise this information:

Students and graduates School

Students

Undergrad degrees

Postgrad degrees

Total degrees

% of Students graduating

Agriculture & Environmental Sciences

887

105

118

223

25

Mathematical & Computer Sciences

699

73

25

98

14

Molecular & Life Sciences

682

108

47

155

23

Physical & Mineral Sciences

466

120

17

137

29

Science & Agriculture

561

58

0

58

10

3295

464

207

671

20

Faculty Total Staff and qualifications School

Academic staff

Masters +

% with Masters +

Astaff/student ratio

Agriculture & Environmental Sciences

40

16

40

1:22

Mathematical & Computer Sciences

50

8

16

1: 14

Molecular & Life Sciences

52

27

52

1: 13

Physical & Mineral Sciences

30

12

40

1: 16

172

63

37

1:19

Faculty Total

Support staff

36

45

SCIENCE & AGRICULTURE Comments from the Executive Dean – Professor Hlengani Siweya Professor Hlengani Siweya was born in the old homeland of Gazankulu, matriculating from the Giyani High School with several distinctions in the late 70s. Distinctions also characterised his first degree, a BSc (Paed).

Siweya spent a year at the University of Sussex in southern England, doing a Masters in Point-free Topology. By 1993 he had a second Masters from Unisa in Categorical Topology. His doctoral degree followed through the University of DurbanWestville in 1999 in Pointfree Topology. He has occupied his current position since the beginning of the year under review.

46

THE YEAR 2009 saw some fundamental changes with regard to the position of various departments in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture. Most important of these related to the various sciences being taught to health professionals in training at Medunsa. In terms of the merger, these departments fell under the umbrella of the largely Turfloop-based faculty. But this meant that Faculty Board meetings had to alternate between the two campuses, a costly exercise in terms of time and money. Our solution has been to place the two newly consolidated Medunsa-based departments concerned – the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Mathematical and Physical Sciences – under the line-management control of the Medunsa School of Pathology and Preclinical Sciences, while overarching functional or academic guidance remains with the faculty at Turfloop.

Motivated by the same need to minimise costs and to achieve critical mass, two Turfloop departments have been combined into a single department, namely Agricultural Economics and Animal Production.

At the same time, a few name changes have occurred. For example, the school of Computational and Mathematical Sciences has been renamed the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences; and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Mathematics has changed to the more logical name Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Geology has reappeared on the faculty curriculum, and has been paired with Physics in a combined department.

There have been challenges for me during my first full year as Executive Dean, and there have been encouraging successes.

The major challenges have occurred when I have tried to drive processes and changes within strict time frames and when these have broken down or been thwarted for various reasons within the faculty. My highest priority is faculty unity, and I think we are making headway in this regard. Most importantly, perhaps, is that School Directors must actively champion the changes and improvements being made. But equally important is that everyone must adhere to the university rules and regulations by which our faculty is governed. Some staff members continue to cling to wrong practices, never having been told before that they are unacceptable, but I am certain that perseverance will win the day.

In spite of some difficulties in this direction, they are far outweighed by the successes we have achieved.

The most important of these relate to staff increases and community engagement.

To counteract the chronic understaffing in various sectors within the faculty, we have been successful in creating more than 15 new positions, although not all of them had been filled by the end of 2009. Most of these positions were created in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences. Considerable strides have also been made with regard to the faculty’s community-engagement performance. The activities of the Nguni Cattle Project, the Centre for

Rural Community Empowerment, and the interaction of Professor C S Dannhauser with Mozambican and Zambian farmers are noted and appreciated. But what was lacking in the faculty was a more synchronised approach. To this end, a Community Engagement Coordinating Committee with a dedicated budget has been established.

One of the immediate results will be a renewal and enlargement of the adopt-a-school project where faculty lecturers go out to selected schools to teach mathematics, computer sciences, mathematical statistics, physics, chemistry, life sciences, geography and the agricultural sciences.

The research activities of the faculty require special mention. These activities are reflected by 74 national, 20 international and 11 local conference presentations Importantly, there were 45 SAPSE publications, nine completed PhDs and 18 Masters studies. These are commendable statistics, but they yield a research output figure of only 0.34 per academic, which is substantially below the national norm of 1.25 per academic. However, with the current increase in research projects and a few colleagues on the verge of completing their doctoral studies, it is envisaged that the faculty’s research output will have increased in our next report.

One of the greatest challenges facing the faculty is the rising number of students at the first and second-year levels. This is due to the under-preparedness of learners inherited from the school system and the resultant failure rates at these early levels. In response, the

faculty has embarked on a number of initiatives that have been made possible through the Department of Education Improvement of Graduate Throughput Project.

There are several areas of real excellence within the faculty that deserve special mentions in this Annual Report.

The first is the faculty’s Science Centre. Thanks to a highly motivated staff under the leadership of Mrs A Potgieter, the centre attracted more than a million rands from various sources in 2009, and directly interacted with more than 16 000 people from all over the province.

The centre was visited by schoolchildren throughout the year, and regular science awareness events in shopping malls attracted wide attention. Maths and science teacher development courses were also well attended. Of special significance was the centre’s involvement in the National Science Week, which raised around R200 000 and brought over 4 000 participants and visitors onto the Turfloop campus and into the Faculty of Science and Agriculture.

The Materials Modelling Centre, already famous for the pioneering work on batteries conducted by Professor Phuti Ngoepe, has once again found itself in the news. This time it’s because the centre has produced one of the few black women PhD physicists in South Africa. Dr Rapela Maphanga, although young in years, is already a senior researcher in the field of computational modelling, particularly for electrolytic manganese dioxide. South Africa is the largest

47

supplier of raw manganese in the world, and Maphanga’s work will undoubtedly have an impact in various related industries.

Two other centres of excellence are the faculty’s Aquaculture Research Unit and the Centre for Rural Community Empowerment. The former must be commended for its high output of Honours students. The latter centre has certainly lived up to its avowed intention of empowering.

Their work in various rural villages around the Turfloop campus is relevant and generally excellent.

My first year as Executive Dean has largely been spent in understanding the status quo, in settling in, and in putting workable and efficient systems in place. Now I look forward to a year of strategic endeavours. I would like in the broadest and most positive sense to provide for the faculty by, among others, creating space and opportunities for everyone to optimise their potential.

The faculty needs nurturing and support to enable it to flower with really positive results. More specif-

48

ically, I have a list of priorities that are demanding my immediate attention. These priorities are:  To actively market the faculty, not only to talented school leavers and others as a good place to study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, but also as a comprehensive scientific facility that is capable of powerful research, research and exchange collaborations with other universities, as well as with local and international funding organisations.  To seriously pursue fundraising to further develop the facilities and capabilities of the faculty, in particular to develop more ‘thirdstream income’ opportunities by forging relationships with big business, not least the mining houses active in Limpopo, and state agencies in need of our teaching and research expertise.  To pay special attention to our fledgling Geology programme.

Now that it has been established, it requires support if it is to grow.

And it must grow – if the university is to respond adequately to the

Limpopo Employment, Growth and Development Plan 2009 – 2014, one crucially important leg of which is to exploit the vast mineral resources in Limpopo.  To review the content of the various science curricula, particularly those applicable to the early years of our undergraduate degrees, with a view to introducing elements from the Humanities, such as economics and project management, and even some history, philosophy and literature. The idea is to produce more rounded graduates who are able more readily to understand the human context of their specialities.  To concentrate on staff development. There are two reasons for this. The first is to boost morale and commitment to excellence.

The second is to improve graduate throughput rates, as well as the research output of the faculty.

It plans to assist those staff members registered for doctorates to complete their studies within the next two years, in other words by 2012.

RESEARCH ROUNDUP

49

RESEARCH ROUNDUP Professor Rachmond Howard Professor Rachmond Howard was born in 1965 and grew up in the small town of Piet Retief in Mpumalanga. After attending schools in Middelburg and Pretoria, he completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees at the universities of Cape Town and Western Cape respectively. He studied for his doctorate in biochemistry and applied molecular biology at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and he joined the staff of the University of the North (now Limpopo) in 1992. He was appointed to his present position – the Director of Research Development and Administration – early in 2009.

50

I WISH TO begin this report with a quotation from another scientific academic and researcher, H E Stocher. He remarks that ‘research teaches a man to admit he is wrong and to be proud of the fact that he does so, rather than try with all his energy to defend an unsound plan because he is afraid that admission of error is a confession of weakness when rather it is a sign of strength’.

Guided by this sort of thinking, what follows is a critical and frank report of the university’s standing and performance in research for 2009.

Who is doing the research?

Taking as a definition of a researcher (established by the HSRC) as someone who spends five percent or more of their working time on research, but excluding students, the University of Limpopo has 575 researchers on its staff, 40 percent of whom are female, and 60 percent male. The qualifications breakdown of the researchers is as follows: 22 percent have doctorates, 49 percent hold Masters degrees, 15 percent have Honours degrees, while the balance are undergraduates or of unknown educational status.

The racial breakdown is 67 percent African, 24 percent white, eight percent Indian and one percent Coloured.

Out of the total number of researchers on both campuses, only eight are NRF rated. The National Research Foundation has six main rating levels, each with three subratings. The university’s highest rated researcher is the physicist Professor Phuti Ngoepe who is rated at the C1 level. Six other researchers

– three in the Faculty of Humanities and three in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture – have been rated at C3 level, while the eighth, also from Science and Agriculture has been rated Y2. Of these rated researchers, one resigned and another retired at the end of 2009.

The institution is proud of its NRFrated researchers, but there are too few of them. The university has a number of established researchers who need assistance to get rated. In addition, another cohort of researchers is classed in the emerging researcher category. These groups will require focused attention, as will those academics who are supposed to be doing research but who are currently inactive.

Finances for research The total research funding that flowed in 2009 into the university was R17,37-million, R5,5-million being used at Medunsa and R11,87million at Turfloop. The major provider of this support was the NRF, with other state funding agencies such as the Medical Research Council adding their contributions. Much smaller amounts came from local and provincial government departments and from the private sector, while foreign donors contributed around R2,8million.

The overall amount of R17,37million seems to have reduced by comparison with figures released a few years ago, but it is not clear whether the institution’s extremely low 2009 allocation for research is

not the result of inadequate budgetary and reporting systems.

Major research areas Nevertheless, university researchers have been busy in a number of areas. Both campuses of the university boast research centres or units staffed by researchers of international stature. Here are a few examples.  On the Medunsa campus: - South African Vaccination and Immunisation Centre - Diarrhoeal Pathogens Research Unit - Pharmacovigilance Centre, one of only two centres in the world that focus exclusively on policy research for HIV/Aids treatment - Medunsa Clinical Research Unit  On the Turfloop campus: - Demographic Surveillance Site at Dikgale, which is part of the International Network of field sites for the continuous Demographic Evaluation of Populations and their Health (INDEPTH) - Language Research Development Centre - Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Knowledge Systems - Limpopo Agro-food processing Technology Station, one of 13 centres sponsored by the national Department of Science and Technology - Centre for Rural Community Empowerment - Nguni Cattle Breeding Programme - Indigenous Chicken Breeding

and Conservation Programme - Aquaculture Research Unit - Materials Modelling Centre, housing the Chair for the Computational Modelling of Materials - Unesco Biotechnology Chair - GIS and Aerial Surveillance Unit - Electron Microscope Unit - Syferkuil Experimental Farm - Telkon Centre for Speech Technology - UL-SAB Microbrewer Brewery  On both campuses: - Natural Products Research Programme - Programme for Institutional Co-operation: Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (Belgium) and the University of Limpopo.

A multimillion rand, multidisciplinary research programme with overseas partners.

Most of the university’s research is consistent with with its vision and mission as far as addressing real problems and developmental needs in southern Africa. A second encouraging fact is that most major research is in the sciences, which is consistent with the post-1994 government emphasis on science and technology. But the downside of this trend is that very little major research is being conducted in the Faculty of Humanities or that of Management and Law. A concerted effort needs to be made to reshape the social sciences research agenda into more specific niche areas aligned with national needs.

Speaking generally, it is clear from the faculty reports and from observations made in the IOP that

51

publishable form. There are also a considerable number of conference attendances where our attendees make no presentations. Every effort should be made to maximise the effectiveness of the substantial financial outlay that the university makes for conferences.

there are too many small and fragmented research programmes. There is certainly a need for the university to restructure its efforts into a few strategically selected directions in which we have critical mass.

Research outputs The university’s researchers continued in 2009 to be active in attending and hosting conferences and in producing publications. A total of 145 subsidised (accredited) publications and 54 non-subsidised publications were produced. In addition, a total of 374 presentations were made at 419 conferences either attended or hosted by University of Limpopo researchers. In order to increase the output of our subsidised publications, researchers are being urged to convert their conference presentations (whether in the form of oral presentations or posters) into

The university continues to attract a large number of postgraduate students, most at honours and masters level, and in recent years with a noticeable shift to the sciences. While the postgraduate enrolment is within the targeted above-20-percent of total student enrolment, the throughput rate of postgraduate students is just below 16 percent, a success rate that has declined marginally in all four faculties from a high in 2007.

The table below gives details of the 2009 situation.

Total of post-graduate students for 2009 Faculty

Doctoral

Masters

Total

Health Sciences

61

737

216

1015

Humanities

27

335

708

1071

4

361

148

513

Management & Law

47

232

325

603

139

1665

1397

3202

Science and Agriculture Total

Challenges The University of Limpopo does not yet have the tools to measure the challenges that might inhibit research activity. Nevertheless it is important to attempt to highlight some of these so that remedial action can be taken.

The main areas of concern are reflected in the faculty reports in roughly the following descending order:  Lack of adequate incentives to do research  Burdensome teaching and administrative workloads  Lack of research finances  Understaffing of departments  A poor research culture in the institution  High attrition rate of staff  Delays in the processing of research proposals

52

Honours

Collaborations and linkages The university enjoys numerous national and international research partnerships, four of the most important of which are highlighted hereunder:

 In 2009 the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the university entered into an overarching agreement that covered existing and future research collaborations. Importantly, the two institutions have set up a joint steering committee to focus on strategic research areas of mutual interest. Some of the advantages of this arrangement were that university researchers would have access to hi-tech facilities at the CSIR, and that CSIR staff could be used as research co-supervisors, and as research associates and fellows at the university.  The university and Kansas State University (KSU) have signed a memorandum of understanding on collaborative research relating to rural economic development programmes and initiatives in Limpopo province. These include a Nguni Cattle Project and the establishment of a KSU International Beef Cattle Institute; and the setting up of joint research sites to explore the habitat and nutrition impacts on rural and commercial livestock management.

 A comprehensive partnership between the University of Limpopo and the Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (VLIR), approved at the end of 2009, will see collaborations with several Belgian universities in eight main areas of research: optimising of ICT and GIS services and facilities; rural communities and global change; multiple literacies; disease management in a rural context; water systems; food security within climate change; public health, infectious diseases; and public health intervention research.  Towards the end of 2009, the university signed an agreement with the CSIR for the establishment of a hi-tech Centre for Spatial Analysis and Modelling, a facility that will provide high-quality experiential learning and research in GIS, remote sensing and other geospatial disciplines at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The university has agreed to commit R2-million to this project.  The university will host one node of the mooted national Centre of Excellence on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). It is envisaged that the centre will become a world-class facility in research, innovation and development, with two primary aims: to influence global knowledge systems from a uniquely African perspective; and to facilitate the mainstream commercialisation and use of IKS products and services in the areas of health, natural resources, energy and ICT for sustainable community development in South Africa and beyond.  The Limpopo Research Forum is an important structure, comprising all provincial government departments, representatives from industry and business, community

organisations and representatives from tertiary education. Two of the university’s executive deans and several researchers serve on the forum, while in 2009, the university’s Director of Research was elected as chairman.

Conclusion The university continues to grow in its research and innovation endeavours, and the future looks promising.

It is particularly encouraging to see that most of the research being undertaken is focused on development, especially on the needs of rural people. But there is considerable fragmentation, and clearly the university must look at prioritising its research into limited, specific niche areas. There is also a need to further stimulate research in the social sciences and the arts.

A comparative look at our research outputs for the last three years shows a steady decline, which must be reason for concern and calls for immediate intervention to stabilise and then increase outputs. In addition, much needs to be done to stimulate innovation in a manner that is relevant to the National Innovation System. The name change of the Research Office to incorporate innovation is one intervention that will encourage and promote precisely that. Considering the number of new initiatives described in this report, I am optimistic that the University of Limpopo is poised and well placed to move research and innovation into the 21st century, thus doing research that resonates with our motto: ‘finding solutions for Africa’.

53

REPORT OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Raymond Olander Raymond Olander completed a Bachelors degree in accounting science through Unisa while doing his articles with an East London firm of chartered accountants.

There followed a fascinating and highly successful career including senior positions in the Ciskei People’s Development Bank and the equally successful ownership of a Company managing the Bophuthatswana Housing Corporation and Value added taxation system.

Returning in 1996 to the Eastern Cape as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Finance to oversee the financial turn around of the University of Fort Hare.

He achieved this with distinction. After a short time in America he was appointed Chief Financial Officer at the University of Limpopo in July 2007.

54

AS REPORTED IN the 2008 Annual Report, a major financial turn around – from a R136-million operating deficit to a net surplus of R43-million – placed the University of Limpopo into the healthy financial category of ‘going concern’. This position has been maintained, with the university maintaining a positive cash flow throughout the year under review.

This encouraging trend has been greatly assisted by additional subsidy generated by improved graduate throughput, vigorous student fee collections, and special earmarked funding. In addition, strict budgeting controls have been enforced, with the result that budgeting targets for 2009 were achieved.

In fact, a review of the Institutional Operating Plan financial turn-around targets show that the university has performed above expectations, a trend that is expected to continue into 2010 financial year.

The external auditors qualified the institution’s 2009 Financial Statements on the grounds that the task of recording and reconciling moveable assets to the general ledger, begun in 2008, had not been completed. The explanation for this is that this recording and reconciling process must be considered a major exercise, with nearly 200 000 assets to be assessed. It is expected that the task will be completed in 2010, after which an unqualified audit should be achieved.

The accompanying consolidated income statement and balance sheet (reproduced on pages 56 and 57 respectively) reveal the following key financial indicators for the year under review:

 Total income increased by just over 10 percent to R936-million  Subsidy income increased by 10,4 percent to R521-million  Tuition fees increased by 8,7 percent to R305-million, which is 32,5 percent of recurrent income  Interest and dividend income increased by just over one percent to R25,3-million.  Operating costs increased by 24,3 percent to R385-million, and salary costs by 14,3 percent to R510-million. The latter increase was heightened by a number of high-level appointments made during the year under review.  Total assets exceeded total liabilities by R1,8-billion, indicating strong solvency for the institution  Current assets exceeded current liabilities with a liquidity ratio of 1.20:1 in 2009, compared to 1.09:1 in the previous year. Current assets now exceed current liabilities by nearly R105,5-million.

These statistics show a far more positive picture for 2009 than in previous years, and indicate that financial controls, and financial management generally, have radically improved. Bolstering this improvement was the comprehensive workshop organised for members of the university’s management team in 2009 on risk assessment and management. Risk assessments on ten key focus areas were presented and an internationally recognised risk management framework established – a process that must inspire increased confidence in the university’s partners and potential partners.

On the infrastructure improvement front, some significant projects were completed during the year under review, while several other projects were launched.

The major infrastructure projects completed or nearing completion by the end of 2009 on the Turfloop campus were:  Improvements to residences costing R28-million, while further improvements worth R21-million are scheduled for completion early in 2010.  R400 000 has been spent on Upgrading and enlarging of the Child Care Centre: R400 000. The university will now begin the process of developing the Child Care Centre into a teaching facility for pre-school teachers.  Some residences now have hot water supplied via special heat pumps that have been installed at a cost of R2-million.  The new life sciences teaching laboratories to the value of R31-million will probably be ready for use by the end of July 2010.  Tenders were called for to renovate various lecture halls at a cost of R20-million.  The R45-million multi-purpose centre is scheduled for completion before the end of 2010.

The major infrastructure projects completed or nearing completion by the end of 2009 on the Medunsa campus were:  R1,9-million has been spent on the refurbishing of a student residence at the medical school, while a further R14,9-million

residence upgrading project commenced in August 2009.  The clinical skills laboratory, begun in 2008, is now complete – at a total cost of R32,2-million.  Other major improvement projects have either been completed or are under way: the Medunsa multi-purpose centre (R6-million); the Natural Science Building (R11million); the Dental Faculty Building (R6-million); the Basic Medical Science Building (R9-million).

There can be little doubt that this level of capital expenditure augurs well for the future of the institution, and has been made possible by a grant of over R200-million from the Department of Education for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 financial years. It also indicates an increasing level of confidence in the University of Limpopo and its ability to plan and control large-scale capital expenditure projects.

An important factor in the maintenance of high quality financial systems and controls has been the appointment of new staff members in the Finance Department, most notably a senior manager (finance), and two deputy directors (financial reporting and cost and management). They have added to the strength of the finance team; and it is to the team as a whole that my appreciation is directed. It is due to their efforts, and to their ability to work with the many stakeholders with whom we interact on both campuses, that the university has enjoyed increased financial security throughout the year under review, and into the future.

55

FINANCIAL SPREADSHEETS The finances Consolidated Income Statement for year ended 31 December 2008 Notes

2009 Council controlled

Sub-total

Accommodation

Total

Total

R'000

R'000

R'000

R'000

R'000

R'000

Recurrent items

(11 667)

(4 745)

(16 412)

Income

738 689

118 619

857 308

449 813

72 132

521 945

229 679

639

230 318

445

14 455

14 900

-

11 313

445

3 142

State appropriations, subsidies and grants

15

Tuition and other fee income Income from contracts For research For other activities Sales of goods and services

3 294 (13 118) 79 360

52 490

936 668

851 280

521 945

472 914

74 910

305 228

280 754

-

14 900

31 276

11 313

11 313

29 977

3 587

3 587

1 299

28 732

3 408

32 140

4 961

25 670

30 631

713 630

116 304

829 934

24 142

1 252 10

917

1 053

Expenses

750 356

123 364

873 720

76 066

949 786

798 790

Personnel costs

461 083

36 770

497 853

12 950

510 803

446 882

225 145

191 142

Private gifts and grants Sub-total Interest and dividends

16

Profit on disposal of investments Fair value adjustment

13

Academic professional

225 145

Other personnel

188 109

4 450

36 590

19 160

30 631

24 792

909 294

828 896

25 394

25 394

25 117

10

10

330

1 970

1 970

(3 063)

79 360

225 145

237 829

221 526

Post retirement benefits

33 331

33 331

33 331

33 564

Leave accrual

14 498

14 498

14 498

650

373 903

287 990

60 136

58 318

944 842

793 190

4 944

5 600

Other current operating expenses Depreciation Sub-total Finance costs

17

36 770

224 879

231 124

79 663

310 787

53 205

6 931

60 136

745 412

123 364

868 776

4 944

12 950

63 116 76 066

4 944

Non-recurrent items

9 799

-

9 799

-

9 799

94 996

Income

9 799

11 374

21 173

-

21 173

116 963

572

572

2

20 601

116 961

-

11 374

21 967

11 374

21 967

3 294

(3 319)

147 486

Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment

572

Other non-recurrent income

18

9 227

11 374

20 601

Expenditure

18

-

11 374

11 374

11 374

11 374

14

(1 868)

(4 745)

(6 613)

Other non-recurrent expenditure 56

2008

Specifically funded activities

Net surplus/ (Deficit)

Consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2009 Notes

2009 R'000

2008 R'000

Assets

2 701 090

2 549 813

Non-current assets

2 078 541

2 080 694

Property, plant and equipment

3

2 032 581

2 035 988

Investments

4

45 960

44 706

Inventories

5

5 101

3 403

Accounts receivable

6

49 315

90 278

Bank and cash

7

568 133

375 438

Current assets

622 549

Funds and liabilities Funds and reserves

8

469 119

2 701 090

2 549 813

1 822 661

1 786 618

Restricted use funds

35 383

40 128

Unrestricted use funds

31 750

(4 691)

1 730 200

1 730 200

25 328

20 981

Asset revaluation reserve Investment revaluation reserve Liabilities Non-current liabilities

361 331

333 264

9

25 613

34 008

Deferred income

11

62 118

18 159

Employee benefits

10

273 600

281 097

Interest bearing borrowings

Current liabilities

517 098

429 931

Accounts payable and accruals

11

508 769

416 220

Current portion of borrowings

9

8 329

13 711

57

REPORT OF THE OF LIMPOPO TRUST Jaap Metz and Carina Marais THE UNIVERSITY OF Limpopo Trust was founded in 1989 as the Medunsa Trust and is an autonomous entity.

It is governed by an independent board of trustees in terms of the provisions of a registered trust deed, but is ultimately responsible to the university Council. It is also a registered public benefit organisation. Since its inception it has contributed in excess of R260million to the university. Since 1991 the Trust has been managed on an outsourced basis by The Africa Consulting Group and the managing director of the company, Jaap Metz, has been the director of the Trust ever since. He is assisted by the deputy director, Carina Marais, who has also been involved with the Trust since 1991. Between them they have more than 62 years' experience in marketing, public relations, fundraising, project management and financial management. Metz was previously, inter alia, head of fundraising at the University of Pretoria and director of the Rand Afrikaans University Foundation.

The bankers of the Trust are First National Bank, and the auditors are KPMG Inc. The investment portfolio is managed by RMB Private Bank.

58

The Board of Trustees of the Trust as at 31 December 2009 consisted of the following members:  Mr Grant Dunnington # Chairman effective from 28 September 2009 Managing Director, SBV Services (Pty) Ltd  Prof P E Franks #* Deputy ViceChancellor: Research & Academic, University of Limpopo  Prof Denis Goldberg Retired Consultant and activist

 Mr Malose Kekana Business executive  Mr Shad Mapetla Chief Executive Officer, Biotech Laboratories (Pty) Ltd  Prof Letticia Moja #* Deputy ViceChancellor: Medunsa Campus, University of Limpopo  Prof Mahlo Mokgalong #* ViceChancellor and Principal: University of Limpopo  Dr Gwen Ramokgopa Executive Mayor: City of Tshwane  Dr Derek Winstanly Vice-President: Quintiles Transnational, USA #

*

Member of the University of Limpopo Council Ex officio members as per the conditions of the Trust Deed

The chairman of the Trust and member of the Board for some 17 years, Mr Norman Axten, retired at the end of September 2009. Under his leadership and guidance the Trust has performed admirably and built a sound financial sustainability platform.

The business model used by the Trust is unique in the South African higher education environment. It is fully self-funded and receives no financial support from the university, but relies on investment income and good cash flow management to pay its own way. Its services are free to the university community and it does not levy donor funds. While this sounds like a rather risky method of doing business, it has stood the Trust in good stead and even in times of economic turmoil it has been able to weather the storms without unduly threatening its functioning or its finances.

Over the last seven or so years the Trust has consistently transferred more funds for bursaries, research, community projects and other activities to the university than its net income and this has put some strain on the investment income and the balance sheet. The current severe worldwide economic recession is also playing havoc with donor and investment income and the finances of the Trust are being severely tested.

Income has consequently dropped from R16-million in 2006 to R13million in 2007 and R10,5-million in 2008, followed by a rather disastrous R7-million in 2009 – the worst performance in some ten years. The main reasons were a triple whammy of much lower investment income, the finalisation of some major donor-funded programmes and reduced donor funding due to the recession. It should show a rising trend again from 2010 onwards when some major new programmes will commence. The Trust will undoubtedly weather these storms, as it has done in the past, but it will require careful financial management and cost control. In this regard the Trust is proud of the fact that it has been able to reduce actual expenditure from R2,23-million in 2007 to R1,66million in 2008 and (unaudited) R1,64-million in 2009. Any further reductions will impact on operational efficiency.

The total value of the investment portfolio and the current account of the Trust as per 31 December 2009 amounted to R14,29-million, distributed almost equally between

UNIVERSITY equities and interest-bearing investments.

A few highlights of the 2009 financial year were:  R1,2-million was received for bursaries from local private companies.  A major joint programme with the University of Antwerpen in Belgium was finalised and the preliminary phase is already under way – the total value over ten years will be in excess of R80-million and will involve nine departments and programmes on both campuses.  A joint programme, funded by the Norwegian Fredskorpset, between the University of Oslo (Norway), the University of Bergen (Norway), the Medunsa campus of the university and the Juba Teaching Hospital in Southern Sudan was finalised and has commenced – total value about R10-million.

New initiatives, both locally and internationally, are continuously being explored, but are hampered by the lack of suitable university programmes that will attract donor funding. The recessionary conditions have necessitated donor organisations to refocus their priorities and are consequently much more demanding in their requirements. The solid reputation of the Trust in the donor community and its impeccable record of sound management remains a major selling point and will ensure its future role in the advancement and development of the university.

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REPORT OF THE OF LIMPOPO STUDENT Judge Lucy Mailula Judge Lucy Mailula became the second chairperson of the board of the Student Trust Fund in 2000, when she succeeded Professor Sam Mokgokong, the founding chairperson. She is also serving as the chairperson of the University of Limpopo Council. See her report in that capacity on page six.

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IN 1995, HARDLY a year after the advent of democracy in South Africa, the students of the then University of the North established what is now called the University of Limpopo Student Trust Fund. Funds have always been made available from university coffers to the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) for the running of the council’s office and administration. In 1995, in the first flush of post-1994 idealism and commitment, the SRC used a portion of this allocation to start the Trust Fund. They enlisted the support of Professor Sam Mokgokong, at the time the acting head of Medunsa’s Department of Neurosurgery, who in fact became the first chairperson of the Student Trust Fund, a position he held for five years. He has remained an active member of the fund’s board ever since.

Fund with alumni achiever awards, most notably the Onkgopotse Tiro Awards, and thus to broaden the Trust’s support base.

The intention was – and still is – to assist students with ability but with no resources to fulfil their potential at the university by providing bursaries. A more recent factor, when it comes to allocating bursaries, is to consider and where possible to support the development of scarce and most needed skills.

Walter Modiba, the 2009 SRC president, has said it would obviously be desirable for the annual amount allocated to Student Trust Fund bursaries to be increased. The world recession had taken its toll in Limpopo’s rural hinterland as well, and many students of ability were experiencing severe financial difficulties. One way of increasing the Student Trust Fund’s contribution, he said, was to foster closer linkages between current students at the university and those who had already passed through the system – in other words, between current students and the alumni. Modiba said it was important that graduating students realise that the continuing value of their degrees was closely linked with the maintenance of high standards at their alma mater. To remain actively involved in the throughput of quality students is therefore one way of protecting their own investment. Time will tell whether this message is getting across, and whether the Student Trust Fund pot can be enlarged.

In order to achieve these goals on an annual basis, various fundraising initiatives have been maintained over the years: from direct grants from individual benefactors to events such as banquets, golf days and public lectures to commemorate prominent people from the university’s history. The amount of money disbursed each year is not large: it averages around R200 000 a year. More recently, attempts have been made to link the Student Trust

As it is, up to 500 applications are received each year for assistance from the Student Trust Fund, although in 2009 the number of applications was slightly lower because the ceiling relating to state loans had been raised. When selecting those students to whom bursaries will be allocated, certain selection criteria are used. Proven academic excellence and real need are the most important. The selection committee also tries to

UNIVERSITY TRUST FUND maintain a fair gender balance, and where possible to take the ‘scarce skills’ factor into account.

We have been unsuccessful in obtaining some financial details from the Student Affairs office.

The Onkgopotse Tiro Awards have become an important event in the Student Trust Fund calendar. Onkgopotse Tiro was a student at the University of the North in the late 1960s. By 1970, he had been elected as president of the SRC. In April 1972 he made a controversial speech at a graduation ceremony that led to his expulsion. This radical student leader then joined the South African Students' Organisation (Saso) as its fulltime organiser. Two years later he was dead, blown up by a parcelbomb in Botswana where he was planning to continue his disrupted academic studies. This famous student has now lent his name

to annual awards for alumni of the University of Limpopo who have achieved ‘great merit and achievement’.

The 2009 winners of the award were: Judge Monica Leeuw, who graduated with a law degree in 1976, and is now the first woman to hold the position of Judge President (of the North West High Court) in South Africa; and Jabu Mabuza, a highly successful businessman, and CEO of the Tsogo Sun Group, who was forced in the early 1980s by family circumstances to drop out of university after two highly successful years of his law degree.

Three major Student Trust Fund events are being planned for 2010: a Trust Fund golf day, the Tiro public lecture and the Trust Fund banquet at which the next set of Tiro awards will be presented.

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THE STUDENTS SPEAK Opinions from student leaders on both main campuses

TIISETSO NTSIE – President of SRC, Medunsa; 3rd year Dentistry

Tiisetso Ntsie has been involved in student politics since his early student days, which began in 2002 when he started his BSc degree.

He spent a couple of years at Pretoria Technikon before moving into Dentistry. He is also a member of the local SA Students Congress (Sasco) branch committee.

AS PRESIDENT of the SRC, my primary duty on the Medunsa campus is to revive the importance of the SRC in the eyes of the students. The SRC has lost credibility over the past few years and there has been a decline in student participation in SRC-led programmes. On our part, we continue to focus on improving communication with students about what’s happening on campus.

The relationship between students and management is being given ongoing attention, particularly with regard to issues such as financial and academic exclusions.

We as student leaders were distressed at a situation that arose last year which required several students to return to university for a further six months at their own expense because the course they had completed did not comply with Health Professions Council of SA’s standards. We believe that a credible academic programme that complies with all HPCSA’s requirements and matches the standards of other local and international universities is very important for the students.

We look forward to a time when we can be sure that this situation won’t recur.

We have seen some positive changes on the campus since the appointment of Professors Holland and Moja in the top management positions.

Over the past few years we have seen the infrastructure of the campus deteriorate, but there are signs that this deterioration is at an end.

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In terms of the improvements planned for the campus, we acknowledge that management is making an effort to address the need to include students in the decisionmaking processes and we look forward to more collaboration. We as the SRC need to encourage the students to take ownership of the campus – the activities as well as the infrastructure. We believe that with additional communication on the proposed plans for the campus to all the students, this will go some way to increasing their ownership and pride in Medunsa.

With dedicated effort and ment from all sectors university, I believe that complete my degree, we real constructive change campus.

commitof the before I will see on this

To end, my message to management is to look at the student leadership of this university, give it due respect and regard it as a group of people who want to help management to achieve the mandate of the university.

My message to my fellow students is to take ownership of this university.

It is not a ‘bundu’ university; it’s a university you can be proud of. As the SRC we are putting in the effort to do better in encouraging growth.

Don’t allow apathy to have the upper hand; rather support your elected leadership and make sure that issues are being tackled.

PROJECTS are a very important part of campus life; they can serve to keep students involved and informed, while they can also provide entertainment and opportunities for students to socialise. We have not had the opportunity to get involved in enough projects on campus this year.

MASELLO TAU – Project Officer, SRC, Medunsa; 4th year medical student

Masello Tau is a new convert to student politics, having decided early on in her student days that sitting around complaining about issues was highly unproductive; the way to resolve them was to get involved.

She was the local Sasco branch’s Deputy Secretary last year and joined the SRC as Project Officer early this year. She says that though being a woman in student politics is not easy because it is still regarded as a male domain, her mother is her greatest encourager, which helps her to keep going.

I believe a particular focus should be HIV/Aids, with activities that inform students about the disease, offer voluntary testing, and support those who are HIV-positive. While there are HIV/Aids programmes on campus, such as HEAIDS, we have found that these are not well supported by the students, who continue to display a real lack of knowledge and understanding about HIV. The prevalence rate of HIV is not good at Medunsa. If HEAIDS was brought under the auspices of SRC I feel we would be able to communicate activities to the students and see a greater level of participation, particularly in voluntary testing.

Another project that’s important to increase pride in our campus is a ‘Campus Clean-up’ day, where all students can get involved in one or other aspect of making the campus look good. This also offers us the opportunity to get together after-

wards, have a braai, and enjoy the chance to socialise.

I would like to encourage our students to get involved in student politics. It’s not boring. It’s a way to make sure you know your rights; it’s a way to make sure that issues are addressed and not just complained about. It’s also a way to make sure that things are being done. Too often students complain that the SRC is ‘not doing anything’, without knowing the facts. Getting involved is also a good way to build leadership skills. And for woman students, learning to manage many different responsibilities will stand you in good stead for your future life – possibly as a career woman, a mother and a wife.

I also want to encourage the campus management to give the SRC in particular and the students as a whole a better platform to express what we need. We want to stay a part of this campus long after we have qualified; we want to be able to bring our kids here to show them with pride where we were; we want to be able to say to the world, ‘Come to Medunsa – it’s a great university!’.

Help us to make this a home where we can work and feel secure while getting a very good education.

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KHANYA NKOSI – President of SRC, Turfloop; Final year Education

Khanya Nkosi loves the fact that, generally speaking, students on the Turfloop campus are highly politicised; following in the footsteps of their predecessors – the many renowned South African political activists who started honing their leadership skills while students . Nkosi has been heavily involved in Turfloop’s political hierarchy – in Sasco, the ANCYL and more latterly in the SRC – for four years.

His own leadership abilities came as a surprise to him. He hadn’t considered himself capable of leading an organisation such as the SRC, but he can and he is.

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AS STUDENT LEADERS and students at Turfloop, we must live up to the names that have come through this university before us. We must not be afraid to take decisions that can make us unpopular, if the decision is the right one. But the most important thing I have learned from the people who went on from this university to be leaders of today is that to be a good leader, you must do a lot of listening. It is never wrong to listen.

It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, you must first listen – before making decisions.

On this campus we are far away from main cities like Jozi or Durban, where entertainment is freely available.

Here we have to make our own entertainment and so we turn to political debate. It means that when we move out of this environment, we can hold our own in the world as debaters. It is a definite source of pride for us.

It has also been good for us to see the range of courses available at this campus growing and developing. It makes us more comparable with other city-based universities. I also believe that the merger with Medunsa was good for us as it widened the scope of offerings at this university to include all the medical fields.

Though there is a gap between our two campuses, a lot is being done to help us bridge that gap – at SRC level and at management level.

One of the big differences between our campuses that affects our students in their daily lives is the fact that Medunsa can accommodate all its students on campus, but Turfloop can accommodate less than half of its students. The rest have to find accommodation offcampus, where safety and security becomes a huge issue. Students are in danger of being assaulted, robbed and raped as soon as they leave this campus. This is a major issue as most of our students are female. We would like to know that we can look forward to a time when all students can stay on campus and enjoy the benefits that their student levies contribute towards – such as 24-hour security.

My message to management is to improve the lines of communication with the students – to be more transparent. Share news and achievements with us all. We are interested and it is an encouragement to us to know when fellow students make their mark in the outside world.

MARY-JANE RAMUSI – Deputy Secretary, SRC, Turfloop; final year LLB

Mary-Jane Ramusi has political and legal blood coursing through her veins. Her grandfather was Collins M Ramusi, a political activist for the ANC and lawyer in the apartheid years. MaryJane joined the SRC when she was deployed to the organisation by the campus branch of the ANCYL. She has also been Secretary of the Law School Students Council.

As a student leader, there are two issues that particularly concern her: the need to debunk the myth that men must occupy powerful and decision-making positions in politics; and assistance for financially-strapped students.

THIS IS a university with an important history and many of our country’s leaders have studied here. It is a university that we are proud to be attending. In fact, many of the big law firms in South Africa today have graduates from UL’s Law School on their staff. Yes, we know this is a great university. But it is also a university where many students are really struggling financially.

We find today that many of the students who attend Turfloop come from very poor homes. Many of our students depend on the NSFAS (National Students Financial Aid Scheme), but lately the amount of the grants has been decreased by the government and students are battling – sometimes it seems as if they have to choose between buying food to eat or books for their courses.

They cannot be effective in their studies without both. If they have no food they cannot concentrate; if they have no books they cannot study. This is an issue that requires constant intervention and we as the student leadership concerned for our fellow students on this campus are trying to work with university management to help us communicate the severity of the situation to the Minister of Education.

As far as women in politics is concerned, I believe that women should be encouraged to play a greater role in decision-making in politics, whether at university level or in government. Women are not irrational, as the myth that women are not suitable for politics indicates; they have decision-making capabilities that can match men’s under any circumstances. There are not enough women who are given or who take the opportunity to get involved. For instance, there are just three women and nine men in our council. That is not necessarily the fault of those in the SRC, but women tend to avoid getting involved in politics because they believe the myth.

We students hope that while we are here our issues will be listened to by the university management. We hope to see improvements in our living and studying conditions, such as better-stocked libraries; more accommodation for students on campus; improved facilities for socialising; and 24-hour access to clinic facilities for our students.

At the same time, we know that this is a campus that we are privileged to be attending.

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THE EXECUTIVE MEMBERS Introducing the University Council Judge Lucy Mailula became the Chairperson of the Council in January 2008.

She was born in Ga-Maphoto, a small village under ten kilometres from the University’s Turfloop campus, where she later studied law, finally emerging as a member of the LLB class of ’81. She did her articles with a Pretoria law firm before working for the Bophuthatswana Attorney-General’s Office. She was admitted as an advocate in Bophuthatswana. In 1986 she came to Johannesburg to do pupilage and to practise as an advocate. She was appointed to the bench of the High Court in 1995.

Mr Bernard (Benny) Boshielo completed a BA Degree and a university Education Diploma at UNIN, now the University of Limpopo, in 1987. He taught for eight months before leaving for Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to obtain a Master’s degree in Education, specialising in ‘Formal Education and Instruction’.

Boshielo is currently the CEO of Limpopo Tourism and Parks, a former member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature and a former MEC for Transport. He is currently serving as a board member for SARCC, Capricorn FET Colleges and is the deputy chairperson of the University of Limpopo Council. He is a member of the ANC Limpopo Provincial Executive Committee.

Professor Mahlo Mokgalong (Ex-Officio) has been the University of Limpopo’s Vice-Chancellor since August 2006. Before that, he served as interim VC from 2003. Mokgalong was born in what is now Limpopo in 1954 and became a student at the University of the North after completing his matric at a school not far from the Turfloop campus. By 1977 he was a research assistant in the Sciences Faculty. After completing his doctorate in parasitology, he was asked to become the deputy dean. And the rest is a history of greater and greater challenge through the 1990s and 2000s, some of the university’s most troubled years.

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Professor Peter Franks is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for the University of Limpopo, Turfloop campus, having being appointed Interim Campus Principal of the Turfloop campus of UL in January 2005. He joined the University of the North in 1992 as Senior Professor in the Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology before becoming the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences and Law. Franks has been influential in establishing the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership, as well as the Development and Facilitation Training Institute. He was convenor for the annual South African Public Management Workshop, now the South African Management Conversation. He has studied and worked in South Africa, Canada and the United States.

Professor Letticia Moja was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Medunsa campus in August 2009. She obtained her MBChB from Natal University in 1982.

She continued her medical studies at Medunsa, specialising and obtaining her MMED in Obstetrics & Gynaecology in 1990. From 1991 to 2002 she worked in the Gynaecologic Oncology Unit – as Specialist, then lecturer and Head of the unit. Through the SA Medical Association she attended an advanced management programme for health professionals at the Foundation for Professional Development at Manchester Business School, England, in 1999. In March 2002 Moja became the Vice-Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Free State, becoming the Dean in December 2003. During this period she also obtained her MBA in 2006.

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THE ORDINARY MEMBERS Introducing the University Council Dr Manyangane Raymond Billa is Chief Executive Officer of Sterkfontein Hospital. He obtained a MBChB (Medunsa) in 1991. In 2010 received a M.Sc. in Bioethics and Health Law. He’s attended courses at the School of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, in 2008; Hearing Procedure and Presiding Officer Course in 2004; Masters in Public Health (Medunsa) in 2002, among others. A maths teacher before establishing his own private general practice in Dobsonville, Billa joined local community clinics as a part-time medical officer. He has been the Head of Medical Services/Medical Superintendent of Tembisa Hospital and CEO at Sterkfontein Hospital. He’s been seconded to both Johannesburg and Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospitals and appointed Director: Clinical Services at the latter in January 2007.

Dr Sanette Boshoff has been the Head: Academic Planning at the University of Pretoria since 2005. Previously she had been a member of the management echelon of the Department of Education. Her work in supporting the management of higher education institutions is well-known. Boshoff’s knowledge of higher education policies and the international environment involved her in negotiating and concluding a government-to-government co-operation agreement that managed the rollout of three co-operation/donor programmes. She is a member of the Council’s Audit and Facilities and Tender Committees, as well as the FOTIM Board. She is an alternate member of the Mpumalanga NIHE Board and its Academic Committee. She had been awarded her PhD (Botany) by the University of Pretoria in 2002.

Mr Grant Dunnington was appointed Managing Director of SBV Services (Pty) Ltd in September 2001. Previously, Dunnington had spent 17 years at First National Bank. In 1987 he went on secondment to Barclays PLC in Hong Kong for 18 months. After joining the corporate banking division, he was promoted to a Senior Manager role in strategic planning. He was directly involved in the merger between First National Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, and Southern & Momentum in 1998. His appointment as General Manager: Strategy & Communications followed and a year later he became CEO: Generic Services Cluster of FirstRand Bank. Dunnington completed a B.Com degree in 1983 and an Executive Management Programme at UCT. He is also a Chartered Associate of the Institute of Bankers.

Professor Edward David Green has more than 30 years of lecturing experience at tertiary institutions. He attained a B.Sc (Zoology) from University of Pretoria in 1970 and a B.Ed degree from University of South Africa in 1976. A B.Sc (Hons) in Zoology followed in 1978 and a Masters in 1988. Green taught at Pretoria Boys’ High School before entering academia where, after protracted service at the Pretoria Technikon and the University of Pretoria, he now holds the position of Associate Professor in Histology/micro-anatomy in the department of Human Anatomy on the Medunsa campus.

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Professor Tshepo Gugushe is currently the Director of the School of Oral Health Sciences and serves as a Senate Representative on the University Council.

He acquired his tertiary education from the Universities of Fort Hare, Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch. He has served in several committees of the Medical Research Council (MRC), Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), South African Institute of Race Relations, International Association for Dental Research (IADR), the International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations (IFDEA) and as a member of Senate of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa. He currently serves as an editorial board member of the European Journal of Dental Education. He has published in both national and international pear reviewed publications.

Mr Mofasi Lekota is Executive Chairman and CEO of Lekota Investments (Pty) Ltd. He has attended programmes on Board Leadership, Effective Leadership and Directors’ Development respectively at, GIBS, Wharton School of Business University of Penn (USA) and the University of Western Cape. Lekota obtained his MBA at Rutgers State University, New Jersey (USA), in 1985 and his B.Com at the University of the North in 1979. Previously he has been the Executive Chairman of Equal Access Global (Pty) Ltd and CEO, Chief Executive of Premier Soccer League (PSL) and the National African Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc).

Lekota is Chairman of Lekota Investments (Pty) Ltd, Great North Transport, Bunker Hills Investments (Pty) Ltd, Director of Limdev and Deputy Chairman of Afrisam Consortium and Afrisam (Pty) Ltd.

Mr Andrew Leso matriculated at Mafanele High in 1987 and started working at Medunsa in February 1988. In 1989 he was elected to the Nehawu executive committee and treasurer of the shop steward council / committee. Until 1998 he served as the elected secretariat of the union. He has served the University in the Principal Advisory committee, Public Relations Advisory committee, and the Building and Finance committee. Leso also represented workers on the merger committees between Medunsa and University of the North and on the Medunsa Council. He is a member of various disciplinary committees for staff and academic members of the university, and participates in cases at the CCMA. ) Judge Mashangu Monica Leeuw was appointed South Africa’s first woman Judge President in April 2010. Graduating with a B Proc in 1976 from the University of the North, she received the Onkgopotse Tiro Excellence Award for her lifetime of work within the South African judicial system in November 2009.

While climbing from legal assistant to a public prosecutor and then a senior control prosecutor, Leeuw was simultaneously studying for her LLB. She was the first black woman to do her pupilage at the Pretoria Bar. She was elevated to the bench in 1999 and has served as a High Court Judge in the North West Judicial Division ever since. She is also a permanent judge of South Africa’s Labour Appeal Court.

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Mr Patrick Madidimalo was born and matriculated in Mokomene. He joined the University of the North in 1993 as a laboratory assistant. He joined Nehawu in 1996, was elected shop steward, and then Regional Secretary later that year until 2001. In 2001 he was elected the Branch Secretary and full-time Shop Steward in the Turfloop campus’ Nehawu Office, a position which he still holds.

He serves as the Principal Officer of the Nehawu University of the North Provident Fund, and on the Board of Trustees for the University Retirement Fund and Group Life Assurance at the university. He holds a B. Admin degree from the University of Limpopo.

Advocate Michael Lati Mashego is Co-President of Alumni and Convocation and represents Convocation on Council (Turfloop campus). Mashego is a practising attorney, graduating from UNIN, now the University of Limpopo. He obtained his B.Proc and LLB degrees from the former UNIN and his LL.M from RAU (now UJ). Mashego is a member of the Law Society’s special panel, a panelist in all the Bargaining Councils, and a senior commissioner of the CCMA .

He also serves the UL as a member of the Board of Control at the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership. Mashego has, for some time, been a part-time lecturer in Merchantile and Labour Law at the university. Many of the university’s Law graduates serve articles at Mashego’s law firm.

Mr Lesé Winston Joseph Matlhape is the Divisional Executive: Human Capital & Support Services of the IDC (Industrial Development Corporation).

Previous positions in Human Resources have been with Telkom, Shell South Africa, SA Phillips and Mine Safety Appliances. He has a BA (Fort Hare), BA Honours (University of Free State), MA (IUP – USA) Master of Management (MM) (Wits), AEP (Unisa), ASCEPE (University of Singapore), AMP (Insead – France).

Matlhape is a member of Institute of Directors, and Chairman of Prilla (SA) and its Human Resources Remuneration Committee and Trustee of the IDC Provident Fund. He had overseas experiences in resource management at Mine Safety Appliances Co in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and an internship at Colgate Palmolive Corp, New York.

Dr Mandlalele Leonard (Tiny) Mhinga is a doctor practising in Soweto and Bryanston. He began his academic studies at the University of the North in 1978, graduating with a Pharmacy degree, before studying medicine between 1978 and1982 at Medunsa. He has also undergone advanced courses in Medical Emergency and Travel Medicine at the Wits Medical School and Aerospace Medicine at the University of Pretoria. Mhinga is a Trustee of University of Limpopo Student Trust Fund and The Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital. He is also Chairperson of the Soweto Cancer Association and is a shareholder and director of several commercial enterprises.

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Professor Mokubung Nkomo is Extraodinary Professor in the Department of Education Management and Policy Studies at the University of Pretoria. He obtained his Master's and PhD degrees at the University of Massachusetts. In 1998 he was appointed Executive Director of Group: Education and Training, at the Human Sciences Research Council and President of the HSRC for a year in 1999. His first book was published in 1984, Student Culture in Black South African Universities. He has co-edited works; written numerous academic articles; served as a consulting editor and as board member for many organisations. In 2009 he was appointed to the Unesco National Commission for South Africa and is a member of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Discrimination in HE Institutions.

Mrs Mangwashi Victoria Phiyega is involved in numerous woman-focused development initiatives. She is a board member, Trustee or Chairperson of 27 different organisations. Phiyega’s broad career started as a social worker in Atteridgeville. She is to a past Group Executive for Absa Bank; plus holding Executive posts with Transnet Ltd, the National Ports Authority, Transnet Foundation and National Child Welfare. Her many ‘awards’ include: Community Development Leadership Recognition, University of the North; Portnet’s Women of Substance; Transnet’s Exceptional Women Leader; and the Diva Leadership Award. Phiyega’s Social Science degrees are from University of the North [BA}, Unisa [BA Hons] and Rand Afrikaans University [MA]. Postgraduate Diplomas followed at the University of Wales, Wharton School of Business, USA, and the National University of Singapore.

Mr Maroale Jacob Tanto Rachidi has been active in the ICT industry for the past 32 years. During this period, he distinguished himself in various key performance areas. His career growth path began in teaching (Maths and Science in Matric) and then moving into the ICT industry as Customer Engineer, Junior Programmer, Programmer, Senior Programmer, Analyst Programmer, Systems Analyst, Senior Systems Analyst, Systems Support Analyst, Project Manager, Programme Manager, and Management Consultant. His current position is CEO of KTS Technology Solutions (Pty) Ltd. He is also a former Exco member of the Computer Society of South Africa (Gauteng Chapter).

Mr Avhashoni Ramikosi is currently working for the South African Revenue Service – as Senior Manager: Audit Operations since June 2008. He completed a B Com degree (Accounting) at the University of Cape Town in 1994, following this up with a BCompt Honours through Unisa, and finally with a Chartered Accountant qualification in 1998. He subsequently added higher diplomas in Tax Law and International Tax Law to his qualifications; and for three years in the early 2000s was national President of the Association For The Advancement Of Black Accountants In Southern Africa.

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Mr Phaswana Stephen Ratlou is currently Excecutive Chairman of Primedia Out of Home. He has been the non-executive director for numerous companies including Primedia Ltd (2000-2002); Mineworkers Investment Company (from 1998); Africa Vanguard Resources (from 2003); Corridor Mining Resources (20042009) and Tab North West (1997-2000). Ratlou has been Deputy Chairman for Asa Metal Pty Ltd (2005-2009) and Chairman of both Limdev Pty Ltd (2005-2009) and Great North Transport (2006-2008). His qualifications include: International Management Certificate – Kyushu International Centre, Japan, 1994; MAP (Management Advancement Programme) Wits Business School, 1997; AEP (Advanced Executive Programme) Unisa Graduate School of Business Science, 1999; BLP (Board Leadership Programme) Gibbs, 2005.

Dr Tebogo Senyatsi currently represents the Alumni Association on the University of Limpopo Council. He qualified with an MBChB from Medunsa and completed his internship training at Natalspruit Hospital. He started in private practice in Khuma (Stilfontein) and has served the Matlosana district health services as a medical officer for many years. He is a board member of a number of community service forums and also a member of medical and professional associations. His current specific area of interest is in HIV management. Senyatsi actively participated in alumni affairs for years before being nominated to serve on the Council of the university.

Dr Florah Maletsema Tladi’s professional nursing career started at Groothoek Hospital becoming its first Black tutor, then the first Black principal of the Groothoek Nursing College. Starting as a lecturer at the University of the North in 1989, she became the HOD, Nursing in 2004. She obtained her Masters in Public Health (MCH) University of California at Berkeley, USA, and a Doctor Curationis (D.CUR) Community Nursing Science, Rand Afrikaans University, 2004.

She is a member of many professional committees, societies and organisations such as SANC, Denosa, the HERSA Academy and the American Biographic Institute, becoming a member of the ABI’S distinguished Research Board of Advisors from March 2005. She is a member of the UL Health Sciences Faculty Board and Task Team member on Academic Programmes in respect of the merger with Medunsa.

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