School of Social Sciences Hosts Emeritus and Honorary Professors for Networking Brunch
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) School of Social Sciences, under the leadership of the Dean Professor Federico Settler, recently hosted a working brunch for Emeritus and Honorary Professors in the newly merged School.
The merged School of Social Sciences brings together the previous School of Built Environment, School of Applied Human Sciences, and the (previous) School of Social Sciences. The gathering presented an opportunity for colleagues in different disciplinary spaces to meet.
Among those attending was newly appointed Emeritus Professor Doug Wassenaar, longstanding senior Emeritus Professor Paulus Zulu of the Maurice Webb Race Relations Unit, senior Emeritus Professor Ntombifikile Mazibuko, and Honorary Professors Vishanthie Sewpaul, Sultan Khan, Anna Meyer-Weitz, Johanna Buitendach, Steve Collings and others.
The event was also attended by Discipline Heads and Heads of Research, Teaching and Learning, and Community Engagement, together with honorary scholars affiliated with the School.
“The School plans on holding gatherings of a similar nature at least once a semester,” said Settler, with the aim of facilitating networking among honorary colleagues and academic staff in the School.
Addressing the group, Settler referred to the legacy and body of work present in the room and highlighted work that drew and critically reflected on teaching pedagogy and practice. He invited honorary scholars to mentor, supervise and advise emerging academics in the School. He noted that this could help elevate the scholarly standing of the School of Social Sciences as a learning space where students engage directly with the work of scholars they encounter in the classroom.
Professor Maheshvari Naidu, who oversees internationalisation and collaborations in the School, said the brunch also highlighted the mutuality and reciprocity underpinning the School’s relationship with its senior colleagues.
Professor Doug Wassenaar also addressed the group and shared his insights around current challenges faced by colleagues holding substantial externally funded research or training grants. He emphasised the importance of ensuring that externally funded research initiatives are fully integrated into the School’s academic programmes and supported across disciplines. Wassenaar noted that such projects play a critical role in generating locally relevant knowledge, strengthening research outputs and creating opportunities for emerging and mid-career academics to gain experience in managing funded research.
He encouraged senior, Honorary and Emeritus academics to mentor younger colleagues and support the University’s research mission by sharing their expertise and experience.
Mazibuko stated that the conversations among the emeritus, senior honorary professors and permanent professors, were around joint research and community engagement projects, and focused on the growth of the new School of Social Sciences. She commented on the wonderful atmosphere that prevailed, adding that it created a culture of conversation about how best collective intellect, research, resource advancement and knowledge can build and sustain the identity, value and productivity of the social sciences.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photograph: Supplied
