Law and Management staff members Honoured

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The College of Law and Management Studies acknowledged and recognised excellence at a celebratory lunch for 13 staff members who graduated with PhDs in 2015 at UKZN as well as those staff members who graduated at other universities in the past few months.

The aim of the event was to not only reward the staff PhD graduates, Drs Cecile Gerwel-Proches, Mohamed Hoque, Farai Kwenda, Gavin George, Roger Salisbury, Ashika Maharaj, Upasana Singh, Sulaiman Atiku, David Holness, Cheryl Mohamed-Sayeed, Indira Padayachee, Annie Singh and Sophia Mukorera for their achievements, but to also highlight the success of staff working in union on the project to increase the number of academics with doctorates in the College.

In his address, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College, Professor John Mubangizi, applauded staff for their dedication as well as the people behind the scenes who worked hard to ensure goals were achieved.

‘Having 13 staff members graduating with PhDs is a huge achievement and that is why we decided to host this event to say "thank you" to everyone who worked tirelessly to make it possible,’ said Mubangizi.

‘A PhD is a qualification which makes you an expert in your field and also opens up opportunities for career growth and development. Now we want you to go out there and turn your PhD theses into research papers for publication with the help of your Supervisors.  Next year, we aim to double the number of staff PhD graduates we had this year for the 2016 Graduation  and I have no doubt that target is achievable,’ he said.

Speaking from a Supervisor’s perspective, Professor Darma Mahadea acknowledged that balancing teaching and learning duties with supervisory responsibilities was difficult, but said the rewards outweighed the challenges as publishing research and graduating doctoral students were two of the most important drivers for the College’s success.

College Dean of Research, Professor Marita Carnelley, congratulated the staff members and urged them to share their newly acquired knowledge with their colleagues by encouraging Fellow Academics to register for, and complete their PhDs and engaging in College research initiatives such as the upcoming Research Days on 27 and 28 August.

 Thandiwe Jumo