
College of Humanities hosts 2015 Staff Excellence Awards
Professional and academic staff were recognised for their hard work, dedication and positive impact when the College of Humanities hosted its annual staff excellence awards.
Speaking at the event, DVC and Head of the College of Humanities, Professor Cheryl Potgieter, congratulated staff for their outstanding contribution and innovative output during the year. ‘We recognise the hard work you have put in and applaud your work ethic and commitment to the College.’
College Director for Professional Services, Mr Kishore Gobardan, added: ‘We are proud as we are fast becoming the best College at UKZN.’
The following awards were made:
• DVC’s Special Recognition Award (Academic): Professor Paulus Zulu
• DVC’s Community Engagement Award (Academic): Ms Tiny Mungwe and Dr Thabo Msibi
• The Best Emerging Teacher (Academic): Dr Federico Settler
• The Best Teaching Team (Academic): Dr Miranda Young-Jahangeer and Ms Bridget Horner
• Service Excellence Award (Professional): Ms Nokuthula Mtshali, Ms Slindo Shamase, Mrs Anusha Reddy, Ms Indirani Naidoo and Mr Lucky Chilli.
• Innovation Award: Mr Michael Ely
• Outstanding Team Award (Professional): School of Social Sciences Pietermaritzburg team comprising Ms Hazel Rampaul, Ms Nancy Mudau, Ms Perdita Peters, Ms Nondumiso Ngubo and Mr Vincent Mashau.
• Research Awards:
Top Researcher in the Humanities: Professor Goolam Vahed
Top Emerging Researcher in the Humanities: Dr Maheshvari Naidu.
Service Excellence Award winner, Committee Officer Ms Nokuthula Mtshali said: ‘Thank you to the College for recognising my contributions, and thank you to my colleagues and friends for all the support you have given me since I joined the College. It means a lot to me. I will continue to give my best.’
Naidu, the Top Emerging Researcher in Humanities who received her award in absentia as she was at a conference in Berlin, said she was glad to be able to contribute to the College. ‘The Humanities and the Social Sciences do not come always across as seductive or “hard hitting” as the other natural sciences, but have the potential to contribute powerfully to global issues.’
Naidu, who also received the award in 2013, was the Top Published UKZN Woman Researcher in 2014 and finished third in the Top 30 researcher rankings rankings. ‘When there is immense pressure to do research and publish, we need more than ever to be focused on the quality of that research and its knowledge production and actual societal value,’ she said.
The awards function also recognised staff members, Mrs Fiona Bell and Mr Mthembeni Mkhize, who are retiring, and other staff members for their long-service within the College.
Melissa Mungroo