Durban — Women, at almost 65%, will lead the way at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
“The University of KwaZulu-Natal is proud to announce that almost 65% of our graduates are women. It is one of the highest percentages in the history of the university,” said UKZN corporate relations division acting executive director, Normah Zondo.
“There will be 6 564 undergraduate and 2 799 postgraduate degrees awarded during the autumn graduation ceremonies. There are 626 masters and 276 doctoral graduands.
“University management is especially proud of the 158 summa cum laude and 444 cum laude graduands who have completed their studies with distinction. It is also notable that over 71% of the total academic top achievers are women,” Zondo said.
“The university will also celebrate the achievements of 101 graduands with disabilities. The College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science will confer 1 462 degrees, 4 772 in the College of Humanities, 1 956 in the College of Law and Management Studies, and 1 173 in the College of Health Sciences,” Zondo said.
Zondo said that this year the university would host a marathon of 17 graduation ceremonies between May 3 and 12, 2023, in Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
“A total of 9 363 students will take to the stage and in true ‘UKZN tradition’ claim their rightful place among the more than 189 000 alumni,” Zondo said.
She added that that the graduation ceremonies presented a great opportunity for the graduands to celebrate their achievements and share this moment with their families and friends.
She also said that it would honour seven distinguished individuals for their remarkable achievements in the fields of arts, social sciences, and management. Through innovation, extensive knowledge and expertise in their respective fields, the honorary graduands had positively affected the lives of people in South Africa and globally.
“The university is proud to announce that this year Professor Deevia Bhana has been awarded Fellow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. In a distinguished academic career spanning 25 years, Professor Bhana has pioneered high-quality research and also maintained a sustained focus on gender and sexuality as it is experienced in the course of young adolescent lives,” Zondo said.
“Bhana has had a substantial impact on the research landscape, including generating new knowledge in the fields of young sexualities and masculinities, gender and sex education, and guiding the direction of further inquiry at a global level. She is also considered to be one of the foremost feminist scholars in gender and childhood sexuality.”
Zondo added that Distinguished Teachers awards would also be awarded to outstanding teachers who demonstrated innovation and excellence in the areas of curriculum development, teaching methodology and assessment methods.
This year the university would be recognising Dr Dalene Vosloo, a senior lecturer in Ecotoxicology and Academic Leader of Cellular Biology in the School of Life Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science.
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