Honorary awards/accolade
Prof André Boraine has been recognised among 500 top insolvency lawyers globally in the 2020 LawDragon 500 Leading Global Restructuring and Insolvency Lawyers list, in recognition for his insolvency law and restructuring expertise. Prof Boraine is Professor in the Department of Private Law at the University of Pretoria.
Prof Tshilidzi Marwala has been awarded the 2020 Golden Eagle Award by St John’s College. The award recognises and celebrates the valued, lasting contributions of Old Johannians who have made a difference in their community, industry, arena of life or field of study. He is currently Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg.
Prof Daya Reddy will be awarded the Degree Doctor of Science (DSc) (Science), honoris causa by Stellenbosch University in 2021. The honorary doctorate recognises outstanding individuals who have made valuable contributions in the fields of medicine, literature, the performing arts, business, science, education, and community development. Prof Reddy is Director: Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics, Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, and South African Research Chair in Computational Mechanics at the University of Cape Town.
Prof Ramashwar Bharuthram has been awarded the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation Special Recognition Award in Innovation and Achievement by the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The award recognises those whose research efforts have made a difference at the highest levels. He is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the UWC.
Prof Ernst Conradie has been awarded the Faculty Book Prize Award by the University of the Western Cape (UWC), in recognition of his book called ‘T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Theology and Climate Change’ for contributing to scholarly work and environmental activism. He is Senior Professor in the Department of Religion and Theology at the UWC.
Prof Robert Morrell has been awarded the 2020 Distinguished Alumni award by Rhodes University. The award recognises Old Rhodians whose actions and achievements have enhanced the institution’s reputation. He is the director of the University of Cape Town’s New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP) and the Next Generation Professoriate (NGP) initiative in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, both major transformation projects to nurture new cohorts of young and mid-career black and female researchers.
Dr Phil Mjwara has been awarded the National Annual Batho Pele Excellence Award (NBPEA): Best Director General (National) of the Year. This year’s award is dedicated to all public servants who died of Covid-19 in the public service space. Dr Mjwara is currently the Director-General of the Department of Science and Innovation.
International awards
Prof Jimmy Volmink will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Belgian university, KU Leuven in February 2021. The Honorary Doctorate recognises his work in the fight against inequality to promote human dignity, and his contribution to both science and practice to improve health and wellbeing. He is currently the Dean in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University.
Appointments
Prof Deresh Ramjugernath has been appointed as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching at Stellenbosch University (SU) from 1 January 2021. He is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Three ASSAf Members have been appointed as Distinguished Professors by SU. The title of ‘Distinguished Professor’ was created in recognition of SU academics who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in their university careers. They are:
Prof Guy Midgley is a leading expert in the field of biodiversity and global change science at SU.
Prof Keymanthri Moodley is Director of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at SU.
Prof Taryn Young is the Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care and the Head of Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at SU.
Eleven ASSAf Members have been re-appointed as Distinguished Professors by SU. They are:
Prof Ashraf Kagee is currently serving on a working group of the World Health Organisation to decide on diagnostic criteria for stress-related disorders for the forthcoming edition of the International Classification of Diseases.
Prof Amanda Gouws is the SARChI Chair in Gender Politics at SU.
Prof Lesley Le Grange is a Member of Council on Higher Education in South Africa.
Prof Yusef Waghid is the Editor-in-Chief of South African Journal of Higher Education.
Prof Dave Richardson is the Director of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology at SU.
Prof Kathryn Myburgh is a Council Member of the Royal Society of South Africa and is an expert in integrative human biology and exercise physiology at SU.
Prof Leon Dicks serves on the Advisory Board for Probiotics (Copenhagen, Denmark), and the probiotic entiroTM.
Prof Willem (Emile) van Zyl is DST/NRF Senior Chair of Energy Research in Biofuels at SU.
Prof Linus Opara is the DST/NRF South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology at SU.
Prof Mark Cotton is Head of Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Director of the Family Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital (TCH), SU.
Prof Soraya Seedat is the Executive Head of Department of Psychiatry and the South African Research Chair in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at SU.
Two ASSAf members were elected as fellows of The African Academy of Sciences (AAS).They are:
Prof Collet Dandara is Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town.
Prof Yahya Choonara is Chair and Head of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Dr Renosi Mokate has been appointed by Rhodes University to serve on its Institute of Social and Economic Research Advisory Board. She currently serves on President Ramaphosa’s Economic Advisory Council.