The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) hosted its annual 2019 Staff Recognition and Research awards ceremony online for the first time recently. The awards ceremony was initially planned to take place on 20 March 2020 but because of the current Coronavirus pandemic they were postponed and subsequently held virtually on online platform, Microsoft Teams.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, FoAD’s Executive Dean, Dr René Smith said the awards are meant to recognise staff members for the ‘incredible’ work they do in moving the faculty forward.
“These awards are not just for members of Faculty Board but they are for staff members in the Faculty of Arts and Design. We started them about five years ago because we felt it was so important to recognise the work staff members were doing in the faculty. They are also an incredibly important event because the faculty values everybody who is doing their bit to move us forward.”
The awards are divided into three sections, the Dean’s Awards, Research Awards and Softcopy Magazine Awards.
The Dean’s Awards which are based on performance and contribution to meeting Faculty’s objectives and University’s strategic projects. The Research Awards are based on research outputs and are coordinated by FoAD’s Research Office and the Softcopy Magazine Awards are voted for by FoAD staff members are coordinated by the Softcopy editor.
The Dean’s Awards has 9 categories; Team, Individual, Administration, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Internationalisation, Student Centeredness, Community Engagement and e-Learning.
The Department of Drama and Production Studies was one of the top winners walking away with three awards for Dean’s Student Centeredness Award, Dean’s Team Award and Dean’s Individual Award awarded to the Head of Department, Professor Debbie Lutge.
Under the Research Awards, English and Communication’s Programme Coordinator Dr Rachel Matteau-Matsha won Research of the Year. Graphic Design’s Professor Rolf Gaede received the Supervisor of the Year Award and Fashion’s Lee Scott got the Creative Output of the Year Award.
Commenting on her win, Scott said, “The award made my day! Sitting at home and dealing with all the Covid-19 fallout and impact on teaching and learning, one tends to get a little low, so receiving the award certainly cheered me up.”
The Softcopy Magazine Awards which have become an exciting fixture of the awards ceremony since being introduced in 2018 has five categories; Academic Support Staff Member of the Year which was awarded to Dr Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi and Ntando Nxumalo, Academic of the Year went to Dr Chris De Beer and Lyndall Kemm-Stols.
Video Technology’s Niresh Singh was named Technician of the Year, while Journalism’s Lindiwe Ntombela won Secretary of the Year, and Best Dressed Staff Member of the Year went to Andile Dube. Recipients of these awards are voted for by other staff members in the faculty.
In his vote of thanks remarks, FoAD’s Deputy Dean, Professor Brian Pearce thanked the Executive Dean for initiating awards.
“Dr Smith She is an extremely supportive leader who always encourages staff and is proud of their achievements. We are very fortunate to have such a Dean, someone who herself is a creative and innovative person,” he said.
Professor Pearce also congratulated the winners saying he hopes the awards will inspire them to achieve even greater things in the future.
Full list of the winners:
DEAN’S AWARDS
- DEAN’S TEAM AWARD
Department of Drama and Production Studies
- DEAN’S INDIVIDUAL AWARD
Prof Deborah Lutge
- DEAN’S ADMINISTRATION AWARD
Parveen Randeree
- DEAN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD
Department of Fashion and Textiles
- DEAN’S INNOVATION AWARD
Niresh Singh and The 360-degree Dome Projection Team
- DEAN’S INTERNATIONALISATION AWARD
Department of Fashion and Textiles
- DEAN’S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD
Khaya Mchunu
- DEAN’S STUDENT CENTREDNESS AWARD
Department of Drama and Production Studies
- DEAN’S e-LEARNING AWARD
Maud Blose
RESEARCH AWARDS
- RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Dr Rachel Matteau-Matsha
- CREATIVE OUTPUT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Lee Scott
- SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
Prof Rolf Gaede
SOFTCOPY MAGAZINE AWARDS
- ACADEMIC SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD (1)
Dr Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi
- ACADEMIC SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD (2)
Ntando Nxumalo
- ACADEMIC OF THE YEAR AWARD (1)
Dr Chris De Beer
- ACADEMIC OF THE YEAR AWARD (2)
Lyndall Elizabeth Kemm
- TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Niresh Singh
- SECRETARY OF THE YEAR AWARD
Lindiwe Ntombela
- BEST DRESSED STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Andile Dube
Pictured: Dr Rene Smith
Andile Dube
