Die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US), die Sentrum vir Onderrig en Leer (SOL) en verskeie akademiese departemente betreur die dood van 'n voormalige direkteur van SOL, prof Brenda Leibowitz.
Prof Maureen Robinson van die US Departement Kurrikulumstudies en 'n vriend en kollega van prof Leibowitz, skryf:
I have known Brenda Leibowitz for over 30 years, both as a friend and colleague. She was a teacher during the turbulent school boycotts of the 1980s in Cape Town and is remembered dearly by many of her former pupils. She worked for some years in the Department of Education with the late Kader Asmal, as Director: Race and Values in Education, later moving into the fields of academic development and teaching and learning, seeing these as vehicles for the transformation of higher education.
Between 2004 and 2013 Prof Leibowitz worked at Stellenbosch University as Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning. The Centre supported the enhancement of all aspects of teaching and learning at the University. Areas of focus of the Centre included: coordination of the University's Extended Degree Programmes, support for tutor programmes, the professional development of academics, student feedback, integrating academic literacy in the curriculum, E-learning, development of teaching and learning policies and strategic documents, the First-year Academy and various research projects. She was concurrently Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies, convened a module in the MPhil in Health Science Education and supervised several PhD and Masters students.
In 2014 she moved to the University of Johannesburg, where she was offered a Chair in Teaching and Learning. This was recently accepted as a new SARCHi Chair, an expression of the high regard in which she was held in the academic community.
From the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa (HELTASA) comes the following words: Brenda has been taken from us too soon, when there was still so much more to share and so much still to do in academic development. Rest in peace, Brenda, and be sure that your legacy to higher education in South Africa is enormous and will continue not least in the form of HELTASA.
Dr Nicolene Herman, Adjunkdirekteur: Setrum vir Onderrig en Leer, skryf: :
Brenda Leibowitz was vanaf 2003 tot 2013 die Direkteur van die Sentrum vir Onderrig en Leer (SOL) aan die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US). In onderrig en leer en die verdere opleiding van dosente was sy ʼn krag om mee rekening te hou. Onder haar leiding het SOL in 2005 die voorloper van die eerste SoTL konferensie aangebied. In 2017 was Brenda heel gepas een van die hoofsprekers by die tiende SoTL konferensie.
Aan die US was sy instrumenteel in onder meer die implementering van FINLO (die Fonds vir Innovasie en Navorsing in Leer en Onderrig), die opstel van die Strategie vir Leer en Onderrig, die skryf van die dokument oor ʼn Verwelkomingskultuur by die US, die drie rolle van ʼn akademikus en die instel van die US Onderriggenootskappe. Haar diep insig en breë kennis het haar in staat gestel om verskillende aspekte van L&O by die US sinvol te integreer en vorentoe te neem.
Sy was ʼn medeprofessor in Kurrikulumstudies en het ʼn module in die MPhil in Gesondheidsberoepe-onderwys gekoördineer en het klasgegee vir studente wat die Nagraadse Diploma in Hoëronderwys en die MPhil in Hoër en Volwasse Onderwys gevolg het. Sy was ook studieleier vir ʼn aantal meestersgraad- en PhD-studente.
Haar besondere aanslag met haar studente was altyd te siene in die manier waarop sy hulle betrek het by groter onderrig-en-leer navorsingsprojekte. Haar “hands-on" en selflose begeleiding van studente asook openhartige en onbaatsugtige medewerking met kollegas en ander navorsers, plaaslik en internasionaal, op die gebied van onderrig-en-leer navorsing, is ʼn belangrike deel van haar nalatenskap.
Op nasionale vlak het Brenda vele Nasionale Navorsingstigting-projekte gelei, die Higher Education in Learning and Teaching Association in Southern Africa (HELTASA) op die been gebring en was ook die eerste voorsitter. Sy het haar kollegas, akademici en die US op dié manier sigbaar gemaak in en vir die nasionale dialoog rondom Hoëronderwys. Sy was ook instrumenteel om ʼn nasionale Onderriggenootskap (TAU Fellowship) op die been te bring.
As oud-kollegas het ons die hoogste respek vir Brenda se menslikheid, nederigheid, intellek, warmte en omgee. Haar sterfte laat ʼn groot leemte in ons harte sowel as in onderrig en leer in Suid-Afrika. Ons harte gaan uit na Andre 'and the boys' (Shaun en Aiden) vir wie sy so lief was.
Foto: HELTASA
