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Political Studies Association honours SU’s Pierre du Toit
Author: Corporate Marketing/Korporatiewe Bemarking
Published: 08/09/2016

The South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS) has honoured Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Prof Pierre du Toit with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

SAAPS is the oldest professional and subject association for political scientists in the country with one of its aims to recognise scholars (students and lecturers) for their scientific contribution to SAAPS and political science in general.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is based on a peer review of a scholar's work and recognises exceptional and internationally-recognised sustained scholarship over a period. Du Toit, of SU’s Department of Political Science, has been recognised for this work on, inter alia, democratisation and South Africa’s democratic transition.

He received the award at the Association’s recent Awards Ceremony that formed part of its National Conference held at the University of the Western Cape.

In his acceptance speech, Du Toit reflected on the rewards of an academic career (which he called a vocation rather than a mere job) by focusing on research, methodology, teaching and academic discipline.

SAAPS congratulated Du Toit for his major academic contribution and wished him well for the future.

Prof Hennie Kotze, former dean of SU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, received the award in 2014.

Photo: Proff Pierre du Toit and Amanda Gouws of the Department of Political Science