I have been working within the Higher Education sector for more than 18 years, and working for the past 15 years at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). I served as an academic up until 2007, and thereafter became a hybrid in the system, functioning in my current position of Director – Transformation (Monitoring and Evaluation), whilst continuing my involvement with research through the supervision of postgraduate (PG) students within the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. I have served as supervisor and co-supervisor and contributed to the successful graduation of 12 PG students (ranging from Honours to PhD level). The research findings have been disseminated via peer-reviewed international journal articles, and national and international conference papers. I have developed proposals for research funding and successfully sourced funding from the MRC, NRF and SA Reserve Bank. I have been a member of senior management for the past 4.5 years, serving on various strategic institutional structures, including the NMMU Council.
I come from a working class family and have been privileged to obtain a tertiary education. I am the mother of three children, Remi (20), Reece (17) and Andrea (12). As a Catholic Christian, the principles of human dignity, social justice and equality were instilled in my upbringing. These principles have informed my choice in career as an educator and as a proponent of change. I believe that through facilitating the learning experience of students to acquire adaptable expertise that is applicable to their local contexts, while still being globally relevant, people can raise above their poverty and contribute meaningfully towards socioeconomic development.
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