At the start of 2020, Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, Professor James Ogude, was awarded an A-2 rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF).  

The NRF ratings are based on a researcher’s research outputs and impact as perceived by international peer reviewers. A-rated researchers are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their respective fields for the high quality and impact of their research outputs.

Professor Ogude is now one of 16 Univeristy of Pretoria scientist with an A-rating from the NRF, and one of two such scholars located in the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, joining historian Professor Charles van Onselen. A full article on this achievement is available here. 

In light of his achievement, Professor Ogude was congratulated by the Academy of Science of South Africa's (ASSAf) executive officer Professor Himla Soodyall. That letter is available here. 

The ASSAf is the official national Academy of Science in South Africa and it represents the country in the international community of sciences academies. Since its inception, ASSAf has grown from a small, emergent organisation to a well established academy. More information about ASSAf can be found here. Professor Soodyall was appointed the executive officer of ASSAf in January 2019, and is a renowned scientist for her groundbreaking genetic reserach into the people's of sub-Saharan Africa in which her studies have identified some of the oldest DNA found living people today, adding weight to theory that modern humans evolved in the area now known as Africa.