We are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Ruth Mampane as our Acting Head of Department. Professor Mampane's teaching expertise spans both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with a focus on learning diversity, inclusive education and qualitative research methodology.

She has been recognised with the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholarship (UMAPS) for the 2010-2011 academic year and was part of the 2005 cohort of the Research Capacity Building Initiative (RCI) under the South African Netherlands Research Programme on Alternative Development (SANPAD).

Professor Mampane's doctoral research was conducted in demographically segregated and predominantly black township schools in Gauteng, Pretoria East, where she explored the relationship between resilience and the school environment. Her current research interests continue to build on this foundation, focusing on contextual influences on child development, particularly during adolescence. Her work examines resilience, assets, racial identity, school culture and its impact on resilience, academic motivation and commitment, family resilience, and the challenges faced by families affected or infected by HIV/AIDS.