Prof Antoinette Lombard, Head of the Department of Social Work and Criminology at the University of Pretoria, recently received recognition for her work at two separate occasions. She was elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa and received the Distinguished Social Work Educator of the Year Award 2017 from the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI). These honours affirmed her achievements and standing as a social work academic in both the national and international contexts.

In her role as social work academic, Prof Lombard has made significant contributions to the development of the profession in South Africa. She chaired the Standards Generating Body for Social Work for nine years, oversaw the development of the Continuing Professional Development policy for social work, and served on the reference group that drafted standards for the Bachelor of Social Work qualification. These efforts contributed to the development of minimum standards for social work education and the promotion of continuing education in the profession.

Her continuous engagement in research is reflected in her C1 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF), which is the highest NRF Rating among South African academics in social work.

Prof Lombard has been involved with ASASWEI for a considerable amount of time, serving as Secretary and Treasurer (1989 to 1995) and as Vice President (2007 to 2009), among other offices. She represented ASASWEI at the International Association of Schools of Social Work and serves both as Chair of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, and as the Africa Coordinator for the Global Agenda for Social Work.

Prof Lombard is nationally and internationally recognised for her role in the establishment of developmental social work in South Africa, a paradigm that focuses on developmental issues to promote social justice and people empowerment.