CLICK TO READ MORE

EDITORIAL

Make your footprints count

In this edition of Eish! you can read about the legacies of Prof Martin Oosthuizen, the current  deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, and Adv Johan Kruger SC, the outgoing Council chairperson.

 

Both of them led the NWU through difficult times. When Martin joined the NWU in June 2011 he faced huge teaching and learning challenges, but with hard work and a dedicated team, he overcame them. When he says goodbye in June this year, his legacy – such as the new teaching and learning strategy that Council approved last year – will be substantial.

 

Johan also leaves a noteworthy legacy. Serving as chairperson of the NWU Council from 2014 to 2017, he guided the Council over quite a few hurdles, especially ones that shot up during the NWU's strategy revision and restructuring process.

 

Both Martin and Johan are leaving significant footprints in NWU soil; footprints in which their successors will be able to follow. The question is: when you and I one day look back, will we be proud of the footprints behind us? In fact, are we making our footprints count every day?

 

It seems as if many NWU staff members – such as Prof Mary Grosser of the Vaal Triangle Campus who is emigrating to Germany – have made their footprints count in the past, leaving us their valuable contributions.

 

In her book Dance Of The Chupacabras, Lori Lopez writes: “… we must choose each step we take with utmost caution, for the footprints we leave behind are as important as the path we will follow.”

 

On a lighter note – Bob Moawad, the author of books such as Whatever It Takes, says: “You can't make footprints in the sands of time by sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave butt prints in the sands of time?”

 

Yes, we all leave imprints in “the sands of time” as we follow our life’s paths. The challenge is to make sure that these footprints are deep, meaningful and worth following.

 

Happy reading.

 

 

Scroll down

>

>