News
A few items of the news archive:
SAVUSA visit to South Africa
Book publications
Inaugural lectures Desmond Tutu Professors
The four Professors were installed and presented during the launch of the Desmond Tutu Programme on 4 December last year, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu himself addressing the audience (see the short report on the fourth of December 2008). In September and October, every professor delivered his inaugural speech in which they outlined their research plans and other academic activities for the next five years.
The Desmond Tutu Programme’s themes are Youth, Sports and Reconciliation and each Chair Holder dealt in his address with these themes from the perspectives of their respective disciplines and expertise in which processes of reconciliation in South Africa are contextualised.
More information on the Programme and the different Professors can be found on the Desmond Tutu Programme pages.
Prof. Stephen Ellis
On 23 September, Prof. Stephen Ellis was the first of the Desmond Tutu chair holders to deliver his inaugural lecture in the VU aula. In his lecture, Ellis urged the Europeans to decolonize their minds. Both Europeans and Africans should develop a new vision on the history of a relationship that is all too often mainly studied through the prism of colonial rule.
The full text of the lecture is available as a pdf-file.
Prof. Geert Savelsbergh
Prof. Geert Savelsbergh from the Faculty of Human Movement Science was the second Desmond Tutu Professor to hold his inaugural lecture, on Wednesday 30 September. In his lecture, called "Playing between the lines", Savelsbergh argued that an analysis of observatory skills can contribute to the identification and development of talent in sports. A soccer player who plays between the lines is always available to receive the ball and can become the linking factor within a team. Savelsbergh and his team are interested in the skills underlying the game insight of these players.
The full text of the lecture is available in pdf.
Prof. Eddy Van der Borght 
On Wednesday the 7th of October, Prof. Eddy Van der Borght, the Desmond Tutu Professor for the Faculty of Theology, held his inaugural lecture, titled “Sunday Morning – The Most Segregated Hour: On racial reconciliation as unfinished business for theology in South Africa and beyond”. In his lecture, Prof. Van der Borght argues that race is still a major factor in both South African society and in religious practice in South Africa. From the perspective of Christian theology it is surprising that a belief system in which the unity of the church as the expression of the faith in one God cannot overcome the differences between groups of people.
The full text is available in pdf.
Prof. Chris Elbers
On Wednesday, 14 October, Prof. Chris Elbers, Desmond Tutu Professor for the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, held his inaugural lecture. In “Op zoek naar de juiste maat” (Looking for the right measure) Prof. Elbers emphasises the need for sound empirical research in development economics and related policy recommendations. Too often, policy is made based on largely theoretical assumptions, whereas empirical research should not be omitted.
His lecture can be downloaded as a pdf.
Fifth Desmond Tutu Professor appointed: Prof. Marceline van Furth
Now the inaugural lectures of the four Desmond Tutu Professors have been delivered, SAVUSA is proud to announce the appointment of a fifth Desmond Tutu Professor! Dr. Marceline van Furth, paediatrician and infectiologist at VU Medical Centre, is in office as a Desmond Tutu Professor as from 1 October. She is also appointed as Professor in Paediatrics at VU Medical Centre, with special focus on Infectious Diseases. As Desmond Tutu Professor, she will primarily deal with the treatment of tuberculous meningitis in children in South Africa.
She will hold her inaugural lecture on 28 January 2010.
