Prof Melodie Slabbert has been appointed as the Deputy Executive Dean of the College of Law from 2013
Congratulations are buzzing in the intellectual corridors of the college as newly-appointed Deputy Executive Dean of the College of Law, Professor Melodie Slabbert , prepares to assume the office at the beginning of the following academic year.
“The year 2012 has been one of the most exciting and satisfying years. To have been the Director of the School of Law for the past months has been a very rewarding and exhilarating experience and I look forward to serving the college in a different capacity in 2013,” said Slabbert.
Slabbert, who was appointed as the Director of the School of Law in July 2012, was also the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research and the Women in Leadership Research Award this year.
“I believe success is not only determined by hard work and determination alone. Humility, faith, gratitude and a good sense of humour are also essential, in my view. I am inspired by the real-life stories of persons who achieve the highest success against all odds. One recent example is that of Sir John Gurdon, one of the 2012 Nobel prize-winners for medicine, whose biology teacher wrote in his school report in 1949 that it would be ‘a waste of time for Gurdon to pursue a career in science’. Many of our students achieve success under very difficult personal and financial circumstances and are all heroes in their own personal right.”
Holding DLitt and Doctor of Laws degrees, Slabbert is a full professor whose research interests straddle medical law and ethics, legal aspects relating to the application of biotechnology, and the intersection between law and literature.
She has obtained many awards, amongst others, the Unisa Senate Medal for best LLB student in 1996, the Pretoria Bar Council Johannes Voet Medal for best academic performance by an LLB student, and the Ad Hoc Award by the Attorneys Fidelity Fund (AFF) in 1996 for the best LLB student. She is also a member of numerous national and international boards and other bodies. She was recently elected as a member of the National Biotechnology Advisory Committee.
Asked about her recipe for achieving a high level of professionalism and integrity, Slabbert said: “Acting professionally requires that we treat persons with dignity and respect and act ethically and with integrity at all times.”
Her academic prowess is evident in her publications, including forty accredited research articles, and, more recently, a monograph on medical law in South Africa for the International Encyclopaedia of Laws (2011), and a chapter on the regulation of surrogate motherhood in an international contribution by Hart Publishing (2012).
Slabbert said she would like to focus her attention on research-related matters in the college and also continue to be closely involved with the Flagship on Biotechnology and Medical law, in addition to the other duties and responsibilities that she will have. “I also would like to continue in 2013 the close relationship that was established with our students through the Student Indaba during 2012.”
Written by Makabongwe Khanyile
