Setting the example and standing shoulder to shoulder with her male counterparts in the Higher Education Sector
Setting the example and standing shoulder to shoulder with her male counterparts in the Higher Education Sector
By Puleng Maphisa – 17 August 2021
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences: Professor Riana van der Bank
Professor Riana van der Bank is a phenomenal woman with more than 25 years of experience in the Higher Education Sector. In the second quarter of 2018, women accounted for 43, 8% of the total workforce, but only 32% of all managers. She is a lady accounting for one of this meagre 32%.
She has enriched herself with a range of legal qualifications, including inter alia, a BA (Cum Laude); BProc; LLB; LLM as well as her LLD in which she researched “The Borders of the Freedom of the Press in South African Law”.
In 2001, Prof Van der Bank was admitted to the High Court of South Africa as an Advocate. She joined Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in 1996 and became an Associate Professor in 2004, followed by a Full Professorship in 2011.
She is currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences and also serves on a number of committees at VUT, namely, Chairperson of BAC (Bid Adjudication Committee), Chairperson of COVID -19 Campus Biosafety Task Team, several external professional bodies, e.g. The National Patent Examination Board for more than 15 years.
Her passion is finding the human element in the law, particularly ensuring that legal rules make sense in the world. Prof Van der Bank boasts on several leadership and research awards. She is also a senior fellow of the World Business, Marketing & Management Development Organisation and a research fellow of EuroMed. In 2008 she was recognised by her peers as one of the top 2000 intellectuals in academia in the world. Thoroughly enjoying research and being actively involved in the field of research, she has written extensively, presented 39 papers and participated in numerous national and international conferences.
“I have published more than 75 papers in accredited and non-accredited journals and 3 chapters in various books, serve as the Chief Editor of the Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution and as a reviewer of other journals. I provide training on various aspects of law, equality and human rights in general on invite” said Prof Riana.
As a strategist she is well known for her dedication and focus when overseeing high-level projects. She is focused on knowledge creation and the nurturing of critical citizens who are well placed to address environmental degradation and social injustice.
