Annual Research Report 2020

35 In loving memory of Professor Audrey Msimanga SPU Head of School: Education Professor Msimanga served as the Head of School of Education at SPU from 2019 until early 2021, when she took up the position of Head of the School of Education at Wits University. Prior to joining SPU, she was the Academic Head of Postgraduate Studies at the Wits School of Education. Professor Msimanga started out as a high school Science teacher, then moved into biodiversity research, after which she joined higher education as a Biology lecturer and then came full circle as a teacher educator. She held a PhD in Science Education and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Wits University, which was preceded by an MSc in Zoology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She obtained both a BSc Honours in Biological Sciences and a BSc in Botany and Zoology from the University of Zimbabwe. Professor Msimanga was the Chair of the Research Capacity Building Committee of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. She also served as associate editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching , as well as in various other research and academic bodies. She grew up in a community where very few women had an edu- cation and held the strong belief that if you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. Professor Msimanga made a great contribution to the education of both men and women and her passing will leave a void in many lives. School of Education (SoE) Prof. Audrey Msimanga