Page 15 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 2

ONDERSTEPOORT 100 Faculty-specific Departments
Until 1957 a system of informal departments existed, coinciding with those at the research in- stitute of which the staff lectured to the students on a part-time basis. Each scientific discipline therefore initially formed a ‘department’, the number of which increased as the curriculum developed. Over the years some subjects disappeared, others were added or combined in various ways to suit the circumstances. For example Surgery was added in 1921 to the original six disciplines and Embryology, Pharmacology, Bacteriology, Helminthology and State Veterinary Medicine in 1923.
veterinary faculty were finally appointed in August of that year he had been transferred to Materia Medica with G. v.d. W. de Kock in the chair for Anatomy, a position he had filled at the University of Stellenbosch the previous year. M.W. Henning was a lecturer in the department since 1922 and deputized for de Kock when the latter was appointed to the chair for Pathology in 1923 after spending a year in Berne specializing in pathology. In 1926, when the second year of study was moved from the universities to Onderstepoort, the chair was filled by R.W. Mettam, who had been the professor of
Veterinary Anatomy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
In the meantime Henning had trans- ferred to the TUC as Professor in Veterinary Science. Mettam resigned after a year and was succeeded in 1927 by H.H. Curson who brought some stability to the department before resigning in 1936 to accept a posi- tion in the Department of Native Affairs. Curson contributed significantly to tera- tology and embryological research and was the first staff member to lecture in Afrikaans on histology.
C. (Cecil) Jackson was the successor of Curson and occupied the chair for 19 years. His main interest was histology and his most important contribution an extensive study of the tumours of domesticated animals in South Africa which won him international recognition. He was also an accomplished cellist. When Jackson re- signed in 1955 he was succeeded by H.P.A. de Boom, popularly known as ‘Boompie’, who had been lecturing in embryology since 1940 and was famous for his spectacular 3-dimensional demonstrations of the
In 1925 Embryology was replaced by Tro- pical Medicine and in the following year Zootechnology was introduced. In 1928 Tro- pical Diseases and Protozoology replaced Tropical Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Bacteriology were combined and Patho- logical Physiology added.
“By 1957 there were
16 departments which were unacceptable to the university. As part of the negotiated restructuring
of the Faculty this number had to be reduced to nine. It was achieved by combining related disciplines into one department. Biochemistry and Chemical Pathology were incorporated into Physiology, for example, followed by further additions in 1971 of an Equine Physiology unit, Pharmacology and Toxicology.”
By 1957 there were 16 departments
which were unacceptable to the university.
As part of the negotiated restructuring of
the Faculty this number had to be reduced
to nine. It was achieved by combining
related disciplines into one department.
Biochemistry and Chemical Pathology were
incorporated into Physiology, for example,
followed by further additions in 1971 of
an Equine Physiology unit, Pharmacology
and Toxicology. The latter two became
an independent department again in
1986 and the Equine unit became an
independent Equine Research Centre in
1990. The amalgamation with Medunsa
in 1999 led to further restructuring,
eventually resulting in the present (2008)
five academic departments named above.
It is clearly almost impossible to discuss the history of each department separately. Therefore only brief historical overviews of those disciplines which were transferred in toto to the faculty and whose development is not incorporated elsewhere are given here.
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Anatomy
Anatomy was the first chair in the new faculty to be filled on a provisional basis early in 1920 by the appointment of P.R. Viljoen, who was at that stage the professor in Veterinary Science at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Transvaal University College (TUC). When the first six professors for the new
complicated processes of embryonic development.
De Boom was appointed as the first full-time professor in Anatomy in 1958 when the Faculty was restructured and remained in this position until his retirement in 1974. In 1975 the responsibility for the department was taken over by J.M.W. (Jan) le Roux who served in this position until 1982 when he became the tenth Dean of the Faculty. Le Roux was a productive researcher with a substantial list of scientific publications. During his time the first associate professor was appointed in the person of W.H. Gerneke who had been active in the department in various capacities since 1948. In 1982 M.M.S. (Malie) Smuts was the first female professor to be appointed at the Faculty. Shortly thereafter she spent a year in Israel
Faculty-specific Departments
1908-2008
Years