Page 19 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 2

Graf was appointed Dean of the Faculty, a part-time position at that stage. When Clark retired in 1969 he was succeeded by J.M.M. (Mike) Brown until 1971 when the latter accepted a position in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Pretoria. A major restructuring of the department followed, with the appointment of W.L. (Bill) Jenkins, senior lecturer in the Department of Medicine, as professor and head of a new Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, which was also responsible for a course in physiological chemistry. The addition of an Equine Physiology Research Unit under the guidance of A. Littlejohn also featured in 1971.
ONDERSTEPOORT 100
poort gained two additional lecturers in S. Strydom and J. Brinders but also benefited in terms of the incorporation of certain elements from the Medunsa curriculum into a revised course structure. A new ‘Applied Physiology’ course was in- troduced in the first semester of the third year, followed by a course named ‘Introduction to Clinical Studies’ in the second semester. Both were presented in a problem-based discussion format and produced excellent results.
Research in the ‘new’ department was focused on a central theme, i.e. the physiological response to environmental stress with the emphasis on African problems. Subthemes included the water and electrolyte balance in ruminants, nitrogen balance in indigenous goats, digestive fermentation and various studies in wildlife. A highlight and fitting culmination
In 1973, with the transfer of the Faculty to the University, only minor organizational changes were introduced but more emphasis was put on research activities. Other members of staff were T.F. Adelaar, associate professor
in toxicology; N.C. Owen, senior lecturer in
physiology and R.W. Worthington, senior
lecturer in biochemistry. Research in the
department included placental transfer of
drugs in pigs (Jenkins), physiology of exercise
in the horse (Littlejohn), characterization of
Clostridium welchii toxins (Worthington)
and renal function in sheep (Owen). Adelaar
retired in 1974, Owen moved to Medunsa
where he eventually became Dean and
Worthington emigrated to New Zealand. In
1978 Jenkins resigned to accept a position
at the Texas A & M University in the USA
and was succeeded by J.F.W. Grosskopf
who had been senior lecturer in animal
physiology at the Faculty of Agriculture since 1965.
Grosskopf was head of the department until his retirement in 1989 and during this period introduced some far-reaching changes in the curriculum, including a third semester course and a new basic course in physiology for the Diploma in Veterinary Nursing. In 1986 Pharmacology and Toxicology became an independent department again. Grosskopf actively promoted research collaboration with other groups in both the medical and agricultural fields in South Africa and abroad. This new approach was carried forward by his successor, J.G. van der Walt who had been appointed as associate professor 2 years previously. His interest in the nitrogen metabolism of ruminants and especially the role of the colon led to a variety of projects of both a basic and applied nature, such as the influence of drought and restriction of water intake on kidney function and nitrogen retention.
The last decade of the 20th century was dominated by the amalgamation with the Medunsa Faculty. Physiology was better prepared for the event than other departments be- cause it had been assisting its sister department in presenting its undergraduate physiology course following the untimely death of its departmental head in 1995. This resulted in good relations and collaboration between the two departments. The official process of amalgamation began in 1996, leading to the formal fusion of the departments in 1999. Onderste-
of activities was the Ninth International Symposium on Ruminant Physiology which was held for the first time in South Africa in 1999. Both van der Walt and Elizabeth A. Boomker, associate professor, were involved in the arrangements and the international publication of the proceedings of a most successful meeting. Unfortunately both Brinders and Strydom left the department in the late 1990s.
The year 2001 brought further changes to the department. The structure of the Faculty was changed significantly with the reduction in the number of departments to only five. The Departments of Anatomy and Physiology were amalgamated into
one department with H. Groenewald as departmental head.
Van der Walt became section head of physiology and devoted
much of his time to promoting research within the section 79 until his untimely death in 2004. In the same year, Joseph Chamunorwa joined the section and, although the number of
staff remained small (3), a number of postgraduate students
were attracted to undertake research in the section. In 2005
Ms P. Mabeta joined the section, again bringing the number
of teaching staff to four.
During this period the degree structure changed and staff spent many hours recurriculating in order to make a smooth transition to the new BSc and BVSc degrees that were implemented. Up until 2007 the research emphasis remained the same, but expanded in a small way into both ostrich and emu research, as a result of student projects relating to the growth and nutrition of these ratites. Research with regard to small ruminants expanded into the field of behaviour and food selection in indigenous goats, while still retaining some emphasis on water and nitrogen balance.
Surgery/Reproduction
A chair in surgery was not included in the first six appointments made when the Faculty was founded in 1920, presumably because it is a discipline traditionally only taught in the final
“The year 2001 brought further changes to the department. The structure of the Faculty was changed significantly with the reduction in the number of departments to only five.”
Faculty-specific Departments
1908-2008
Years