Staff

The staff bring to the department a wide variety of experiences, backgrounds, educational qualifications and personalities. 

Mrs Karen Ellery 

BSc (Hons), Wits; MSc Wits; M Ed (Higher Education), University of Natal

K.Ellery@ru.ac.za

Karen Ellery joined the Extended Studies Unit at the beginning of 2010, having previously worked at a foundation level at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of KwaZulu-Natal for over 10 years. She teaches on the Integrated Science Concepts and methods course and coordinates the Science Extended Studies Programme.

Karen is passionate about teaching and enjoys working with learners from different backgrounds. Her research interests were initially in the field of science, but now days relate broadly to student learning. Most recently she has been working on epistemological access and the development of student agency.

The Ellery family (husband and two teenage boys) moved to the Eastern Cape from KZN nearly two years ago. They all love the ‘smallness’ of Grahamstown after being in Durban for a number of years, and spend their holidays exploring the wonderful local environment – on bicycles when they have the energy.

Mrs Este Coetzee

BA Hons - UP, MEd - University of the Free State

E.Coetzee@ru.ac.za

Coordinator - Commerce Extended Studies Programme

Mrs Coetzee currently teaches Theory of Finance and co-ordinates the Commerce Extended Studies Programme. In the mainstream, she does student support for mainstream students

Her main research interests are Admission and funding criteria for university education; Active learning techniques; Teaching Mathematics successfully.

She has a wide range of social interests, including Early childhood development; activities to enhance a cleaner, greener environment; resource management [especially water].

Miss Judith Reynolds

MA (Rhodes), PGDHE (Rhodes), BA (Rhodes)

J.Reynolds@ru.ac.za

Coordinator - Humanities Extended Studies Programme

Judith has an MA from Rhodes in Linguistics and English language. After graduating she worked in Poland for 6 years teaching English as a foreign language and attempting to learn Polish. During the years that she worked in Poland she also taught in the summers in England. From 1998 to 2001 she worked at summer schools for teenagers and then spent three years teaching on a course at Birmingham University for international students coming to the UK to do Masters degrees in business subjects.

Judith returned to Rhodes in 2005 to teach on the Humanities Extended Studies Programme. She teaches the Anthropology and the Journalism and Media Studies Extended Studies courses. Judith is also the coordinator of the Humanities Extended Studies Programme.

Mr Oscar Eybers

Honours (English) - UWC; PGCE - UWC; MA (English) - Stellenbosch University

O.Eybers@ru.ac.za

At the age of 9, Oscar moved to the USA and lived there for 12 years, completing his high school graduation there. He returned to South Africa in 1994.

Oscar's first teaching experience was working at a creche for 5 years named "The Alphabet Tree" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His teaching experience includes teaching English to high school students in Cape Town, lecturing foundational English at Zululand University in KZN for two years and managing the Writing Centre at the University of Fort Hare for one year. He is currently teaching English in the Commerce Extended Studies Programme.

Mrs Ivy DeVos

BCom (Rhodes), Completing PGDHE (Rhodes)

I.Devos@ru.ac.za

Before joining Rhodes University Ivy worked in the banking industry for about 10 years specialising in Investments and Foreign exchange transactions. She currently teaches Accounting 1F and Accounting 1G in the Commerce Extended Studies Programme.

Ivy is presently completing her PGDHE and is hopeful to start on her Masters in Education in due course. She also currently administers the tutor program for the Extended Studies and is also responsible for the tutors' training and feedback programs held at the beginning of the year and mid year respectively. Outside of office hours she enjoys dabbling in the kitchen and has the reputation for the best chocolate cake on campus.

Ms Leela Pienaar

MA (Rhodes); B.Ed. (UNISA);

Dip. Ed. (London); BA, UHDE (Durban-Westville).

L.Pienaar@ru.ac.za

Leela has taught English at high school and tertiary level in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the former Transkei. Her interest in World Englishes led her to the Dictionary Unit for South African English at Rhodes University where she spent roughly 10 years working as a lexicographer. Her research interests have included Corpus Linguistics, Lexicography and Varieties of English.

A teacher at heart, Leela welcomed the return to teaching when she joined the Extended Studies Unit in 2008. Her work involves language and literacy for Science students. In addition she supervises a group of mentors for these students. She is interested in the interface between language, reflective writing and learning.

Leela has lived in Grahamstown since 1996 when the family relocated to take advantage of the schooling and university opportunities in the city. Although her children have since grown up and moved away, she says that they have strong attachments to the Eastern Cape and what they fondly refer to as ‘big sky country’.

Corinne Knowles

MA (Rhodes); BA (UPE); HDE (UCT)

C.Knowles@ru.ac.za

Corinne Knowles is new to the Extended Studies programme, and teaches the Sociology and Political & International Studies Extended Studies courses. She is passionate about teaching, and taught English, Literature and Guidance for 13 years at Secondary Schools in the Eastern Cape before joining the NGO sector. She has worked with and initiated projects to address poverty, HIV, job creation and community building. She started work at Rhodes in 2002 as a fundraiser for university projects. She also helped to develop and run the ACE Life Orientation course for in-service teachers from 2004-2006 in the Rhodes Education Department, has run workshops on a variety of subjects, and read widely on issues in Higher Education. She graduated with an MA in Politics, using Judith Butler to explore gender transformation at Rhodes, in 2011. Corinne is a social justice activist, a poet, a feminist, and an incurable optimist.

Mrs Gillian Wylie

BCom (Rhodes)

gillianwylie@imaginet.co.za

Gill teaches Business and Life Skills in the Commerce Extended Studies programme. Being a successful business woman herself for many years, she gives the students critical skills needed to start their own businesses.

Besides her teaching schedule, Gill runs Wylie's Dairy with her husband, a dairy farm just outside Grahamstown that provides a wide range of dairy products to the Grahamstown community.

Gill also supervises the Commerce Extended Studies Mentoring Programme.