DR. JOHANN BUIS’ career-long goal was to travel with students to his home country of South Africa. He achieved his goal in May 2017 when he led a group of students there as a part of his Peace and Conflict Studies course, “Resistance and Reconciliation in South Africa: Society, Culture, Hope.”
“I like to think of the trip as a personal pilgrimage of grace,” says Dr. Buis. “To learn what resistance and reconciliation mean for a new generation of people for whom the transition from apartheid to democracy is only in the history books.”
Dr. Buis also led an African Music Immersion Week over spring break at HoneyRock. Students participated in African music bow-making, singing, dancing, and film.
Initially denied the right to education as a youth, Dr. Buis had to obtain government permission to study music at the University of Cape Town. His journey to higher education was a difficult one, and his commitment to education and experiential learning is a passion.
“My passion is to get students to see and experience learning outside of the classroom. To participate in the performance and not just to watch,” says Dr. Buis.
HOMETOWN: OUDTSHOORN, SOUTH AFRICA
TITLE: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MUSIC
DEPARTMENT: CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
YEARS: 14
EDUCATION: D.A., M.M., BALL STATE UNIVERSITY; B.MUS., H.D.E., UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN; B. ED., L.T.C.L., UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE (OBOE); L.T.C.L. (RECORDER), LONDON UNIVERSITY; U.T.L.M., UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
FUN FACT: DR. BUIS HAS MET NELSON MANDELA THREE TIMES