HOD appointment three days into lockdown was ‘baptism of fire’

Faculty of Natural Sciences: Professor Delia Marshall - Top Achiever

Professor Delia Marshall’s research interests lie in undergraduate physics education and methods of enabling students to access the disciplinary knowledge and practices of physics. she is passionate about the public good purposes of higher education, and its impact on students’ life trajectories, and recently co-authored a book titled Going to University: The influence of higher education on the lives of young South Africans, which explored some of these themes.

“It is not just female academics who have been affected by the pandemic. Many of our female students have also struggled to study from home, with the demands of household chores and childcare.”

On a personal level, Prof Marshall has lived very close to the frontlines of this pandemic. “My husband is a healthcare worker who was working closely with Covid patients on a daily basis, so there was an ever-present sense of dread and vulnerability in our household.”

2020 was a whirlwind for her: she started a new job as Head of the Department of Physics & Astronomy just three days into the Covid national lockdown. “It really was a baptism of fire. Leading my department’s sudden shift to online learning was challenging, and I was extremely grateful for the deep sense of collegiality in my department. Colleagues stepped up to help each other master the technical and educational design aspects of online teaching, and shared ideas and resources.”

One of the major challenges was how Covid-19 amplified the already existing inequalities in higher education.

“Many lecturers, it seems to me, have experienced similar distress witnessing their students falling behind and feeling socially isolated, yet being unable to adequately connect with them or provide support. This is something we perhaps need to think about as an institution, if we want to mitigate the long-term effects.”

Personally, she tried to set up boundaries, deliberately demarcating non-work time and unplugging from emails and screens. she also tried to make time for restorative activities, like planning walks or runs with friends, or an early morning swim or surf. “But I certainly don’t think I got the work-life balance right a lot of the time.”

Alongside the intensity of adapting to a new way of working, there were also moments of real joy in 2020. “I found myself enjoying the less hurried pace of life that lockdown brought, finding pleasure in the simpleaspects of daily life – with more family time together, early morning coffee in my garden, or pausing at my home desk to watch the birds outside my window.”

Looking ahead, Prof Marshall is excited about a new “science for Development” Honours module being set up in the department, led by colleague Carolina Odman, which will develop physics students’ ability to apply their scientific, mathematical, computational and data skills to broader sustainable development contexts.