Biography: Gillian Godsell
- By Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University
Dr Gillian Godsell graduated from Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University in 1972 with a BA degree majoring in Psychology and Afrikaans. Her honours and masters qualifications are also in the field of psychology, crowned with a PhD from Boston University which she attained in 1990.
Dr Godsell served as a full-time researcher at the National Institute for Personnel Research from 1974 to 1983, and was registered as an industrial psychologist in 1983. She has worked at the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Centre for Policy Studies, as an associate of the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture at Boston University as a Researcher at the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Centre for Developing Business from 1990 to 1994. She ahs also served as a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at RAU. She is currently an Associate Research Fellow in the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Graduate School of Public and Development Management, a position that she has held since 2006.
Dr Godsell is well-known for her deep interest in education, but she has worked voluntarily across a number of sectors. She worked intensely for the Progressive Party between 1969 and 1979, served on the governing bodies of several schools and as a trustee of small business initiatives and as an active board member of a number of entrepreneurship programmes.
She is widely published, has written and edited a number of chapters in books, academic journals and the popular media. A book titled Thought pieces by Opinion Leaders edited by Max du Preez, which contains a collection of critical reflections on various aspects of contemporary South Africa, features a chapter by Dr Godsell entitled Moving Forward School by School.
Dr Godsell serves as a board member of Radio Today where she hosts a programme called Jozi Today, provides a space for people to tell the stories of the positive things happening in Joburg.