Jacob du Plessis lectures development theory, community development and general or introductory sociology to first year students. Research interests include the sociology of teaching linked to the HEQC teaching large classes project with the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at SU; another focus includes Community Economic Development (CED) and assets based community development strategies in the context of wine farms in the Western Cape, in association with the Pebbles Project, a non-profit organisation with their head office located in Somerset West. He is also the academic director of the Northwestern University (Chicago) Public Health Programme in South Africa and is interested in sociology of health topics related to HIV/AIDS, TB, FAS and public health care. In the broader university context, he is concerned with contributing towards the institutionalisation process of the scholarship of Community Interaction. He teaches service learning modules in community development theory in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology and in the IPSU Certificate Programme in Community Engagement in South Africa, a joint programme of the International Office and the Division of Community Interaction at SU.