UCT Installs a New Vice-Chancellor and New Chair of Council
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UCT NEW DAWN UCT installs a new Vice-Chancellor NEWS and new chair of Council 2008 ALUMNI MAGAZINE HOLY KAU! INTELLIGENT Comedian David Kau DESIGN steps up to the big screen Lindy Roy on clever designs for low-cost houses PLUS • Alumni updates • A Year in the Life of UCT • Alumni events • Lewis Pugh in cold water UCT NEWS 2008 1 Our mission Our mission is to be an outstanding teaching and research university, educating for life and addressing the challenges facing our society Educating for life means that our educa- • claim our place in the international critical enquiry and research, and tional process must provide: community of scholars • take excellence as the bench-mark for • a foundation of skills, knowledge and • strive to transcend the legacy of apart- all we do. versatility that will last a life-time, de- heid in South Africa and to overcome spite a changing environment all forms of gender and other oppres- We are committed to academic freedom, • research-based teaching and learning sive discrimination critical scholarship, rational and creative • critical enquiry in the form of the • be flexible on access, active in redress, thought, and free enquiry. It is part of our search for new knowledge and better and rigorous on success mission to ensure that these ideals live; this understanding, and • promote equal opportunity and the full necessarily requires a dynamic process of • an active developmental role in our development of human potential finding the balance between freedom and cultural, economic, political, scientific • strive for inter-disciplinary and inter- responsibility, rights and obligations, au- and social environment. institutional collaboration and syn- tonomy and accountability, transparency ergy, and and efficiency, and permanence and transi- Addressing the challenges facing our soci- • value and promote the contribution ence; and of doing this through consultation ety means that we must come to terms with that all our members make to realising and debate. our past, be cognisant of the present, and our mission. plan for the future. This Mission Statement was formulated by To equip people with life-long skills we a Working Group of the University Trans- In this, it is central to our mission that we: must and will: formation Forum and was affirmed and • recognise our location in Africa and • promote the love of learning, the skill adopted at a University Assembly on April our historical context of solving problems, and the spirit of 24, 1996. 2 UCT NEWS 2008 UCT NEWS Contents 2008 ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2 Foreword 5 Max Price installed as VC 6 Uplift the nation – Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane is new chair of UCT Council PUBLISHED BY The Communication and 7 A year in the life of UCT, part 1 Marketing Department, with the Development and Alumni 8 Fair game – Dr Bool Smuts swaps medicine for conservation Department, UCT 10 Comedian David Kau enters a brave new world EDITOR Megan Morris 13 A year in the life of UCT, part 2 14 Duncan Saville supports education development at UCT CONTRIBUTORS Myolisi Gophe 16 Norman Sutin honoured with festschrift Melanie Jackson Chris McEvoy 17 A year in the life of UCT, part 3 Caroline McGibbon Roger Sedres 18 Human polar bear Lewis Pugh has a mission Jennifer Still 21 Letter from abroad – Simon Chauke Helen Théron Katherine Traut 22 A year in the life of UCT, part 4 Yvette van Breda 23 Neville Isdell on the value of a UCT education THANKS TO Pauline Alexander, Rosemary 24 Getting into the designing act – Lindy Roy Burt, Mary Hilton, Joan Tuff, Katherine Thomson and Murray 26 A year in the life of UCT, part 5 Steyn, and the many other 27 Newsmakers contributors too legion to list. 29 A year in the life of UCT, part 6 COVER PICTURE Dr Max Price, Graça Machel 30 Report from DVC Prof Thandabantu Nhlapo and Archbishop Njonggonkulu Ndugane 32 Report from the Development and Alumni Department 34 Events DESIGN Karien van der Westhuizen 38 Where are they now? – catch up with classmates [email protected] 10 8 24 UCT NEWS 2008 1 Vice-Chancellor’s Foreword Dear Alumni and Friends countries) and 4 000 staff. Africa and how to operate there, you must We stand tall, with 30 of the country’s go to UCT. As I write, the seasons are changing in the 72 National Research Foundation (NRF) ‘Politan’ suggest cosmopolitan and sig- Mother City and although the famous ivy A-rated researchers, and 25 of the NRF re- nals a sophisticated and future-orientated on UCT buildings has not yet appeared, we search chairs in South Africa. approach to understanding Africa. It sig- are fast approaching summer and heading I’ve been impressed by UCT’s assertive nals a community where one will find stu- towards the highlight of our annual calen- efforts to transform both student and staff dent and faculty from the rest of Africa, and dar, year-end graduation. profiles as well as the inspirational com- from around the world. In late August I was installed as Vice- mitment of researchers, teachers and pro- To be a global university, UCT needs to Chancellor of UCT in Jameson Hall. Many fessional staff. The 2007 Social Respon- be an African university. alumni attended and I am grateful for the siveness Report indicates that we’ve made I hope to meet many of you in the warm welcome extended by the university promising progress in turning UCT into a months ahead. Your alma mater values your community, at home and abroad, since tak- community-focused institution. thoughts and continuing support. The value ing the helm on 1 July. But there are significant challenges fac- of your degree depends on our ongoing I was fortunate to have several months ing UCT and higher education in general reputation and our ability to be competitive working in tandem with my predecessor, requiring complex solutions. internationally. Professor Njabulo Ndebele, who is on a In my installation address I said that so- We must begin to fund initiatives beyond well-deserved sabbatical at Bard College ciety expects universities to play a leader- what government can afford, and for this, north of New York. ship role, to be a counterpoint to the state UCT looks to its alumni and friends for as- During this transition period, I travelled and religious authorities for knowledge, sistance (as do all of the world’s leading abroad to meet alumni, donors and fellow analysis and ethic guidance. universities). practitioners in higher education. I am also I have pledged that UCT will honour its UCT aspires to a level of excellence that making it my business to visit every UCT responsibility to provide intellectual and simply cannot be attained if we rely only department personally and to meet as many moral leadership, will encourage our aca- upon the state and student fees to fund our alumni and friends of UCT as I possibly demic staff in their roles as public intellec- activities. We are most dependent on your can. tuals, will welcome students in their ques- support and urge you to use your networks An institution like UCT rests on a solid tioning and challenging of the old and often to spread the word and to involve as many foundation, built on generations of alumni corrupted way of doing things and not be alumni as possible. and custodians of academic excellence. afraid to speak out when other leadership As always, UCT News is a tribute to you Predecessors like Dr Stuart Saunders, Dr and governance institutions in our society and your fellow alumni around the globe. Mamphela Ramphele and Prof Ndebele fail us. Wherever it finds you, I hope this edition who, during turbulent times brought stabil- What of the future of this institution? brings you a little closer to your academic ity, confidence in UCT, continued output I envisage UCT becoming an Afropolitan home. and integrity. university. The ‘Afro’ element connotes an I have inherited, if that is the right word, open, assertive engagement with the world Best wishes an institution with a community of some from the standpoint of Africa. The world Dr Max Price 21 000 students (20% come from 104 should know that if you want to understand Vice-Chancellor 2 UCT NEWS 2008 Intshayelelo Zi-Alumni kunye naBahlobo ababekeki- aba-21 000 (i-20% ivela kumazwe a-104) benza khona, kufuneka uye e-UCT. leyo kunye nabasebenzi aba-4 000. U-‘Politan’ umele iintlanga zonke yaye Siyazingca, ngama-30 kuma-72 abaphan- uphawula indlela yokuqonda i-Afrika Njengokuba ndibhala, amaxesha omnyaka di beli abaphambili be-National Research echubekileyo nejonge phambili. Uphawula ayatshintsha kwiKapa Lodumo yaye nango- Foundation (NRF), kunye na-25 ezihlalo uluntu apho umntu enokufumana abafundi na ichakatha elaziwayo elikhula kwizakhiwo kwezophando ze-NRF eMzantsi Afrika. kunye nootitshala abavela e-Afrika nabave- zase-UCT lingekabonakali, sesileqa ihlobo Ndichazwe ngamalinge e-UCT athe la kwilizwe liphela. yaye sisondela kowona mcimbi uphambili qakatha okuguqula inkangeleko yabafundi Ukuze i-UCT ibe yiyunivesithi yelizwe kwikhalenda yethu yaminyaka le, uthweso neyabasebenzi kwakunye nokuzinikela liphela, kufuneka ibe yiyunivesithi ye-Af- lwezidanga lwasekupheleni komnyaka. okuvuselelayo kwabaphandi, kootitshala rika. Ekupheleni kuka-Agasti ndiye ndabekwa kunye nabasebenzi zi-ofisini. I-Social Re- Ndinethemba lokuhlangana noninzi njengoSekela Nqununu wase-UCT e-Jame- sponsiveness Report ka-2007 ibonisa ukuba lwenu kwezinyanga zizayo. Iinqobo ze- son Hall. Zininzi ii-alumni ezithe zazimasa sibe nenkqubela ethembisayo ukuguquleni alma mater yenu, iingcinga zenu kunye eli theko yaye ndiyabulela ngendlela es- i-UCT ibe liziko elijongene noluntu. nenkxaso yenu engapheliyo. Ixabiso lezi- hushu endamkelwe ngayo luluntu lwale yu- Kodwa kukho iingxaki ezinkulu ezigx- danga zenu lixhomekeke kwinkqubela nivesithi apha ekhaya nangaphesheya, oko eleshelene ne-UCT kunye nemfundo phambili yembonakalo yethu nokukwazi ndiqalile ngomhla wo-1 July.