Up and coming leaders and established experts in their fields amongst Rhodes University’s alumni were honoured at the Annual General Meeting of the Old Rhodian Union (ORU), Saturday the 26th of September.
The Old Rhodian Awards were presented by Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela at the Gavin Reilly Postgraduate Village, to commend a handful of outstanding individuals for their efforts and achievements.
Emerging Old Rhodian Awards were given to two graduates Prof Avinash Govindjee, and Ms Sikelelwa Mgabadeli, who, though under 40, have already brought credit and honour to their alma mater.
Prof Avinash Govindjee, Deputy Head of the Labour and Social Security Law Unit at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) was singled out for his achievements, both as a lawyer and academic.
In his acceptance speech he amused the guests by recalling that it was not the university’s reputation that drew him to Rhodes but an “eighteen year old girl from East London” who would be his future wife.
Sikelelwa Mgabadeli, nicknamed Siki, was recognised for her role as one of the leading public voices on finance in South African media.
Inspired by her grandmother, a radio drama writer, Mgabadeli graduated with a BJourn from Rhodes and went on to work for numerous broadcasters. Her well-rounded grasp of economics and politics brought her the Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year Award as early as 2006.
“I would like to thank Rhodes Music Radio and CueTV for giving me the experience I needed so that by the time SAFM offered me a job I had some idea what I was doing,” said Mgabadeli.
Following this, the Distinguished Old Rhodian awards were presented to Revd Dr S Gqubule and Dr Christopher Vaughan in gratitude for decades of seminal work.
The octogenarian Revd Dr Gqubule is still an active leader in education, as Rhodes University’s Convocation President and founder of Ilitha Lemfundo Educational Enhancement Centre, an initiative that offers Saturday classes to pupils in Uitenhage.
Gqubule, was the first black student to receive a doctorate degree from Rhodes University in 1978, but only after waiting 18 months to gain approval for enrolment by the Minister of Bantu education.
“From then onwards my blood was purple” said Gqubule, whose daughter and two grandchildren went on to graduate from Rhodes.
Dr Christopher Vaughan, affectionately known by Rhodes staff as Kit, is a world authority in biomechanics of human locomotion and also considered one of the pioneers of the medical device industry in South Africa. In particular, he is recognised for his development of a new mammography system for detecting breast cancer.
Known as Aceso, after the Greek goddess of healing, the system combines automated breast ultrasound and low dose digital x-rays to facilitate the early detection of a diagnosis with 2.5 million new cases each year.
Vaughan interested guests at the luncheon with a sample from his new book on the history of the academic rating system in South Africa entitled ‘On the Shoulders of Oldenburg’.
“When I read about others who have been awarded this honour, I can say it is a truly humbling experience,” said Vaughan.
Also presented with the award in absentia were Andrew Lofts Gray and Trevor Hastie.
Present at the luncheon were graduates both new and old.
Kit Mills graduated from Rhodes in 1951. “I was the first student to major in isiXhosa,” said Mills. “I worked at Rhodes and also met my husband here”.
Graduating this year with an MBA, Director of Amatola Water, Craig Thompson said that he was glad to be in attendance for the first time.
“There is a lot of loyalty and belief here. It’s important to get involved if you benefitted from the university, and also it contributes to future generations,” said Thompson.
The Old Rhodian Union (ORU) was founded to form a link between past and present students and staff of Rhodes University and relies on what the President called “the generosity and spirit of our alumni”. Honorary Treasurer, John Gilliam, reported that the ORU had provided over R200 000 in bursaries for the children of Rhodes University students and support staff.
All of the former Committee Members of the ORU stood for re-election and were duly reappointed by unanimous vote.
Held jointly with the Annual General-Meeting of the ORU was The Sixty-Fifth Annual Meeting of Convocation. The Vice-Chancellor reported to the Convocation members on developments at Rhodes University since 2014.
A broad ambit of issues was discussed, such as the number of graduates in 2015, the renovation of Cullen Bowles Residence and the near completion of the new Life Sciences Building.
Mabizela said that he was pleased to announce that the Faculty of Science produced more PhD graduates than all the other faculties combined.
Recent calls for transformation at the university were not overlooked. Mabizela assured members who were eager to discuss the matter that they would all be invited to express their views on the question of the university’s name change and other issues.
“A task team is being set up to canvas the views of all people who are likely to be affected by this change and you will all be consulted,” said Mabizela.
“It is an exciting time to be in higher education, and transformation is essential to it, as higher education is by its very nature transformative” said Mabizela.
Article by Jane Berg
Photo: Dr Sizwe Mabizela awards the Emerging Old Rhodian Award to Ms Sikelelwa Mgabadeli
Photo by Jane Berg