A NEW RANK OF DISTINCTION mEEt rhOdES' firSt EvEr diStiNgUiShEd prOfESSOrS August 2012 mEEt thE braiNS bEhiNd thiS grOUNdbrEakiNg prOjECt WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT UNESCO bid highlightS thE impOrtaNCE Of watEr EdUCatiON aNd rESEarCh THE UBUNYE CHALLENGE Old rhOdiaNS raiSE fUNdS fOr Early ChildhOOd dEvElOpmENt CAST ON CANVAS fiNE artS gradUatE payS it fOrward

Orientation Big dreams in small spaces vuyolwethu gqaleni shifts a few gears and she discovers her independence and adjusts to small-town university life. Page 4 A chance to succeed former fingo village pupil vuyile Sixaba chases after his dreams through a Ska bursary and the responsibilities that come with success. Page 5 Talented writers with open minds this year rhodes welcomed 10 de beers English Olympiad scholarship winners. Page 6 Lending a helping hand Students are switched on by being able to help their fellow campus dwellers through give 5. Page 7 Paying it forward fine art student matthias Chirombo has found a unique way of giving back to future rhodes students. Page 8 Academic track record Rhodos l August 2012 COntents Humanities research on the societal interface four mellon-funded research focus areas are part of a faculty programme to promote research and postgraduate development. Page 9 The seat of research rhodes has been awarded five prestigious new research chairs under the dSt/Nrf research Chair initiative. Page 12 Playing an active role in water education and research pooling our resources and skills to propose the establishment of the first african-based UNESCO Category One institute of water Education and research. Page 14 8 Rhodes soars to new height Commitment and groundbreaking work by rhodes academics have played no small part in bringing the largest portion of the Square kilometre array project home to South africa. Page 16 Graduation The future is theirs while the road to their degrees may not have been easy, these rhodes graduates have overcome certain odds. Page 18 Coming full circle having boycotted their graduations in the 80s for political reasons, in april these three graduates recently accepted the vice-Chancellor's invitation to take cap and gown. Page 19 Poised for postgraduate growth increased postgraduate research and supervision capacity is making rhodes a preferred choice for postgraduate study. Page 20 4 6 Their stars still shine Scholarships respectfully honour the bright lives of two promising graduates. Page 21 Follow their lead ... Our five honorary doctorates exemplify passion and commitment. Page 22 A new rank of distinction meet our first ever holders of the title distinguished professor. Page 24 Alumni Risky business marilyn ramplin's ascent of the corporate ladder stands on a strong base of sound financial sense. Page 25 The Ubunye Challenge Several rhodes alumni are giving early childhood development a sporting chance. Page 26

34 An activist at heart alumnus beth vale heads to Oxford on a prestigious rhodes Scholarship. Page 27 An author of effective municipal management dr pravine Naidoo will pen legislation aimed at improving service delivery at the local government and municipal level. Page 28 Cities, cultures and sporting bids South african filmmaker Caroline rowland, was the creative strategy advisor behind the successful Sochi 2014 and pyeongChang 2018 Olympic bids. Page 29 In our sights meet the recipients of the 2011 Old rhodian and Emerging Old rhodian awards and hear who rhodes is honouring this year. Page 30 26 59 News at a glance Celebrating the global and social relevance of new initiatives at rhodes. Page 33 Top of their class Our student achievers never fail to impress. Page 38 Pushing the envelope a commitment to the transfer of knowledge sees academic staff members pushing the frontiers of research. Page 45 We are growing the knowledge economy vice-chancellor dr Saleem badat looks back on the highlights and challenges of the past academic year. Page 51 Qondakele Sompondo - the face of alumni relations and fundraising introducing our new alumni relations and fundraising manager. Page 54 August 2012 l Rhodos COntents Old Rhodian news We are family ... Page 55 a spirited sense of fun prevails during the 2011 and 2012 reunion season. * rhodes alumni celebrate 50-year friendship * pieter dirk Uys and the Uk trust join forces * go purple on thursdays * the rhodes Chamber Choir turns 60 * the rhodes connection * Ors to the london Olympics The power of bequests tony granger, one of our Uk trustees explains how you can make a difference in the lives of others. Page 60 Enabling future generations professor rod walker speaks about the significance of the Old rhodian Union bursary awards. Page 61 1

2 Rhodos l August 2012 COntRibutORs Cathy gush is a literacy activist and part-time journalist who also plays a facilitative role for rhodes third and fourth year writing and editing students. theresa Edlmann is the director of the legacies of apartheid wars project at rhodes, busy with a phd in history and psychology, supervises Community psychology, has three dogs that love walking in the hills around grahamstown. anton ferreira is a self-employed horticultural consultant and floriculturalist with an mSc in horticulture from the University of Stellenbosch. he plans to enroll in a mba at rhodes in 2013. jeannie wallace mckeown juggles kids, work and writing and dreams of finding more time for gym. Sarah-jane bradfield is completing a masters in journalism and media Studies at rhodes University with a focus on conflict sensitive journalism. Christopher kelly is a herpetologist and photographer. god's creation is his inspiration, and he's happiest in the bush, with his bride, capturing snakes ... or images! paul greenway began his affair with photography as a photographic safari guide in Zimbabwe. Since then he has worked as many things from pizza maker to mine manager and now teaches photojournalism, does freelance work, pursues a number of personal photographic projects, and is studying a masters in fine art at rhodes. kerry peter traded the editorial office for the life of a freelancer when she moved to the Eastern Cape, soon establishing a network of favourite people and places. She is currently a freelance writer and editor. Cat pennels is a photographer who loves gangster films, the blues and her teddy, boris yeltsin. Chelsea geach is a fourth year writing student at rhodes and hopes to specialise in arts journalism. michael Sutherns is just a young aspiring sports journalist, happy to be a part of this collection. wilhelmina maboja is easily pleased by moleskines, rooibos and dry humour. Zamathiyane Ndaba is a fourth year journalism student, interested in telling other people's stories. kyla hazell is a student of law and politics who most enjoys being told interesting things, reading good books, and soaking up the arts. the design team. from left: abigail whelan, a journ 4 designer who collects antique door handles; brian garman, design lecturer and professional dog-walker; Stephanie pretorius, journ 4 design student who loves cats and knitting.

buildinG On OuR Alumni RelAtiOnships Since our 2011 edition of rhodos there have been many developments and changes; one of the major ones being that we have re-scheduled the publication of the magazine to coincide with founders' weekend in august. there is always a mad rush to produce the magazine over the Christmas break and often the news in it is dated from the past year. we felt that a later publication date would allow us to include some of the milestones achieved at our graduation and share some of the heartwarming stories of our recent graduates. we are also able to bring you more on our honorary graduates and of course, our Old rhodian and Emerging Old rhodian awardees. this year we have needed to play catch up and report back on last year's awardees while also announcing the new recipients for 2012. in addition, we are now able to bring you current news of the achievements attained by the University, its staff, students and alumni for the year to date. we hope this will make rhodos more up to date and topical. we also aim to include increased coverage on the successes and achievements of you, our alumni family, and encourage you to keep in touch with us. we would love to hear your success stories too. the whole point of alumni relations is about continuously engaging the alumni community with a view to enhancing relations and building strong mutually beneficial partnerships that will lead to possible support for the University. through rhodos we are able to share with you not only the successes of your alma mater and your fellow Old rhodians, but also our aims and aspirations for the future of the University and the unique challenges we face in attaining these goals. there are many ways in which you can help. the University has a wide range of needs to which Old rhodians can contribute. the annual fund is the primary vehicle through which alumni can give to rhodes; it is a flexible fund that allows one to give whatever one is able to over a period of time. we have several different streams that one can choose from, namely the Sports foundation, research, faculties and Student Support which includes bursaries, Old rhodian bursaries, the pocket money fund and peer mentoring. publisher: rhodes University Editor: kerry peter art director: brian garman designers: Stephanie pretorius and abigail whelan photography: paul greenway photographic assistants: Christopher kelly and Catherine pennels Contributors: Sarah-jane bradfield, theresa Edlmann, anton ferreira, Chelsea geach, Cathy gush, kyla hazell, wilhelmina maboja, Zamathiyane Ndaba, michael Sutherns, jeannie wallace mckeown CONtaCt alumni@ru.ac.za tel 046 603 8887 fax 046 603 8744 rhodes alumni & development rhodes University pO box 94 grahamstown 6140 rhodos is printed by Creative art, duplicating and reproduction (Cadar) (pty) ltd, on behalf of rhodes University, 21 de villiers Street, North End, port Elizabeth 2001. tel 041 484 2251 as you know, i took over as alumni relations and fundraising manager in august last year. i inherited a running division with some amazing people. we made a conscious decision to keep things pretty much the way they were while embarking on our onward journey by modifying our activities here and there to better appeal to the aspirations of the greater rhodes community. the first thing we did was to change our name to rhodes alumni development (rad), because that not only encompasses everything we do here but it sounds better. we then re-branded the annual fund. here, for both the logo and slogan we looked for something that would resonate well with everyone, whilst keeping us true to ourselves and consistent with our culture. and so we went for the Clock tower as our logo, accompanied by the slogan, "Continue the legacy". Under the watchful eye of annie pienaar, the annual fund Coordinator, we've introduced a number of successful campaigns to drive the annual fund. as a result we've increased the income of the annual fund by 60% and, the number of individual alumni donors giving to the af from under 100 to over 400 in less than eight months. Using the same principles of ENgagEmENt, partNErShip, and SUppOrt, we have managed to aggressively implement our Student Engagement program through the revival of give 5 and the purple thursday campaigns. these activities have helped to introduce our students to the culture of giving and plant the seeds of longer lasting commitments to the institutional culture. we have also re-shaped and focussed our overseas based trusts in the Uk and USa, whilst our reunions have continued rating as some of the best organised in the country. Our aims and aspirations for the upcoming year are quite simple. we want to continue engaging with and forming partnerships with you, our alumni family, while also seeking to become more relevant to our current students too. we hope you will continue to support us in our endeavours to maintain rhodes' position as one of the best Universities in the country. Photo: Paul Greenway August 2012 l Rhodos Qondakele Sompondo © all rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form, whole or part thereof, without the prior written consent of the publisher. any information, errors or omissions are not the responsibility of the publisher. the publisher does not accept liability of any nature whatsoever arising out of or in connection with the contents of this magazine. all advertisements, advertorials and promotional material contained within this magazine have been paid for and do not carry the endorsement of the publishers unless otherwise stated. rhodos® is a registered trademark of rhodes University. 3

Photo: Chris Kelly 4 Rhodos l August 2012 biG dReAms in smAll spACes By Wilhelmina Maboja Every year, rhodes University attracts a number of promising students to the institution. this year, 21 of the 62 first ever graduates from the Oprah winfrey leadership academy chose to study at the university. vuyolwethu gqaleni, also known as vuyo, is currently studying a bachelor of Science degree in human kinetics and Ergonomics. rhodes is one of the few universities that offer the course and, although she is still getting used to life in a small town after being in the big city, the positives of studying close to her home town of mthatha and enjoying frequent family visits far outweigh the adjustments she has needed to make. "i thought i was going to major in hkE, but now things have changed, i'm now one of those confused little first years," she laughs, explaining that she's having second thoughts about taking her course further. finding the right course can be taxing despite and because of the variety of subject choices on offer. "joining rhodes is the beginning of an exciting new phase in your life and in your intellectual and personal development," said vice-Chancellor dr Saleem badat during his welcome address to the university's new students at the beginning of the year. "having completed your schooling, you are embarking on a new voyage". and just as there's the thrill of leaving home and finding your freedom and independence, there's also a need to make the right choices. "i've met some bumps along the way," says gqaleni, "but i've learnt, and i'm still trying to learn." along with trying to strike a balance of a healthy social life with one's academics, there's also the pressure to succeed. gqaleni will be one of the first in her family who will be getting a degree. "i feel a lot of pressure, everyone's looking up to me," she says, "i have to prove to them that i've done the things they've sent me to do, but as a black South african having degree is a great thing." despite her indecision about her current course and the demands of success, gqaleni is still hopeful and plans on putting her degree to good use. "with my knowledge and everything that i've acquired at rhodes, i can already help people back at home, by being involved in community projects and helping wherever i can." though small, with just over 7 000 students registered this year, the University maintains a consistent track record of high pass rates among undergraduates and postgraduates in the country. and while this track record of successful pass rates might seem to add to the pressure of being a budding undergraduate, gqaleni has her eye on the prize and is confident that this success will also soon be her own. "my degree is what keeps me going," she says, "and knowing that i'll leave here having something in my hand that i can be proud of," she says.

A ChAnCe tO suCCeed vuyile Sixaba is a well-mannered and softly spoken young man, but when he is questioned about how he got to be where he is, there are glimpses of a steely determination and a sense of purpose. By Cathy Gush Sixaba is one of the recipients of a bursary that forms part of the human Capital development programme of the Square kilometre array (Ska) project. he is studying towards a bSc degree and will be majoring in physics and mathematics, as required, although he hinted at the fact that he may take an extra year to complete a Statistics major as he enjoys the subject. his primary schooling was largely at St mary's primary School, after that he had a couple of years at Ntaba maria primary before completing his schooling at Nathaniel Nyaluza high School. when asked whether he always dreamt of being a scientist, he chuckles and says, "No, i thought i wanted to do a business degree or economics because i wanted to become president of the country and be like thabo mbeki, but i don't regret the change. i'm not that good in public so it was probably a good thing!" it was a friend at rhodes who helped him secure the bursary. Sivuyile madikane, who matriculated at Nathaniel Nyaluza in 2008 and is currently doing his Statistics honours at rhodes, gave Sixaba access to the internet and encouraged him to research bursary and study opportunities. he applied to a number of grantors, but Ska was the one that proved successful. the bursary covers all his expenses such as class fees, accommodation and pocket money. Sixaba praises the support of his teachers at Nyaluza, but says one of the drawbacks of doing physics at university and being required to do a lot of practical work and experiments, is the fact that they did not have the facilities and he did not have exposure at school level. "my fellow students find it a lot easier and seem to get through it quicker. for me it is still hard work and i don't enjoy it that much." Sixaba says his close-knit community in fingo village are very supportive of him. "Even the gangsters tell me to keep doing what i'm doing!" August 2012 l Rhodos Photo: Chris Kelly he says. although he lives in residence at rhodes, he does make frequent visits home and, he admits, "Everyone enjoys the music and the movies i bring back on my computer." about this one thing Sixaba is adamant. "there are people who through their inspiration, motivation and support have made me who i am today, and i want to acknowledge them: my mother, my friends and my teachers, especially someone like my high school maths teacher, dr atebe." a born-and-bred grahamstonian, Sixaba says he has no particular plans to move further afield. while the possibilities may seem endless for a young man like vuyile Sixaba, the responsibility of taking care of family is at the top of his agenda. "my mother, who works as a gardener at rhodes, will be retiring soon and then i will be the breadwinner, so above anything else i need to get a job that pays well." (See SKA story on page 16) 5

6 Rhodos l August 2012 tAlented wRiteRs with Open minds Graham McNaughton (left) and Lillian Reuters. Photo: Paul Greenway By Michael Sutherns The de beers English Olympiad scholarship may be privy to students who are gifted writers, but it certainly does not discriminate on the basis of interests. the availability of such scholarships is clearly furthering the diversity of the students attending rhodes University, as well as opening up opportunities for students who are looking for that slightly unusual combination in an undergraduate degree that might just give them the edge when it comes to making choices for postgraduate study and ultimately their careers. this year rhodes welcomed 10 exceptional students who had been granted a scholarship for their first year of study through the de beers English Olympiad competition. the English Olympiad started in 1976, when the South african Council for English Education (SaCEE) asked dr malcolm venter to organise a small competition for local students in the Eastern Cape with a cash prize of r50. by 1978, the competition had extended to the entire country and de beers assumed the main sponsorship responsibilities in 1985. Since then, the number of participants has continued to rise steadily, from its humble origins of 119 students, to nearly 7 300 participants this year. lillian reuters, who is the recipient of one such scholarship, says that rhodes is a good stepping stone to bigger things. the westerford high School matriculant had planned to stay in her home province and attend the University of Cape town, but the offer of a scholarship at rhodes also came with the temptation to take up an unusual combination of interfaculty subjects. realising that this is just one of the advantages of studying at a smaller institution that allows a greater degree of flexibility, lillian launched with great enthusiasm into drama, maths, Cell biology and Classical Civilizations as her first year credits. She quips that she might just be the first girl to do a "bSc drama!" the young thespian has already managed to hold two roles in different productions this year, and took part in the National arts festival. St andrew's old-boy graham mcNaughton took advantage of his success to choose a university close to home and with "a great reputation internationally". he says that he expected life to be intense, both socially and academically, but he has found that rhodes has "provided a unique experience with generous doses of both". graham has entered into a completely distinct sphere of study, that of information technology. with first year subject choices of physics, maths and Computer Science, it might not be long before he fulfils his hopes of becoming the CEO of his own advertising company, earning a phd and travelling abroad. rhodes has been a long-standing sponsor of the Olympiad, making funds available for scholarships to all participants who place in the top 50, provided they meet all other university requirements. with this firm partnership in place, rhodes will continue to educate topnotch students and accommodate unusual subject combinations across faculties where possible. this is one of rhodes' unique features and interfaculty collaborations are not just allowed but also encouraged.

lendinG A helpinG hAnd By Cathy Gush Rhodes students are doing it for themselves. the campus-based give 5 campaign has been around since 2004, when it was initiated as a fundraising effort to support worthy projects such as preschools and other initiatives identified by the Centre for Social development. after a hiatus of a couple of years, it resumed this year under the leadership of the Students' representative Council, and now focuses on raising funds for students who are scraping by with tuition and residence fees, but find it hard to buy items such as a can of deodorant or a cup of coffee. "this has really grabbed the imagination of the students," says terryl mcCarthy, alumni relations Officer, "and is contributing to our aim of creating a culture of giving among rhodes students - one that they will hopefully carry over into the future." according to mcCarthy, student involvement in the give 5 campaign reached record levels this year and exceeded all expectations. She feels this can be attributed to the fact that students were switched on by the thought of being able to help their fellow campus dwellers. "large campaign posters that depicted a Superman-type figure coming to the rescue clearly struck a chord with them." "Every res and every hall organised some kind of initiative or event to raise funds for the campaign, and the students enjoyed the element of competition," says mcCarthy. a prize is awarded to both the residence and the hall that collect the most funds. but competition was not the sole motive for participation. the "Oppies" (private residence students) put in a huge effort, despite the fact that they knew they didn't stand a chance of winning. and the ethos of philanthropy is catching on. One of the students, who won a r100 clothing voucher in a lucky draw that was part of the campaign, donated it back to be used for someone who might need it. the give 5 campaign was able to resume this year because the SrC decided to take it under their wing and work together with the alumni & development Office for the benefit of their fellow students. it now forms part of the Community Engagement portfolio of the SrC, but the aim is to develop a working committee of volunteers who will run the campaign. Close to r29 000 was raised during the march 2012 effort, and another drive took place in august. the basic idea is that students contribute r5 (or multiples thereof) to participate in a range of fun events and competitions. because of this effort, an additional 22 students were able to benefit from the pocket money fund, which was established by the dean of Students to supplement the income of students on financial aid. building on the idea of students helping students, or contributing to making rhodes a better place for all, there are moves afoot to involve young alumni in the broadening of this campaign. but for now, those involved with the current give 5 campaign are content to give everyone on campus the opportunity to be a hero. August 2012 l Rhodos The new Give 5 campaign poster (top) and student volunteers raising funds during the March 2012 effort (above). 7

Photo: Paul Greenway 8 Rhodos l August 2012 pAyinG it fORwARd by Chelsea Geach When mathias Chirombo was 16, he was brilliant at two things: art and cricket. in fact, he was one of the top five fast bowlers in Zimbabwe. then a stress fracture in his spine crushed his cricket dreams and cast him firmly in front of the canvas. ten years later, with the help of scholarships from rhodes University and sponsorship from cricketer peter roebuck's learning for a better world (lbw) trust, Chirombo has earned his bachelor of fine arts. he has also found a unique way to return the generosity shown to him. for the next decade, he will donate two paintings a year to rhodes. these works of art will be auctioned in New york and london, and all the proceeds deposited in a fund for rhodes applicants who simply cannot afford to attend. "i've gained a lot from rhodes," Chirombo says. "i need to give back - there are others who are struggling, and this is the best way i can contribute." the auction will be managed by terryl mcCarthy of the alumni relations division. the two paintings on offer for this year were handpicked out of mathias's latest exhibition, Sacred Spaces, which opened at the National arts festival last year. bidding for the first piece begins at r22 000, while the bigger second piece will open at r36 000. Chirombo initially registered for a Commerce degree, but soon switched to fine art. Now he is working towards his masters in anthropology. "i'm exploring spirit-mediated landscapes and material culture within Shona and venda artists," he explains - a thesis topic which feeds directly into his artwork. as research, Chirombo collects paintings which represent an experience of the spiritual plane. he takes these works to villages where he speaks with spirit mediums, healers and diviners and asks them for their interpretations of the artwork. the key is finding out what they see when they are possessed by the spirits of the ancestors. in a way, his work continues that of the ancient rock art found throughout southern africa. "it's the same spiritual portents within the work, but now we have more mediums to use," he says. his medium of choice is paint, because it is practical and allows him the most freedom to express his visualisations of spiritual experiences. this skill with paintwork dates back to his schoolboy days. it all began when Chirombo was five years old, growing up in harare. "my dad used to draw bunnies for us, with nice ears and big eyes," he remembers. "he was so good, and you know, i just couldn't do it!" fascinated by the skill of drawing, mathias snapped up the opportunity to attend weekly art sessions, even though his primary school was under-equipped and had little time for art. later at a specialist sporting high school, he studied drawing and painting along with his cricketing classmates. "i didn't really enjoy using a paintbrush," he recalls. "i started using a pallet knife, spoons... anything i could find." his experimentation moved on to bones, broken glass and any tool which would render his unusual subject matter better than the passé paintbrush. Such odd artist's implements can still be seen scattered around his workspace. Chirombo works from a studio at his house in grahamstown, which he shares with other artists. weaving up a footpath through a garden littered with pottery and sculptures in all imaginable mediums, a little stone shed appears. two adopted dogs skitter away behind a corner while wooden wind chimes mellow the crisp winter air. inside the shed is an artist's paradise: fluorescent lights beam down on vast canvasses, illuminating visions of another realm. tins and tubes spill colour onto just about every surface. a paint-stained stereo rests against the patchwork wall, its melodies escaping through the many gaps in the ramshackle structure. a bag bursting with cricket kit gathers dust on a shelf, quite at odds with the ethereal images surging about on stacked canvasses. where do these images come from? "i have no idea!" Chirombo says. Sometimes he wakes in the middle of the night, steals through the garden up to the shed and begins to paint. "Usually i just seek guidance from the ancestral spirits and god, and then i proceed." he works in layers, using different techniques to overlay colours and textures. thick, smooth strokes are scraped away to reveal blunt shapes below. all the paints are his own mixtures, depending on the consistency needed for each technique. the heady scents of oil paint, turpentine and ink are ushered out the studio by a breeze which sneaks in between wooden planks and a bubble-wrap-covered gate. Chirombo's talents may lie in fine art, but he wants his gift to benefit financially needy students from all different fields and backgrounds. this, he says, is because, "you just don't know what the potential of a person is until you give them a chance."