RhOdes ChAmbeR ChOiR tuRns 60 The University's Chamber Choir turns 60 in 2013. in addition to planning a concert for the diamond jubilee, the choir is also planning an overseas tour in the legendary tradition of the six-week European tour undertaken by the choir and its founder, prof gruber, in 1962/1963. the choir will also use their performances to invite donations for a specifically grahamstown charity, an orphanage just started by the Community of the resurrection Sisters. Of course such an undertaking is going to require a great deal of fund raising on the part of members of the choir. thankfully, for many the choir is a family tradition, with a number of the present members having parents who sang in the choir, and at least one can trace membership back to her grandparents. if you feel able to identify with this project, any donations will be greatly appreciated. please make your donations through the alumni office. The RUCC concert, Autumn Leaves, at St Mary's and All the Angels. Photos: lara Salomon The Basses (above): Peter Breetzke (Conductor), Elethu Pambo (Public Relations), Gareth Grant (Treasurer), Ben Ryan (Webmaster), Mark Mdluli (Events Coordinator) and Christopher Johnson (Also: Tour Coordinator, Malvin Charasika). The Altos (right): Lisa Frangs, Kendal Devy (Tour Coordinator), Nontlahla Maduna, Emily-Rose Vale and Asemahle Badiwe (not pictured: Londiwe Madide and Nicola Bowes). August 2012 l Rhodos 59

60 Rhodos l August 2012 meet One Of OuR uk tRustees Rhodes Uk trustee tony granger has been active in consumer education in the financial planning areas of pensions, investments, education fees planning, estate planning and death taxes, business wealth strategies, succession planning, trusts and other areas and is the author of 14 books on financial planning. this wealth of experience makes him a great asset to rhodes as he takes on the role of introducing the concept of bequests to our Uk alumni community. he has worked as md/CEO of a number of Uk financial services groups and currently has his own financial planning business, servicing individuals and their families, corporates and trusts. granger was born in South africa, and grew up in rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he attended Sinoia high School. many of his teachers were ex rhodians and he didn't need much persuasion to follow in their footsteps. he graduated from rhodes in 1973 with a ba in law and economics, and then joined the british South africa police as a regular member, where he served as a detective in various divisions. during this time he graduated from UNiSa in 1975 with a bComm and again from rhodes with an llb in 1979. he was admitted to the Cape bar in September 1980 as an advocate. he later joined Old mutual as a legal adviser and rose to be head of Corporate Executive Services, before emigrating to the Uk in 1987. he was president of the institute of life and pensions advisers (now fpi) in South africa and is a dual qualified certified financial planner CfpCm in South africa and the United kingdom. he is also an frSa (fellow of the royal Society of the arts, Commerce) and is a freeman of the worshipful Company of international bankers. granger's late wife, joy, worked at one time in the fine art department at rhodes. he still plays golden Oldies rugby (when they let him on the pitch), and enjoys walking, reading and creating new concepts in financial planning. tHe Power of BequeStS Bequests make a powerful impact on the world around us, particularly in the fields of welfare and education. for example, philanthropist andrew Carnegie left bequests totaling $US350m. in his lifetime he set up 2500 libraries in britain and North america and his bequests supported four Scottish universities and the Carnegie mellon University. Over the past 50 years a number of quite modest sums bequeathed to rhodes University have been carefully invested to provide annual bursaries and scholarships for promising students. bequests of shares, insurance policies and buildings have also been put to good use. by leaving a bequest to rhodes you are giving tomorrow's leaders an opportunity to benefit from your vision, planning and generosity. you will also make a difference to the lives of others through your generosity. Bequest Luncheons 2012 Special luncheons are organised for our senior Old rhodians under the auspices of the rhodes University bequest association (rUba). Our luncheons season this year begins in September and runs through to November: Cape Town - 28 September at the Upper Eastside hotel Durban - 12 October at Sica's guest house Johannesburg - 2 November at the johannian Club For more information please contact Sharon Tweddle tel 046 603 8605 or email s.tweddle@ru.ac.za

enAblinG futuRe GeneRAtiOns professor rod walker's Old rhodian Union report Off the back of the Old rhodian Union (OrU) Centenary Celebration last year, it is important to reflect on the familial ties that bind past, present and future generations of rhodes graduates. in the increasingly competitive global market, never has it been more important to obtain a University education. South africa is not unique with regard to the high cost of a tertiary education, which takes a degree beyond the reach of many promising youngsters but there is still a long way to go towards improving and redressing equity of access to a good quality education. One would be hard pressed to think of a better start than graduating from one of South africa's leading tertiary education institutions and simultaneously being welcomed into a tightly networked family of like-minded graduates, young and old. the sense of connectedness and camaraderie among Old rhodians is merely an appetizer to the deeper-seated philanthropic interest in helping people realise their true potential. the Old rhodian Union (OrU) bursary is one of the primary ways the OrU pledges to support children of parents who have either studied or worked at rhodes for at least one year. this year r149 000 was made available to 21 students and so, through the generosity of our alumni we have been able to support five more students than we did last year. these awards are a time of celebration not only for the students who are on the receiving end of a muchneeded bursary but also for those who have given or facilitated the process. in her response to the rhodes alumni development office's invitation to the awards ceremony this year, a hall warden related her experience with one of the recipients: "the invitation came the same day as the letter to the student telling her of the award. i 'stole' the letter and took it to her personally and was there when she opened it. She was so happy and danced around the room with tears in her eyes. it was an amazing privilege to share the moment! i also noticed that she has a picture of her mom graduating from rhodes posted on her notice board for inspiration - this is one of those happy stories we love to hold onto." alumni giving at rhodes University takes on many forms. just over a year ago we welcomed Qondakele Sompondo into our family as the new alumni relations and fundraising manager who is injecting his energy into building alumni relations and introducing ways in which Old rhodians can donate to rhodes through fundraising programmes such as the undergraduate bursary drive, the Student hardship fund and the Sports foundation appeal. there are fundraising campaigns to suit every pocket and we will soon be extending give5, the student giving campaign, to the more recent members of the OrU, while mySchool offers a way to donate by earning points on the money you spend at their partner stores by listing rhodes as a beneficiary. Our sincere thanks go to the alumni team for their creative work in keeping Old rhodians engaged and interested in the fundraising work of the University. by the same token, our huge gratitude goes to you, our alumni family, for your generosity and spirit of giving over the past year. your donations have meant the world to students who might have missed out on the opportunity of sharing the rhodes experience completely. as we welcome some of our alumni to our founders' weekend celebrations we hope you will help us spread the word to other graduates, new and not so new, about the lifelong relationship that is to be had through joining the Old rhodian Union. as living testament to the first-class education to be had at the University "where leaders learn" your continued support is an enabling force in the lives of the future generations. August 2012 l Rhodos The 2012 Old Rhodian Bursary Awards: diamond - alyxandra Carolus fitzsimons gold - tessa brits fitzsimons gold - Sinead murray Uk gold - tracy probert gold - Chayse kriel Chapman gold - joseph Coetzee Chris hummel - Christie Craig Uk Silver - Siphokhazi dude Silver - Saphokhazi tshutsha bronze - kanyisa yantolo Chapman - Sandra remsing Chapman - Nadia Schmidtke Chapman - Sonwabiso damana Chapman - david glover Chapman - holly lawson fitzsimons - thembela madliki fitzsimons - tessa mitchell fitzsimons - Cailene murray Old rhodian - troy rist Old rhodian - akhona Namba Old rhodian - lukhona mdluli