Please click here to open this email in your browser for an optimal reading experience

We are nearing the end of another successful year at Wits University, thanks to you, our special Witsies and friends, who keep Wits close to your heart. Thank you for ensuring that Wits remains a beacon of hope, excellence and innovation in the world today.

As we reflect on this year, we thought it important to share with you some of Wits' successes. We would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our generous benefactors who has assisted us in raising R4 billion for the Wits Centenary Campaign – your continued support, no matter how large or small, in person or in kind, makes a difference and ensures that Wits remains a leading university, for good.

The Centenary Campaign continues, with successful alumni engagements and fundraising activities in South Africa, the UK, the US, and Australia.

This year, we celebrated the opening of the R90 million Wits Anglo American Digital Dome, a world-class centre for digital exploration, multi-disciplinary education and research, and public engagement. The Wits Anglo American partnership also saw their iconic building in the Johannesburg City Centre becoming the new home of the Wits Business School's Centre for Entrepreneurship, known as the Wits Crucible. This new Wits hub in downtown Johannesburg will provide business education, incubation, and acceleration services for entrepreneurs.

Wits is uniquely placed to contribute to AI research and capacity building in South Africa and Africa, as well as securing the necessary funding and infrastructure to accelerate the advancement and commercialising of cutting-edge AI technologies. The newly launched Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute is a space where great minds will unleash the power of natural and artificial intelligence to build ethical, safe and inclusive AI in Africa, for the world.

The Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy celebrated its official renaming and the first fully funded cohort of 140 “missing middle” accounting students was announced at the launch. Similar-sized annual cohorts will be fully funded for at least the next 10 years thanks to the generosity of an anonymous alumni donor who has comitted $1 million per year over this period (which will in all likelihood be extended into perpetuity) to honour Emeritus Professor Margo Steele's immense contribution to the accountancy field during her 90th Birthday celebrations in 2023.

The first recipients of the R87,5 million Wits AngloGold Ashanti Legacy Scholarship Endowment were announced. The scholarship will benefit approximately 200 eligible students across multiple academic disciplines over the next five to seven years, with beneficiaries receiving comprehensive funding and support throughout their studies.

Wits also spearheaded the R100 million expansion of the Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, thanks to a generous R70 million donation from the Roy McAlpine Charitable Foundation and in partnership with Wits University and the Gauteng Department of Health.

Talented Wits students will benefit from the proceeds of the development of the University's Frankenwald property. Proceeds from the initial R200 million sale of the Frankenwald Estate will be placed in a special endowment to support the academic project and to benefit future generations, including students who qualify to study at Wits and who may not have the financial means to register.

We were privileged to host two Nobel Laureates. Prof. Abdulrazak Gurnah delivered the 22nd annual Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture. In remembering the impact of Madiba's humanity, Gurnah championed words, story and literature as tools to build solidarity and strengthen the ideas of finding common ground. The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Prof. Maria Ressa's discussion at Wits focused on how journalists could regain public trust in the face of increased global polarisation, an overall decrease in trust in the media, and big tech's leverage over social media and their role in the information landscape.

The threats of climate change and biodiversity devastation are real, but Dr Jane Goodall, arguably the worlds' best known conservationist, said that while all these burning issues are truly alarming, “there still is time” to turn things around. Goodall was hosted for a “fireside chat” titled Protect, Manage, Restore: A conversation with Jane Goodall on co-creating Future Ecosystems for Africa, by the Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation and the Future Ecosystems for Africa programme at Wits University.

World-renowned author, global thinker, and environmental advocate Amitav Ghosh delivered a powerful warning of climate reductionism and the perils of ignoring context, community, the locally appropriate, and even the loss of wonder in navigating the crisis of our time, during the 2024 Pro Vice-Chancellor's lecture.

We celebrate Prof. Achille Mbembe who was honoured with the Holberg Prize. The Holberg Prize is one of the largest international prizes awarded annually to an outstanding researcher in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology.

Professor Peter Sarnak (BSc 1974, BSc Hons 1975, DSc honoris causa 2014) has received the 2024 Shaw Prize for Mathematical Sciences for his development of “the arithmetic theory of thin groups and the affine sieve, by bringing together number theory, analysis, combinatorics, dynamics, geometry and spectral theory”. The award is given annually by the Shaw Prize Foundation, which was founded in 2002 by the Hong Kong-based philanthropist Run Run Shaw (1907-2014).

Harry Saner, a 23-year-old engineering student, made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking South Africa's first Olympic fencing appearance since 2008.

Wits Rugby clinched the 2024 Castle Lager Pirates Grand Challenge. In a nail-biting hard-fought 33-22 win on home turf, the Wits team's victory on 13 September marks Wits' third league title, having previously triumphed in 1967 and 2019. The Castle Lager Pirates Grand Challenge has been held since 1889.

The Wits Art Museum is currently hosting the work of South Africa's cultural icon Esther Mahlangu until 17 April 2025. The exhibition celebrates over 100 artworks loaned from multiple collections, including her BMW Art Car, beadwork, painted mannequins and a TV.

Twins Tackling Unique PhDs

Twins and Wits alumni, Arthur and Charles Goldstuck, veterans of tech and music respectively, have registered for unique PhDs at Wits. Their unique research topic focuses on: How is AI affecting the global music industry and how do we keep up with all the changes?; and is being supervised under a multidisciplinary academic team under the Wits Innovation Centre and the leadership of Dr Adam Pantanowitz, the Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation.

Three Generations of 1^st XV Fabers at Wits and KES

We recently had the pleasure of speaking to two of the three generations of 1st XV Fabers – Tutty, Gunther, Michael and Trevor Faber – about their total passion “for this physical game, this hooligans' game played by gentlemen”. They are part of the strong Wits/King Edward VII School (KES) tradition as they all came to Wits from KES, which is our close neighbour in Upper Houghton, and continues to be one of our top feeder schools. To read the story that starts with a photo in the Wits rugby clubhouse, now called Jomos, featuring the 1st XV at Wits in 1929, click here.

Linda's Lifelong Mission

Patient after patient enters Dr Linda Greenwall's (Bachelor of Dental Science 1984) immaculate practice in Hampstead, London, knowing that despite the complexity of their dental condition, they will emerge with a new smile. Born and raised in Cape Town, Linda chose to study at Wits "because of the Wits Dental School's top reputation and because both my parents are Wits graduates.” Her father, Ryno Greenwall, graduated in dentistry in 1956 and her mother, Shirley Serman, graduated with a BA in 1954. Learn more about Linda's lifelong mission as she has retained a strong presence in South Africa through the Dental Wellness Trust.

Meet Professor Benji Rosman, the inaugural Director of MIND

Benji Rosman, Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, who is not only the Director of the new Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute but also simultaneously runs the Robotics Autonomous Intelligence and Learning Laboratory while serving as the Director of the National E-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform, has in effect come full circle. Read more about his journey that began at Wits as an undergraduate studying for BSc (Hons) in both Computer Science and Applied Mathematics here.

Barbara Bompani: A global academic seeking an international community for Africa's students

Dr Barbara Bompani brims with enthusiasm when speaking about the Wits-Edinburgh Sustainable African Future (WESAF) project, of which she is a co-director, along with Prof. Brett Bowman of Wits University. In September 2023, Wits welcomed the first intake of 48 WESAF Fellows from 10 African countries, who will complete a Masters by Research in Sustainable African Futures in August 2024. Thirty of these will move on to an interdisciplinary PhD in Sustainability in Africa in 2025. Read more about Dr Bompani's collaboration with Wits, that started a few decades ago.

UK - Highlights of the year

As the festive season festivities have already started to build up under the first flurry of snowfall and twinkling string lights, we remember the Wits warmth brought to the UK in June 2024 when I had the privilege to visit London to meet with inspiring alumni and friends.

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS, Lynda Murray, Dr John Lazar, Fatima Vawda and Peter Bezuidenhoudt

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Hendrik Du Toit, CEO of Ninety One

Dr Linda Greenwall and Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS

Sarah Melvin, Managing Director of Blackrock UK and Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS

Wendy Appelbaum, Peter Bezuidenhoudt, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Hylton Appelbaum

Lynda Murray, Peter Bezuidenhoudt, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Gary Lubner

Peter Bezuidenhoudt, Ralph Simon, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Doug Smollan

USA - Highlights of the year

As we move from celebrating Thanksgiving towards the last few weeks of 2024, we are thankful for our remarkable Wits alumni and friends in the USA. I had an opportunity to meet up with some of these wonderful Witsies along the East Coast during my whistlestop tour to New York, Philadelphia, Connecticut and Boston in June.

New York Dinner with Cliff McMillan and Professor Carol Litowitz, Professor Stephen Matseoane, Richard Sellschop, Professor Clive and Daphne Rosendorff, and Rob Fryer

Dr Tebogo Moja, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS, John Teeger and Peter Bezuidenhoudt

Peter Bezuidenhoudt, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Steve Collis

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Charles Goldstuck

Peter Bezuidenhoudt, David Kochman, Jane Levy and Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS

Boston Dinner with Professor Hazel Sive, Dr David and Angela Fine, Dr Deborah Dunsire and Dr Michael Hall

Australia – Highlights of the year

The year ended with a high-impact 8-day visit to Australia where I had the honour to meet extraordinary Witsies and Friends in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In Sydney, it was an honour for me to share the stage with two world-renowned Witsies, Stephen Koseff and Gail Kelly, as the guests of honour at the Wits Australia Foundation's Inaugural Gala Luncheon on the 29th of November, which saw 180 Witsies and friends gather in support of raising funds for Postgraduate Scholarships in 2025. A total of AU$41 000 was raised which will support 4 Students in 2025. I also had the opportunity to meet with Professor Carolyn Evans, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Griffith University and Professor Deborah Terry AC, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Queensland, to strengthen potential partnerships and collaborations between our institutions.

Perth Dinner with Peter and Linda Friedland, Greg and Nikki King, Professor Jane Den Hollander AO and Dr Jeroen Den Hollander, George and Marina Georgiou, Lewis and Avril Chiat

Perth Boardroom Lunch with Robert Grant, Maryann Middleton, Kgomotso Tshaka, Dr Steve Lennon, Alistair Croll, Tim Netcher, Professor Jane Den Hollander AO, Leigh-Anne Meyerowitz, Zvi Yom-Tov, Sheryl Frame, Nicky Ivory, Lewis Chiat, Dr Rod Baxter, Dr Nicholas De Canha, Karl Woodhead, Dr Carmel Goodman, Danai Christelis and George Georgiou

Professors Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Jack Metz

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS and Dr Manny Pohl AM

Melbourne Boardroom Lunch with Dr Ola Ayoade-Alabi, Hitesh Dullabh, Adrian Finlayson, Professor Margie Sutherland, Howard Sachs, Chandima Miyanadeniya, Norman and Professor Isabel Metz, Peter Polson, Antony Chait, Elise Margow, Dana Eisenstein, Tony Savides, Bill McLellan and Anthony Lewis

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS with Gail and Dr Allan Kelly

A snapshot of the Wits Australia Foundation's Inaugural Sydney Gala Luncheon:

Peter Bezuidenhoudt, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS, Dr Bill Wilson and Bill Bryant

Dr Dale Howes and Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS

Brisbane Dinner with Dr Neville Plint,
Dr Rob Coleman and Professor Sue Harrison

Brisbane Boardroom Breakfast with Professor Chamindie Punyadeera, Amal Khatri, Dr Harry Dugmore, Clare Corke, Dr Neville Plint, Professor Linda Selvey and John Boyer

We are grateful for a fantastic year of welcoming Witsies and special friends onto our beautiful campus in the heart of South Africa's economic heartland in the global south, to re-trace their student-day steps and to discover the world-class learning, teaching and research facilities that the University has to offer. I invite everyone to come and visit us!