UCT News Update Update - University of Cape Town · 2008. 6. 12. · the University of Cape Town to...

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A defining work of South African theatre, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in early April, thanks to a revival by UCT’s Baxter Theatre Center. The 1972 play, written by acclaimed author and UCT alumnus Athol Fugard, together with John Kani and Winston Ntshona, was brought back to life by the Baxter Theatre in 2006. The revival re-united the original 1975 Tony Award-winning Best Actor duo of John Kani and Winston Ntshona. The production at BAM, directed by Aubrey Sekhabi and with lighting design by Baxter Director, Mannie Manim, offered theatre enthusiasts a unique theatrical experience. When Sizwe Banzi Is Dead premiered at Cape Town’s Space Theatre, it highlighted the personal bravery of two black men defying the rules of apartheid. The play tells the story of Sizwe Banzi, a ru- ral worker who seeks employment in Port Elizabeth but is ordered to leave the district because his pass is not in order. In the words of John Kani, the play provides “a vivid portrayal of what it was like to have been black in South Africa at the time.” BAM performances gave New Yorkers the opportunity to see Kani and Ntshona in their final performances in the play’s 36- year history. The presentation included several related events, such as a discussion on the play’s conception with Ntshona and Kani, who received an honorary degree from UCT in 2006. Both Kani and Ntshona also participated in a panel discussion on “Theater in South Africa: The New Millennium” with Mannie Manim, UCT graduate and playwright, Nadia Davids, Awam Amkpa of NYU’s Africana Studies Department, and Daniel Banks, from the Tisch School of the Arts. Masterful Revival of Sizwe Banzi is Dead at BAM INSIDE Pifer Award to Living Landscapes, page 3 Stempels meet UCT’s Starr Scholars, page 6 Tannie Evita Comes to Town, page 4 John Kani and Winston Ntshona perform Sizwe Banzi is Dead in Brooklyn, 36 years after the play’s controversial premiere in Cape Town UCT News Update is a twice yearly publication of the UCT Fund that provides informa- tion about developments at the University of Cape Town to alumni and other friends of the University. News Update May 2008

Transcript of UCT News Update Update - University of Cape Town · 2008. 6. 12. · the University of Cape Town to...

Page 1: UCT News Update Update - University of Cape Town · 2008. 6. 12. · the University of Cape Town to alumni and other friends of the University. News Update May 2008. ... Drama Department

A defining work of South African theatre, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in early April, thanks to a revival by UCT’s Baxter Theatre Center.

The 1972 play, written by acclaimed author and UCT alumnus Athol Fugard, together with John Kani and Winston Ntshona, was brought back to life by the Baxter Theatre in 2006. The revival re-united the original 1975 Tony Award-winning Best Actor duo of John Kani and Winston Ntshona.

The production at BAM, directed by Aubrey Sekhabi and with lighting design by Baxter Director, Mannie Manim, offered theatre enthusiasts a unique theatrical experience. When Sizwe Banzi Is Dead premiered at Cape Town’s Space Theatre, it highlighted the personal bravery of two black men defying the rules of apartheid. The play tells the story of Sizwe Banzi, a ru-ral worker who seeks employment in Port Elizabeth but is ordered to leave the district because his pass is not in order. In the words of John Kani, the play provides “a vivid portrayal of what it was like to have been black in South Africa at the time.”

BAM performances gave New Yorkers the opportunity to see Kani and Ntshona in their final performances in the play’s 36-year history. The presentation included several related events, such as a discussion on the play’s conception with Ntshona and Kani, who received an honorary degree from UCT in 2006.

Both Kani and Ntshona also participated in a panel discussion on “Theater in South Africa: The New Millennium” with Mannie Manim, UCT graduate and playwright, Nadia Davids, Awam Amkpa of NYU’s Africana Studies Department, and Daniel Banks, from the Tisch School of the Arts.

Masterful Revival of Sizwe Banzi is Dead at BAMINSIDE

Pifer Award to Living Landscapes, page 3

Stempels meet UCT’s Starr Scholars, page 6

Tannie Evita Comes to Town, page 4

John Kani and Winston Ntshona perform Sizwe Banzi is Dead in Brooklyn, 36 years after the play’s controversial premiere in Cape Town

UCT News Update is a twice

yearly publication of the UCT

Fund that provides informa-

tion about developments at

the University of Cape Town to

alumni and other friends of the

University.

NewsUpdate

M a y 2 0 0 8

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2 a l u m n i i n t h e n e w s

news of…Professor Jonathan Dorfan (BSc 1969), Director Emeritus of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, will be awarded an honorary doctorate from UCT in December. Award-winning piano duo Cara hesse (BMus 2005) and laura Pauna (BMus 2005) have several concerts in New York in May.

Former Director of the UCT GSB, mike Page (MBA 1986, PhD 1993) has been appointed Dean at McCallum Graduate School at Bentley College.

Sociologist Devah Pager (MSocSc 1996) explores racial inequality in the U.S. criminal justice system in Marked: Race, Crime and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration.

In December 2007, UCT awarded the Doctor of Science in Medicine to Professor wulf utian (PhD 1970), a pioneer in women’s health and advanced reproductive technology.

Got news? we want to hear from yousend in your news, profiles, photographs or any other items of interest. email tina Barsby at [email protected]

Praise for Landsman’s The Rowing LessonAccording to a review in The Observer, Anne Landsman’s second novel, The Rowing Lesson, confirms her reputation as “a major new voice”. The novel has been praised equally for its innovative style, poetic imagery, and lyrical descriptions of South African landscape.

The Rowing Lesson traces the life story of Dr. Harold Klein, who grows up in World War II South Africa, from the perspective of his daughter Betsy, a New Yorker who has flown home to be with him, as he lies dying in a Cape Town hospital. A second-person narrative, the novel weaves together stories her father shared with her, as well as Betsy’s own memories and vivid imagination.

Landsman (BA (Hons) 1980) moved to New York after graduating from UCT. She describes how, while writing The Rowing Lesson, she realized that “some portion of my heart will always beat in that opposite hemisphere, in the shadow of the Brandwacht mountains”.

Earlier this year master satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys swapped his home in Darling, South Africa, for a tour of Los Angeles, Boston and New York.

A writer and performer of more than 20 plays, Uys was awarded an hon-orary doctorate by UCT in 2003. In the past six years he has toured South African, talking frankly to over a million children about the serious-ness of the AIDS pandemic.

Uys’ staunch support for AIDS edu-cation also featured prominently in his recent U.S. performances. As Artist-in-Residence at the University of Southern California, he spoke on “Comedy, Activism & Aids in South Africa” and gave several per-formances of his political cabaret, Elections and Erections: A Chronicle of Fear and Fun.

Uys opened Elections and Erections in Cambridge in April, returning to the Zero Arrow Theatre where he performed the phenomenally successful Foreign AIDS in 2005. Boston-area audiences delighted in Uys’ host of special guests, all of whom he performed with un-canny accuracy, including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, Bill and Hillary, and the glamorous Evita Bezuidenhout.

Evita’s U.S. sojourn ended on a high note in May in New York, with three gala performances at La MaMa. It was here that Uys received the OBIE Award for Foreign Aids in 2004.

Tannie Evita’s U.S. Tour

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Goldman Sachs Supports Brown-GSB PartnershipUCT’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) is among 16 prestigious U.S. and European business schools selected as initial academic partners in a global initiative to increase the number of underserved women receiving management education.

The five-year partnership between the GSB and Brown University is part of the $100 million project, “10,000 Women” funded by New York investment bank Goldman Sachs. Brown and UCT will develop a course in technology innovation designed to build “en-trepreneurship capacity” by providing students with the skills to leverage technology to create competitive businesses.

For the fourth consecutive year, UCT’s GSB was ranked in the London Financial Times Global MBA Top 100. In the 2008 rankings the GSB is among the top five business schools in emergent markets such as Africa, India and China.

C a m P u s C o n n e C t i o n s 3

UCT scholars in the Clanwilliam-based Living Landscapes Project have won the Alan Pifer Research Award for the second time. Named in honor of former Carnegie Corporation President and founding Chairman of the UCT Fund, the Pifer Award is made annually to researchers whose work contributes to the advancement of disadvan-taged South Africans.

Drama Department Chair Mark Fleishman and Professor of Fine Art Pippa Skotnes received the 2008 Pifer Award for their work in bringing local history, drama and art to the Clanwilliam community. Archaeologist John Parkington initiated the community-based heritage and education project in the early 1990s. Parkington was recognized for his contribution to the area with the Pifer Award in 1999.

Since then the Living Landscapes Project has taken root in the community. The project has established jobs in catering, crafting and guiding, informed local school curricula, and helped return the rich heritage of the area to the local community.

In the mid-1990s art workshops were offered to fewer than 100 pupils annually. Now about 500 children each year complete workshops involving dance, storytelling, shadow puppetry, and arts and crafts. The program culminatesThe program culminates in the annual Spring Lantern Parade which re-interprets traditional San themes.

Pifer Award for Living Landscapes Project

Global Administrative Law in Africa

In March UCT and New York University co-sponsored a conference on “Global Administrative Law Issues in the African Region”, held in the UCT Law Faculty’s Oliver Tambo Moot Court. Dean Hugh Corder described the conference as a great success: “Both South African and overseas delegates were challenged by views put forward in the papers, and a plan was drafted for further research and co-operation between NYU and UCT Law. Adding greatly to the significance of the event was the presence of South African Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, who opened the conference, NYU President John Sexton who was the riveting after-dinner speaker, and Kader Asmal who spoke on ‘Private Military Security’.”

The procession during the annual Spring Lantern Parade in Clanwilliam

NYU Professor Benedict Kingsbury, Judge Dennis Davis, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Thandabantu Nhlapo, Minister Trevor Manuel, Professor Dick Stewart of NYU, and Dean Hugh Corder at the UCT-NYU Global Administrative Law conference

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30th Year Reunion in Los Angeles

Last December a group of 1977 graduates met up at the South African-owned Mozambique restaurant in Laguna Beach for an informal Reunion. Thanks to Rob Verkroost for the photos.

4 a l u m n i & F r i e n D s e v e n t s

(l-r) Francesca Pascolini, Nick Constantinides (BSc ElecEng 1977), Andre Ohland (BSc ElecEng 1977), Paul Buck (BSc 1977), Reva Wright, Robert Verkroost (BSc ElecEng 1977), Christina Hattingh.1977 Electrical Engineering class photo

Inaugural Happy Hour in D.C.

The newly-formed D.C. Alumni and Friends Society held their first networking event in January. Organized by Katie Irvin (MPhil 2006), the gathering attracted UCT alumni from classes ranging between 1947 and 2006, former study abroad students and other friends of UCT in the D.C. area. Katie hopes that this is just the start of regular get-togethers.

Pieter-Dirk Uys with Jinny Sagorin (l-r) Liam and Penny Ratcliffe with Paul Malherbe and Rachel Seidel

Cambridge Alumni enjoy Evita’s “humor therapy”

Pieter-Dirk Uys joined Alumni and Friends for conversation after a per-formance of Elections & Erections, dur-ing which Uys recalled his UCT student days as a formative time in his life.

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Vice-Chancellors’ Visitseveral alumni and Friends gatherings were held in april, during a visit to the u.s. by vice-Chancellor njabulo ndebele and vice-Chancellor Designate, Dr. max Price. Dr. Price will become uCt’s 10th vice-Chancellor in July.

Dr. Price addressed the challenges facing UCT and South Africa

a l u m n i & F r i e n D s e v e n t s 5

(l-r) Fiona Jack, Oliver Link, Guto Barra, Maxine Lubner, VC-Designate Max Price, and Janine le Sueur

(l-r) Andrew Ezekowitz, Alan Ezekowitz (MBChB ’77), Mike Ezekowitz (MBChB ’70), Andrew Swinney, Alexander Friedlander (BA ’74), David Metz, Max Price and Jacques G. Losman

(l-r) Hertzie Clain, Vice-Chancellor Njabulo Ndebele, David Clain, and Ian Anderson

Max Price talks with Lyn Wilson, with Yasmin von Schirnding in the background

New York

Out-going Vice-Chancellor Njabulo Ndebele reflected on the growth of UCT’s re-search profile and international reputation at a cocktail party at the Harvard Club of New York City. Over 60 alumni from six decades (1954 through 2004) joined the Vice-Chancellor in welcoming Dr. Max Price to the UCT community.

Philadelphia

Dr. Michael Ezekowitz, Vice President of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research hosted a welcome reception for Vice-Chancellor Designate, Dr. Max Price, in Wynnewood.

Rodman Ward talks with Dr. Max Price

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6 u C t F u n D G r a n t s at w o r k

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan awards the first Hamilton Naki-MESAB-United Therapeutics Scholarship to medical student Moses Matlhadisa

Stempels Praise Starr ScholarsDuring a recent visit to Cape Town, Director of the Starr Foundation, Mr. Ernest Stempel and his wife, UCT graduate Brendalyn Stempel, had the opportunity to meet many of the students who benefit from C.V. Starr Scholarships at UCT.

The Starr Foundation has endowed C.V. Starr Scholarship Funds at more than 100 colleges and universi-ties and selected secondary schools. A total of 18 students at UCT were awarded C.V. Starr Scholarships in 2007.

“I’m pleased to come here. UCT is a wonderful institution,” Mr. Stempel told the students. He said he was proud of the university’s reputation and the students’ achievements. “It is wonderful to see that the student body is well-balanced in all respects.”

New Health Sciences ScholarshipMedical student Moses Matlhadisa is the first recipient of the Hamilton Naki-MESAB-United Therapeutics Scholarship, which was made possible by a grant to the UCT Fund by U.S. bio-technology company, United Therapeutics.

The award was presented to Mr. Matlhadisa in September 2007 by Dr Louis Sullivan, founding President of Morehouse School of Medicine and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Matlhadisa plans to work in his home town, Bochum in the Limpopo Province, to serve his community and be a role model for local scholars.

The Scholarship is named in honor of Hamilton Naki, a former UCT teacher and surgical assistant who was awarded an honorary degree in Medicine by UCT in 2003.

(l-r): Starr Foundation Scholars Babalo Ntlebi, Anelisa Hlongwane, Zolani Buba, Lulama Mboji, Luwi Mathenjwa, Natasha Magengelele, Goodonough Makhoba, Sibusiso NyoniFront (l-r): Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Mr. Ernest Stempel and Mrs. Brendalyn Stempel

starr scholars in their own words…

Sibusiso Nyoni, one of five siblings, is pursuing a medical degree at UCT.

“Medicine chose me. I have always been overcome by compassion for those who are ill and suffering, es-pecially the poor. Though my efforts might just be a drop in the ocean, I still want to play my part in alleviating hu-man suffering”.

Goodonough Makhoba recently com-pleted the second year of his BSc Audiology.

“I am determined to make a difference in my field, and I want to make sure that I graduate as an Audiologist to serve South Africa’s people”.

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Thank You for Supporting UCTThe UCT Fund is grateful to our many supporters who help maintain and build on the quality of the UCT education.

We would like to thank the following UCT Fund donors for their generous support of UCT during the period 2006 – 2007.

t h a n k s t o o u r s u P P o r t e r s 7

inDiviDual ContriButors

Chancellor’s Circle

Klaus-Jurgen BatheJohn M. GrahamRobert & Sally HuxleyE. Neville Isdell Vincent & Anne MaiDavid M. SteinErnest E. & Brendalyn Stempel

Vice-Chancellor’s Circle

Robert FormanShannon & Trevor Norwitz

President of Convocation

David Rockefeller

Dean’s Circle

Ginny & Sean Day Susan C. Del PescoArthur FormanWilliam R. JacobsonAndrew Jones & Claire JaffrayJudy KleinPaul KumlebenMiles L. MarshDavid J.P. MeachinCraig MullettGordon R. ParkerStephen S. RabinowitzDon M. & Carol E. Randel Phillip J. & Tracey G. RieseGale & Bobby Shifflet

Benefactor

T. Maxfield BahnerKerrin & Stephne BehrendPeter & Barbara Cohen Alan Drabkin Dyan de NapoliJames R. FrankNona C. FloresAnthony R. Hall

Graham HopperVivienne Isaacson Paul MalherbeNoel Mancherje, M.D.Gordon MarsaLeigh B. MiddleditchLiam RatcliffeDomeena RenshawHyman & Shirley Shwiel

Friend

AnonymousAngela S. BarberRuanne V. BarnabasTina Barsby & Andrew SillenBrian S. Behrens Marlene & Georges Belfort David M. BichunskyJohn R. Blake, M.D.Peter D. BonafedeCesar D. CandariCatherine E. CarrVirginia CastnerMisha CharlesChristopher CoetzeeAndrew CohenKathleen M. ColemanCecilia C. CroftsJohn DeightonCharles & Pamela DelaneyAdrian DeneysCynthia EdwardsClement A. ErbmannAndrea V. FliakosMyrna L. FrankMichael W. FriedlanderSarah M. GatesBernard J. GershM. Philippa GooldToby I. Gottheiner, M.D.Virginia E. GreenBeryl J.N. GreigBarbara A. HarrisTrevor S. HarrisBessie & William Hodes

Daryl M. Isaacs, M.D.Alan H. & Marilyn C. JacobsIrene N. JacobsonGerry KaufmanNorma KrigerHerbert N. & Irene B. LapeAbraham M. Lenhoff Allan Lichtenstein Maurice H. LipperMaurice H. Luntz Calvin L. LutrinRichard & Michelle MaloneBrendan McKennaGrant MorrisAkintunde A. OkupeAisling R. O’SheaGeorge ParentJohn G. & Karin L. PieperPeter H. PritchardAlayne ReesbergDeborah C. RichmanMarjorie S. RobinsonElizabeth M. SaunderAdrian ShandlingMichael H. & Sandra R. SilberJulian SinaiRobert N. Sladen, M.D.Julia H. StantonPeter D. SteinBasil TaibelHoracio C. Teran & Kristin TuchmanSam TharpGordon E.R. TroyWulf UtianJon van HeerdenTimothy A. WarnerChristian WilliamsTjalling J. Ypma

FounDations

The Baird FoundationJudy & Howard Berkowitz FoundationThe Doris Duke Charitable FoundationThe John E. Fetzer InstituteThe Starr Foundation

CorPorations

Bergeson LLPDavis Polk & WardwellUnited Therapeutics

ComPany matChinG GiFts

Microsoft Giving CampaignPfizer Foundation Matching Gifts The Phelps Dodge FoundationThe Williams Companies

Donor Giving Levels

Chancellor’s Circle$10,000 and above

Vice-Chancellor’s Circle$5,000 – $9,999

President of Convocation$2,500 – $4,999

Dean’s Circle$1,000 – $2,499

Benefactor$500 – $999

FriendUp to $499

We do try to be accurate in our listings. Please accept our apologies for any omissions and misspellings, and advise us of errors.

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PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDS. DEERFIELD, MA

PERMIT NO. 8

Major New Grant from Carnegie Corporation

The Carnegie Corporation of New York recently awarded UCT a three-year grant of $2 million for institutional transformation and employment equity. A long-standing donor to UCT li-braries, scholarships and capac-ity-building programs, Carnegie will now support an over-arching transformation project to develop emerging faculty. During the past 18 months UCT has developed plans to nurture a critical mass of black people and women among the academic staff. The plan seeks to give relief to new and invariably younger members of staff from heavy teaching loads, so that they can complete PhDs, conduct research, or deliver conference papers; in short, to assist them to make an impact in their departments.

1383 6th Ave #114New York, NY 10019

Our website has been updated—visit us online at www.uctfund.org.

Our site features news about UCT faculty and alumni, profiles of projects supported by your contributions to the Fund, events for Alumni & Friends in the U.S., and links to UCT websites you might be interested in exploring. Plus lots of gorgeous pictures of UCT campus!

Forward details of the site to your friends from UCT—and help us re-connect with alumni with whom we’ve lost contact.

We’d love to hear your feedback on the site, and what you’d like to see online. Email Tina Barsby at [email protected]

uCt Fund online