THE END OF NOVEMBER IS A TIME WHEN WE ARE ASKED TO GIVE THANKS. Science tells us that regularly thinking about our blessings helps improve both our mental and physical health. Finding ways of giving back, in gratitude, is the reason the Wits Fund Inc. was established, helping US Witsies connect to each other, and find ways of improving their communities, both at home in the United States, and in South Africa.

A YEAR LATER AND ZOLA CLINIC TREATING HUNDREDS OF SOWETO RESIDENTS A MONTH

There were smiles all around when Wits graduates, Stanley and Marion Bergman went on a visit to the Zola Wits Dental Clinic in November 2024, more than a year after the official launch of the upgraded facility. 

The Zola Wits Dental Clinic is a refurbished and re-equipped 15-chair, state-of the-art facility for community-based training and clinical services in Zola, Soweto, officially launched in September 2023. This flagship Wits Centenary project was made possible by a generous donation from theBergman Family, for whom this was a follow-up visit. The Bergmans were pleased to see the clinic’s effective and impactful use, which is benefiting the residents of Soweto and ensuring they have better access to oral healthcare, while enabling Wits Dental School students to practice in the community.

The clinic has a staff complement of at dentists, oral hygienists, dental assistants, and specialist dentists on a rotational basis, supervising around 12 students per rotation.

WITS PLANETARIUM REVAMPED: MEET THE DIGITAL DOME!

After 64 years, the Johannesburg Planetarium has been upgraded featuring 10 new cutting-edge high-resolution digital projectors. Says Professor Zeblon Vilakazi: “It is a proud moment as Wits is taking an incredible lead in renewing and reimagining the Digital Dome to inspire future generations, and opening up the infinite possibilities that our world has to offer them.” Read more here.

After major refurbishments, the old Johannesburg Planetarium relaunches as the state-of-the-art Wits Anglo American Digital Dome – a multidisciplinary facility of infinite possibilities that will forever change how South Africans teach, research, and engage with science, technology, business, sport, the humanities and the arts.

WITS EXPLORING THE COSMOS

WITSIES APPOINTED TO SA PRESIDENTIAL ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

From left to right, ProVC Professor Imraan Valodia, Dr Kenneth Creamer, Ms Trudy Makhanya

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, recently announced members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) who will play an important role in guiding the 7^th Administration in its pursuit of rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and job creation.

Comprising local and international economic thought leaders, the Council advises the President and government more broadly, helping the development and implementation of economic policies that spur inclusive growth.

Witsies appointed to PEAC include Dr Kenneth Creamer, Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance; Professor Imraan Valodia, Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality, and Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies; and Wits alumna Ms Trudy Makhanya, former  economic advisor to the President and  Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group.

Read more here.

As we feel gratitude for the blessings in our lives, one way to pay it forward is through making an impact in a person’s life that will uplift them, and their families, for generations to come.
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WATCH: WITS’ LATEST NEWS IN SIXTY SECONDS – This episode is dedicated to the new Wits Anglo American Digital Dome. This state-of-the-art space, which will open to the public in February 2025, offers a 360° immersive experience with shows for all ages. Beyond entertainment, it’s a modern teaching venue and collaborative research hub, where scientists and students can explore fields like big data, astrophysics, digital arts, microbiology, and precision medicine. 

Read the full stories here.