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About the Wits Fund

The University of the Witwatersrand Fund, Inc. is a corporation under the Internal Revenue Code, section 501 (c) (3). Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. The Wits Fund IRS EIN number is: 13-3902012.

The Wits Fund is a separate legal entity from the University and one of many organizations worldwide that raises funds for the University.

Vision

To ensure that Wits University remains one of Africa’s – and the world’s –
pre-eminent research-intensive educational institutions, with top academic standards, committed faculty, and supportive alumni.

Mission

The Wits Fund is committed to:

  1. Raising the profile of Wits University worldwide, by spreading word of its achievements, milestones, and alumni accomplishments. Secondarily, this commitment to Wits’ profile positively impacts South Africa as a whole as well as the rest of Africa.
  2. Driving a deeper sense of connection between Wits University and its alumni and helping to forge relationships with other friends and partners of Wits.
  3. Raising funds to support Wits’ endeavors, special projects, research, and ability to attract and retain the world’s best students and faculty.

Members of the Board

Since 1989, Stanley M. Bergman has been Chairman of the Board and CEO of Henry Schein, Inc., a Fortune 500® company and the world’s largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental and medical practitioners, with more than 25,000 Team Schein Members worldwide and operations or affiliates in 33 countries and territories.

John Teeger is the President of Founders Equity and a General Partner of Founders Equity I, LP, a private equity fund based in New York City.

Currently, Jane Levy works as co-CEO of a dental software startup, and as a Venture Partner in an oral-focused venture capital firm. Previously, Jane was a strategic advisor to Henry Schein’s Innovation Group.

Dr. Teboho Moja is a professor of higher education at New York University (NYU) and has been a policy analyst with a focus on the South African higher education system.

Cliff McMillan recently retired as a Principal of Arup, the global consulting engineering firm where he served for 54 years, first in South Africa and, since 1999, in the New York office.

Jonathan Joffe is a third generation Wits graduate: his grandmother Ethel was one of the first women to receive a BSC at the university in 1923. He completed a BA (economics) degree at Wits in the late 1970s, during which he served on the SRC.

Robin Fryer BAcc., CA(SA), CPA (US) has been appointed as treasurer of The University of the Witwatersrand Fund Inc.

David Schneider (Wits LLB 1958) is a retired senior executive of The Coca-Cola Company.

Mr Stephen Ira Back is the Chief Compliance Officer of Owl Creek Asset Management, L.P., and lives in New York.

Balungile Belz is CEO of Birth Order, an online pregnancy health and wellness platform. Prior to that, she managed B2B Partnerships and Member Experience at Chief, a unicorn startup focused on supporting executive women.

Natalie Brown graduated from Wits with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1994. She currently lives in the U.S. in Seattle and is the head of marketing at Sur La Table, an experiential retailer in the kitchenware and entertaining space that also offers culinary classes.

Martin Colman (Wits MBBCh 1964, MMed 1971) retired in 2017 after a 53-year career in academic medicine and was named Emeritus Chair of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas.  

Born: USA.
Wits B.A. 1971.
S.R.C. President and Vice-President of NUSAS.
Columbia Law School J.D. 1975.
Kent Scholar.

BRUCE A. HUBBARD. ESQ. is the Principal of Bruce A. Hubbard, P. C., an independent law firm where he has practiced law in New York City. 

Mr David Jammy (Wits BA 1989 LLB 1996), Los Angeles. David is a film and television producer. 

Indran Naick is a senior technical leader at IBM leading one of IBM’s largest accounts where he’s responsible for the overall technical strategy. 

Dr. Hazel Sive is Dean of the College of Science, and Professor of Biology at Northeastern University, Boston. She is a research pioneer, award-winning educator and innovator in the higher education space.

Lindi has extensive experience in technology, law, and finance. She is an international tax planning lawyer at Slalom, founder of the tech startup “LTRconnect”, and best-selling author of tech novel “Rookie”.

Until I relocated to Seattle my professional base was the Gordon Institute of Business Science (University of Pretoria), in Johannesburg, where I taught (and consulted) in change management, strategy implementation, social impact and inclusive leadership.

(Wits US Representative)

Ms Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi is the Wits representative in the United States, providing strategic direction and operational advancement for fundraising and development activities in the United States, working collaboratively with Wits University and the Wits Fund.