Wits turned 100 in 2022. Learn more here.
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HOW DO YOU SHOW LOVE? WITH FLOWERS AND A CARD ONCE A YEAR? OR WITH SOMETHING THAT IS MUCH LONGER LASTING? Have you thought about setting up family philanthropy goals, even if you are still far from retirement? What about a scholarship in the name of a loved one? Call or write to us and we will help you find ways to give back to causes at Wits which are close to your heart.
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INAUGURAL HOLDER OF THE DAVID AND ANGELA FINE CHAIR FOR INNOVATION ANNOUNCED
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Dr Adam Pantanowitz (pictured above right) has been appointed as the David and Angela Fine Chair in Innovation and Director of the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC), and Letlotlo Phohole (pictured left) as Senior Programme Manager.
Having been involved with the establishment of the WIC and of the Chair, and continuing to help administer the Fine endowment on behalf of David and Angela Fine, the Wits Fund is happy to learn of this important stride forward for Wits University. The WIC has appointed iconic biomedical and electrical engineer, Dr Adam Pantanowitz, as the inaugural Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation and the first Director of the WIC.
Joining him as the WIC’s Senior Programme Manager is Letlotlo Phohole, a seasoned technology and innovation management professional with over 25 years of experience spread across industry, government agencies, academia and entrepreneurship.
Pantanowitz is well-known for initiating and leading the first effort in the world to connect a human brain to the internet in real-time in a project called the Brainternet – a term he coined. He joined the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Wits University in 2009 where he lectures in engineering and medicine.
Read more here.
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Witsie Appointed As Special Advisor to
UN Secretary-General
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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced in January the appointment of Adv Mojankunyane Gumbi (Wits Bachelor of Laws, 1984) as Special Adviser for Addressing Racism in the Workplace.
Adv. Gumbi is currently Chancellor of the University of Venda, a position she was appointed to in 2020. She is the founder of Mojanku Gumbi Advisory Services, a Johannesburg-based business advisory firm. From 2018 to 2019, she served as Ombudsman of the University of Johannesburg. She was a Special Adviser to South Africa President Thabo Mbeki from 1999 to 2008. From 1994 to 1999, she was an Adviser to then Deputy President Mbeki in the Mandela Administration. She was involved in peacemaking initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Comoros, Sudan, Lesotho, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Iran and the Middle East. Prior to serving in the presidency, Ms. Gumbi was an attorney from 1984 and an advocate from 1993.
Ms. Gumbi holds law degrees from the South African Universities of the North (now University of Limpopo) and Witwatersrand, and a certificate in trial advocacy from the University of Texas in Austin. Read more here.
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Wits Researcher Inducted Into Her Second
Global Explorers' Club
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Dr Keneiloe Molopyane joins the EC50 class of 2023, after also being selected as an Emerging Explorer for the National Geographic Society in 2021.
Wits University archaeologist, Dr Keneiloe Molopyane, has been invited to join her second exclusive explorers club, the prestigious Explorers Club 50 (EC50), class of 2023. The EC50 is branded as a group of “50 people changing the world that the world needs to know about”.
Molopyane, a researcher in palaeoanthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand, and currently the principal investigator of the Gladysvale Cave site, was one of 50 explorers selected out of 300 nominations from across the world. Read more here.
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This is Wits! The home of talented scholars. A remarkable institution that is internationally renowned for its excellent research, high academic standards, and commitment to social justice.
Home to 4 Nobel Prize Winners, over 40 000 students, and 7 campuses.
#WitsForGood #ProudlyWits #Wits4Life
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Dr Donal Skinner (Wits BSc Hons, 1989) appointed Dean at UT Dallas
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Dr. Donal Skinner, who led the honors programs at Ohio University and the University of Wyoming, has joined The University of Texas at Dallas as dean of the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, earlier this year.
Skinner, an accomplished educator, researcher and academic administrator with more than 25 years of experience, had been the dean of the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University since 2019 and served as the inaugural dean of the Honors College at the University of Wyoming from 2017 to 2019. Read more here.
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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.
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.
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Witsie profiled in the Washington Post
The amazing life of the redoubtable Dr Libby Lashansky (Wits MBBCh, 1954) was recently profiled in the Washington Post.
Dr Lashansky is thought to be one of the oldest people living with Type I diabetes. Doctors said she’d be lucky to live until age 15. She’s now 92. Read more here.
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Loyal Loyalties
The Wits Fund has received a very generous offer from Prof John Rogan (Wits BSc 1965), who has published a novel entitled “The Rivers of Joy and Sorrow”.
In this poignant story, students who decide to oppose apartheid are propelled on a journey entailing love, abandonment, yearning, betrayal, and redemption.
John has very generously donated a 100% of the royalties of the sale of the book to Wits alumni and other readers of this newsletter.
In order to ensure that royalties accrue to the Wits Fund, please follow the steps below:
1. Go to Archway Publishing, https://bit.ly/3CBPQxZ
2. Order whichever version of the book you choose. (The paper version will accrue more royalties.)
3. Send the following information [via email to Nooshin.Erfani-Ghadimi@wits.ac.za]:
your name, version and cost of book bought and date of purchase.
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Copyright © Wits Fund Inc., 2023
The University of the Witwatersrand Fund, Inc.
PO Box 7101, New York, NY 10150
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