The legacy of late Rhodes University Senior Alumni Relations Officer, Terryl Mc Carthy, lives on in a student bursary lovingly established by her family.

Rhodes University’s Director of the DST Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation, Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong, has been named an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Rhodes University alumni continue flying the University flag higher and higher across the globe. They are a true embodiment of the University’s motto, “Where leaders learn” as they continue to show outstanding leadership qualities. One such alumnus is Professor Michael Bruton.

On Thursday evening, 26 November 2020, the University management, students, volunteers and community partners converged virtually to honour and celebrate the community engagement champions.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Rhodes University Fine Art Department has launched a virtual graduate show exhibition featuring works by the fourth-year BFA students.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) Awards ceremony will take place online via Zoom and be streamed on the Division’s Facebook page.

The Centre for Biological Control (CBC) at Rhodes University began a campaign to inundate the Hartbeespoort Dam (HBD) with the water hyacinth planthopper Megamelus scutellaris, a biological control agent of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes), between 2018 and 2020.

The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), the Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science (DIFS) and the whole Rhodes University community were saddened by the recent news of the passing of Professor Olaf Weyl on 14 November 2020.

Drama studies is, by nature, a physical course. But instead of shelving its annual Performing Flux festival, the Drama Department reinvented it to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions. Perhaps one of the hardest-hit Departments, this brilliant performance showcase pays tribute to the ingenuity, resilience and passion of our Drama staff and students.

Two Rhodes University PhD candidates walked away with a first place tie in the national Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition last week.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the start of the national lockdown with effect from 26 March 2020, it meant a lot of industries would be negatively affected.

Last week, Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) and Durban University of Technology partnered to launch the Knowledge for Change (K4C) South Hub amid much excitement.

At the last Senate meeting, a request to change the name of the Department of English Language and Linguistics at Rhodes University was approved.

Public procurement is the single largest corruption risk, particularly in developing countries. Transparency International estimates that governments in low- and middle-income countries spend about 50% of public funds buying goods and services from the private sector. This compares with just 30% in high-income countries.

For the first time in over 100 years of existence, Rhodes University will on Friday 30 October 2020, be hosting an exclusive inaugural graduation ceremony for Masters and Doctoral graduates.

When a young Gerald Bloem was growing up in Kroonstad, he never imagined he would one day be entrusted with the role of Rhodes University Council Chairperson.

Rhodes University’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) is pleased and excited to welcome its newly appointed board members.

On behalf of our Chancellor, Council and the entire Rhodes University community, I offer you our warmest and proud congratulations on graduating with a Masters or PhD degree from Rhodes University. Without hard work, perseverance and a dogged determination, you would not have reached this important milestone in your academic pursuits.

In an unprecedented follow-up, Rhodes University Student Representative Council (SRC) was this year dominated by women yet again. In the 110th SRC Council election ceremony, which took place on Friday, October 09, 2020, 14 out of 16 SRC Councillors are women.

Every year, the Mail & Guardian searches for the 200 most outstanding young South Africans and celebrates them. This year, the newspaper received about 8 000 nominations, and 10 current and former Rhodes University students featured on the list of 200.

Rhodes University Professor in Biotechnology, Janice Limson and Professor Emma Lubaale in the Faculty of Law were recently inaugurated as Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) respectively.

The High Court in Durban, the port city in KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast of South Africa, has granted an interdict against a mosque, stopping its call to prayer (the athaan or adhan) because it can be heard from a neighbour’s house across the street.

Rhodes University Business School held its 6th annual Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Annual Lecture this week and due to COVID-19 protocols, this prestigious event was held virtually. Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Mcebisi Jonas, was the guest speaker.

The Old Rhodian Union selection committee, under the Chairmanship of Professor Rod Walker, have selected three worthy recipients of Rhodes University's Distinguished Alumni Award 2020 namely, Professor Robert Morrell, Advocate Izak Smuts and Mr Brian O'Shea.

Rhodes University’s Equity and Institutional Culture office recently hosted webinar sessions in commemoration of and closing off of Heritage Month. The two-day webinar series, themed “Connecting the past to the present”, saw different speakers presenting on several issues about the history of South Africa.

The recent release of a data-rich historical dictionary on smartphones and tablets (iOS & Android supported), marks a revolutionary step for the development of resources documenting South African English usage over three centuries.

Many universities around the world pay academics to publish their research. Our recent study in South Africa, though, suggests they should be cautious of such practices.

September 25th is celebrated globally, as World Pharmacists Day

Rhodes University’s Drug Discovery and Pharmaceutical Research Lab has partnered with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to find a potential treatment for the infectious disease, trichomoniasis.

The Rhodes University community joins millions of South Africa in paying homage to one of the finest sons of the soil, Mr Monde Tabata, who passed away on Thursday.

When Rhodes University started asking local school principals and management how best to assist them with the additional pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project team didn’t anticipate what a positive learning experience it would be for everyone involved.

On Wednesday, 16 September 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation regarding the move from national Alert Level 2 to 1. In his speech, the President emphasised the need for the country to open the economy as a result of a significant decrease in COVID-19 infections and deaths, as well as the preparedness of our health system. However, he warned us not to lower our guard as we embrace the ‘new normal’, but to keep adhering to health and safety protocols and non-pharmaceutical interventions of wearing a face mask, washing our hands regularly with soap and water or a sanitiser and practising safe physical distancing at all times.

Rhodes University welcomes the judgment by the Grahamstown High Court today that, among others, granted leave to appeal its earlier decision where a review application by Ms Yolanda Dyantyi against her exclusion from the University was dismissed with costs.

Dr McConnachie revolutionised the teaching of Instrumental Music Studies at Rhodes University by substituting western musical instruments for indigenous African performance practice. In just three years, enrolment on this programme has tripled from 27 to 94 – a living testimony to the value of responsive, relevant and empowering teaching in higher education.

The Rhodes University community has learnt with great sadness about the passing of a passionate supporter of the growth of the South African arts sector, Lynette Marais, who Rhodes University bestowed with a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) in 2009.

Rhodes University’s CPGS, together with the Postgraduate Liaison Committee, have put a twist to this year’s postgraduate conference, to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions.

Rhodes University notes with grave concern the statement attributed to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), today, threatening to ‘unleash the anger’ of the nation ‘without further notice’ in a matter between Ms Yolanda Dyantyi and the University.

Rhodes University would like to, once again, address the misinformation regarding Yolanda Dyantyi being excluded from the University due to her involvement in the 2016 protests.

Rhodes University community has learnt with great sadness about the passing of one of gallant fighters against apartheid and a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela, Advocate George Bizos.

The unfortunate premature release on social media platforms of our pre-packaged 2020 virtual graduation ceremony video has caused justified and understandable consternation.

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, our University was unable to hold its graduation ceremonies scheduled for April 2020. This denied us an opportunity to recognise and celebrate your hard-earned accomplishments in the way we have always done at Rhodes University.

The Rhodes University Faculty of Pharmacy and the Community Engagement Division (RUCE) have partnered up to holistically address the health challenges in Makhanda and the surrounding communities.

On 27 August, Rhodes University Registrar, Dr Adéle Moodly, presented her second public lecture during Women’s Month, titled ‘Understanding and facilitating women’s pathways to higher education leadership’.

It has hardly been a month since the release of his gospel single and Rhodes University gospel artist and final year Bachelor of Arts student, Praise Ntsako Mathebula is already leading the Google Play Gospel charts with his song-Pfuxelela, which means ‘Revive’.

More Rhodes University students are to be invited to return to campus, following an announcement by government to move the country to Alert Level 2 of its Risk-Adjusted Strategy to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nurses at Rhodes University Health Care Centre (HCC) are used to people going into their offices seeking help.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person voting for the upcoming Student Representative Council (SRC) General Elections is not possible. Here is what you need to know about voting online.

Following the announcement of the national lockdown by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, most workplaces were forced to halt all operations, leaving many South Africans without jobs.

In waters off eastern South Africa, a group of researchers, including Research Associate of Zoology and Entomology at Rhodes University, Louw Claassens, have found a new species: a pygmy seahorse about the size of a grain of rice.

On 23 July 2020, during the Higher Education Studies ‘Doc Week’, Professor Sioux McKenna (CPGS) and Dr Kirstin Wilmot (CHERTL), along with co-editor, Professor Christine Winberg (Cape Peninsula University of Technology), launched their new book, Building knowledge in higher education: Enhancing Teaching and Learning with Legitimation Code Theory.

Rhodes University will lead an international research collaboration that seeks to discover and accelerate the development of new antibiotics. The three-year, £1.5 million project, funded by the Newton Fund through the Antibiotic Accelerator Initiative of the United Kingdom (UK) Medical Research Council (MRC) and South African (SA) MRC, aims to discover novel compounds from natural sources that have the potential to be developed into new antimicrobial compounds to combat drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.

The problem with being a small business school in a corner of SA often painted as dysfunctional is that you have to make an “extraordinary” case to persuade companies you can provide them with top-class executive education, says Owen Skae. The flip side of the coin is that once you’ve proved you can, they are “incredibly loyal”.

This prestigious event is held annually to celebrate the life and the works of Samuel Edward Krune Loliwe Ngxekengxeke (SEK) Mqhayi, who is regarded as the “father of Xhosa Poetry“.

Rhodes University Visiting Professor Thembela Kepe, a Professor of Geography at the University of Toronto, Canada, was awarded a Fellowship of the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG) in June 2020.

Paleobotanist Aviwe Matiwane is working in her native South Africa to find and catalog fossils of a plant that can provide us with a glimpse back in time to the climate and even food chains of a time before the dinosaurs.

Three students are downloading a wealth of free digital learning resources and hand-delivering them to parents and children in their homes, showing that expensive tablets are not necessarily the best and most cost-effective way to get education to poor households.

Director of the Rhodes University Centre for Biological Control (CBC), Distinguished Professor Martin Hill, has been elected to serve as President of the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) for a period of four years.

Four Rhodes University students have qualified for the regional round of the second annual Enterprise Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Intervarsity Competition and will be pitching their business ideas to judges next week, on 18 July 2020.

Rhodes University is deeply saddened by the death of one of the bravest and most committed freedom fighters against apartheid, Dr Andrew Mokete Mlangeni.

United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) announced the outcomes of its African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) partnership research programme to tackle global challenges such as disease, poverty, climate change, fragile states and food insecurity.

The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (OMT) has granted R3.8 million to Rhodes University to support the University’s efforts to transition to online teaching and learning and implement an effective response strategy that adapts its classroom-based methods to effective delivery on digital platforms following the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Long-time funder of Rhodes University’s Commerce Extended Studies Programme (ESP), Investec, has donated 50 tablets to students without adequate devices. This generous donation will help equip these students with a means to complete their academic year amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, where contact teaching has been suspended or largely restricted.

Rhodes University’s Community Engagement (RUCE), in partnership with Food & Trees for Africa, has launched its Victory Gardens drive, which aims to encourage Makhanda citizens to start their own vegetable gardens in order to foster increased food security.

Production has begun on three local non-invasive respiratory ventilator designs. This is not just good news for hospitals and patients, but also for manufacturing in South Africa.

If you have been the victim of a crime, one of the first interactions you’ll have with police is when an officer takes your sworn statement. Language is key to this process: you tell an officer your story, and they record it, usually writing it by hand.

Specialist training for staff, strict protocols including daily screening, physical distancing, hand hygiene and mask-wearing, are in place as the university this week welcomes back on campus the first cohort of students who have been identified in line with the criteria set out by the Department of Higher Education & Training (DHET).

A research team from Rhodes University and the Port Elizabeth Museum has discovered a new species and genus of snake, and have named them in honour of two reptile scientists (herpetologists) from the Eastern Cape.

During this period of social distancing, finding ways of connecting with others and strengthening bonds in communities has become even more pressing. By its nature, digital storytelling is a tool to facilitate closeness over physical distances. To continue its pursuit of community cohesion, the Social Innovation Hub will launch an online version of its main digital storytelling course.

Rhodes University Drama Department's Anton Krueger’s new show, "The Voice In Your Head", is now on at the National Arts Festival.

As Covid-19 infections escalate in the Eastern Cape, confusion, misinformation and anxiety are rife. The need for clear, reliable and locally relevant information is urgent, especially in isolated rural communities. A coalition of farmers, students, academics and activists are using WhatsApp messages in vernacular isiXhosa to get the message out.

Rhodes University’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) has welcomed its new Director, Professor Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha, who assumed duties last month

A PhD student at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, SAIAB, has added a new species to the moray eel family. Yonela Sithole and her colleagues noticed that the undulated moray eel found off the South African coast looked a little different to the same species found in many other parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) has partnered with Facemasks4Makana to launch a campaign urging Makana residents to help make 1000 masks for children aged two to six years old.

Young innovative minds of Rhodes University have progressed to the finals of the 2020 Ford C3 Building Sustainable Communities Project Partnership - Cycle 7 challenge.

A group of Rhodes University Community Engagement student volunteers in the BuddingQ programme have been hard at work during the national lockdown period.

Rhodes University’s Deputy Dean of Humanities (Research), Professor Enocent Msindo, and the Manager: Research and Development Projects, Noëlle Obers, recently represented Rhodes University at a week-long series of meetings at the University of Bayreuth, Germany.

On 23 May 2020, the Minister of Higher Education, Science & Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, laid out a set of criteria for the return of students to universities according to the declared risk-adjusted alert levels. The Ministry’s framing theme in providing guidance for the post-school in these uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic is #SaveLives, #SaveTheAcademicYear.

Thanks to esteemed project donors, the Rhodes University International Library of African Music (ILAM) is able to continue with its African music research projects, during a time when the cultural sector is being negatively impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

As part of Makhanda’s ‘Day of Fasting’ taking place on 29 May 2020, Rhodes University’s Community Engagement (RUCE) Division has received a generous donation from the Absa Foundation.

Although the concept of remote teaching at Rhodes University is not new, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought this form of teaching and learning into focus.

Two Rhodes University alumni have been recognised by the World Bank for their innovation in the agricultural sector.

Cultural and creative industries are being recognised for their contribution to GDP, job creation and innovation

Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, today expressed 'deep gratitude’ to the institution’s donors who have been providing raw materials for the sanitiser production initiative.

Rhodes University has been awarded an EU Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme grant to lead a five-year multi-partner project – the African Water Resources Mobility Network (AWaRMN) within the Institute for Water Research (IWR).

Rhodes University has received a major boost for its Nine-Tenths programme through funding from oil and gas company, BP South Africa. The organisation has pledged an amount of R666 573 for the years 2020 and 2021

The Rhodes University Law Clinic strives to improve access to justice through the provision of free legal services to indigent people in most areas of law. Currently the Law Clinic is closed due to lockdown regulations, so is unable to see clients at either its New Street offices or at the Assumption Development Centre as usual. The date of the re-opening of the office is uncertain at this time.

The national lockdown has seen a marked increase in social media use among South Africans. The restrictions have led to people interacting and keeping themselves busy by tweeting, liking, commenting, sharing and being much more active on social media.

Many galaxies have enormous twin jets of radio waves extending into intergalactic space. Normally these go in opposite directions, coming from a massive black hole at the centre of the galaxy, but a few are more complicated, appearing to have four jets forming an X on the sky.

A team of final-year LLB students from Rhodes University has made it to the final round in the 18th edition of the prestigious John H Jackson Moot Court Competition, and member Hayley Camilla Warring was awarded Best Orator in the semi-finals. The semi-final took place online in late April.

Rhodes University Professor of Pharmaceutics, Rod Walker, and his team of Pharmacists have been assisting Eastern Cape rural development trust, the Ubunye Foundation, to produce sanitiser from the raw materials they sourced.

Professor Steve Olivier, who started as a student at Rhodes University in 1981, has accepted the appointment of Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen, Scotland. He accepts this responsibility despite the global Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges it poses to higher education.

Two eminent Rhodes University academics, Professors Rosemary Dorrington and Rod Walker have joined a team of experts assembled by Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane and assigned by the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, to shore up efforts to curb Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape Province.

Rhodes University Dean of Pharmacy, Professor Sandile Khamanga, recently received a delegation of scientific technicians from the Dohne Agricultural Development Institute in Stutterheim for training in sanitiser production.

This year’s John H Jackson (formerly ELSA) Moot Court Competition will continue on virtual platforms in real-time, as finalists compete in the African Regional Round this week.

In celebration of the birthday of slain student Uyinene Mrwetyana, Rhodes University Community Engagement (Ruce) on Monday launched a campaign against gender-based violence which sought to affirm all women in SA.

Language is a crucial element of any criminal justice system. Forensic linguist David Wright has written that people find themselves in the judicial system’s linguistic webs at every step of the legal process.

Several Rhodes University academics recently assisted the Department of Health during its mobile Covid-19 screening drive in Makhanda.

While the year 2020 has seemingly hit a standstill due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not all going downhill for former Rhodes Business School and Port Elizabeth illusionist Brendon Peel, who has been nominated for the African Business Excellence Awards by the international MEA Markets business magazine.

Rhodes University has turned to its alumni, business and members of the public for help to mobilise resources to ensure successful completion of the 2020 academic year.

Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, has pledged 33% of his salary - for three months - to the Covid-19 Relief Fund.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize has called on members of the public to wear cloth face masks when they are in public places and here in Makhanda, the Facemasks 4 Makana group is well on its way to making face masks available for as many people as possible, with dozens of people at home making masks to donate across the town.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there is a lot of fake news and misleading information going around. People are frustrated because they are not sure how to cope with this deadly virus. To help reassure people, Rhodes University academics are working around the clock to assist the community to deal with this challenge.

An international team of astronomers, including astronomers from Rhodes University, has uncovered unusual features present in the radio galaxy ESO 137-006, using MeerKAT.

The Grahamstown High Court in Makhanda has dismissed, with costs, an application by Ms Yolanda Dyantyi for the review and setting aside of her permanent exclusion from Rhodes University.

In order to confront the crisis, the language used has rightly been one of war against an enemy for which the resources of the whole country must be mobilised.

In a campaign they are calling Gxotha i Covid-19 (‘Chase Covid-19 away’), Rhodes University’s Community Engagement (RUCE) Division has been at the epicentre of collaborative efforts to raise awareness about the outbreak of Covid-19.

A significant amount of mon­ey has been invested in doctoral education. The national funding formula gives all universities a strong incentive to increase their doctoral intake. But there are questions to be asked about whether the quality of doctoral education justifies these invest­ments of taxpayer money.

This Friday you would not have found your Grocott’s Mail at the supermarket as usual, and here’s why.

Lagos State can expect to experience 270 days of rainfall in 2020. Many Lagosians who suffered from the 2012 and 2017 devastating flooding are wondering whether this is usual or not. Nelson Odume unpacks the issues.

I trust that you and your family are well and that you can appreciate the importance of placing our country under a nationwide 21-day lockdown. It is intended to avert a human catastrophe that would unfold were such drastic measures not taken to curb the transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

In the wake of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), where hand washing is one of the ways to avoid contracting the virus, South Africa is currently experiencing a nationwide shortage of hand sanitiser. In response to this dire need, a team of Rhodes University scientists has set up a lab to produce hand sanitiser.

Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, has emphasised the importance of preparing for online teaching and learning. He said Rhodes University staff should not view the 21-day national lockdown period (27 March to 17 April 2020) as a vacation, but to use these days responsibly to prepare for online teaching and learning methods for when the university reopens on 20 April 2020.

On Monday, 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on further measures that the National Coronavirus Command Council had decide on to reduce the overall number of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and to delay the spread of infection over a longer period.

Twenty-four Rhodes University BPharm (Bachelor of Pharmacy) students were visited by a Click Group Quality Assurance Manager, Unati Xulubana, recently. The reason behind the visit was to discuss the bursary agreement and for the students to sign in order to receive their funding.

A report is doing rounds on social media alleging that a Rhodes University student who arrived at OR Tambo Airport from the USA, on Thursday, was allowed to proceed to his private residence in Makhanda instead of the mandatory quarantine site for all arrivals from designated high-risk countries.

Rhodes University, in association with the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), hosted the first annual FameLab regional science heat at the Amazwi South African Museum of Literature on Monday, 16 March 2020.

Rhodes University recently hosted dialogues for male students to discuss issues surrounding gender-based violence (GBV). These dialogues facilitated a space where male students could interrogate gender inequalities and think about how to create more gender equitable societies.

Rhodes University will, at its 70th graduation ceremony in April, confer an honorary doctorate in Music on one of South Africa’s most celebrated artists, teachers, composers and story-tellers, Madosini Mpahleni.

Rhodes University recently launched two learnership programmes for its support staff, supported by the Education Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA), the Production Management Institute (PMI), and Rhodes University.

The Rhodes University Anthropology Department’s newest course, the Postgraduate Diploma in Heritage Management (PDHM), opened with an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ tour at Amazwi Museum.

On 18 of February 2020, the Cory Library hosted the launch of Indoda Ebisithanda (The Man Who Loved Us): The Reverend James Laing among the amaXhosa 1831-1836, edited by Dr Sandy Shell, Senior Research Associate at Cory Library.

Shaun Johnson, founding Executive Director of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and dedicated member of Rhodes University’s Board of Governors, died at his home on Monday 24 February 2020, at the age of 60.

On Thursday, 20 February, students and academics of Rhodes University attended the Vice-Chancellor’s 2018 Teaching Award Lecture by Dr Siphokazi Magadla, titled “Tragicomic hope, nokuzinza as black matriarchal inheritance”.

Close to 600 students started with their volunteering this week, after two consecutive weekends of volunteer training for new and returning volunteers.

In an attempt to prepare academics for the professoriate level, the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology (DHEST) has launched a Future Professors Programme (FPP).

The Rhodes University Accounting Department hosted a welcome lunch to celebrate the launch of the 2020 Thuthuka and the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (FASSET) Bursary programmes.

The New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP) is Department of Higher Education’s national initiative forming part of the Staffing South Africa University Framework.

The Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics (AGCLE) at Rhodes University recently received a glowing appraisal for its flagship course, IiNtheto zoBomi, amid an increase in international attention.

Friday 14 February 2020 was a Friday like no other for high school learners when they were treated to a Rhodes University Maths Experience (RUME) at the Barratt Lecture Theatre complex.

On Monday, 17 February, the Rhodes University Faculty of Law held its opening ceremony for the 2020 academic year. For the event, the Faculty invited respected, retired Judge Dayalin Chetty to deliver the keynote speech.

On Monday, 10 February 2020, The Australian High Commissioner to South Africa, HE Adv Gita Kamath, paid a courtesy visit to Rhodes University.

Almost a decade since walking out of Rhodes University, with her Drama and English degree in hand, actress and now playwright Amy Louise Wilson is set to return to Makhanda after winning the 2020 Distell National Playwright Competition.

Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela officially welcomed almost 100 first year local (Makhanda) students as part of the University’s ongoing initiative to create access for local communities into the University yesterday.

Rhodes University students, academics and administrators, at a well-attended workshop yesterday committed to the adoption of new, ambitious sustainability indicators to measure institutional performance against revised annual targets for plastic, electricity, paper and water usage.

Rhodes University support staff members involved in the University’s Vulindlela programme are excited to welcome their children to Rhodes University this year. Seven learners whose guardians were involved in the programme produced exceptional matric results and have been accepted to enrol for their first year of studies at Rhodes University.

Billions of tiny insects are currently responsible for rapidly destroying the hyacinth on the Hartbeespoort Dam and scientists are of the opinion that herbicides have not been sprayed on the dying water plants.

Rhodes University has welcomed a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr Kamlesh Riga. His position was created after the retirement of Dr Iain L’Ange, who was the Executive Director of Infrastructure, Operations and Finance.

The Neil Aggett Labour Studies Unit (NALSU) at Rhodes University welcomes the re-investigation of death of union leader Neil Aggett, who died in an apartheid jail.

Rhodes University recently hosted a special luncheon to honour four of its outgoing governors as Honourary Life Members, at Le Petit Manor in Franschhoek, Western Cape.

In the course of 2019, the Rhodes University Drama Department staged several theatre-based performances as vehicles for social intervention and change.

A R200 000 fund, raised by staff and clients of Standard Bank. will ensure that approximately 1 200 local children up to the age of five will have ready access to water in their early childhood development centres (ECDs).

Early detection methods of childhood-impacting diseases are generally either unavailable, unreliable or too expensive in developing countries. A partnership between Rhodes University’s Biotechnology Innovation Centre (RUBIC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Global Innovation Centre (GIC), will see these challenges being addressed.

Rhodes University academics are assisting grade 11 Stutterheim High School pupil, Konwaba Putsu, to realise his dream. The 17-year-old Konwaba has aspirations of discovering what can be done to stop cancer from spreading in the body.

The etymology of a word goes a long way in teaching us the history, the routes and the roots of a word as expressed at a joint Rhodes University and Makhanda Black Kollective (MBK) community seminar entitled ‘Ukuhlambulula from an anti-humane world’ in Fingo Village, Makhanda.