Law alumni give R21.6 million

"They say that any university is as great as its alumni, and as the newly-appointed dean, I can tell you that this faculty has fabulous alumni," said Professor PJ Schwikkard, who was speaking at a lunch in July for the presentation of the 2008 awards in the Faculty of Law.

"What some of you may not know is that this year UCT celebrates 150 years of the teaching of law in South Africa; the first lecture was given on 18 March 1859, and to commemorate that event, we launched the Law 150 campaign, Towards Sustainable Justice.

"The response from our alumni has been wonderful. We have raised R21.6 million so far, and a portion of that has been in scholarships. It therefore gives me great pleasure to acknowledge alumni Adam Brink and Lisa Visagie from Bisset, Boehmke and McBlain. Their firm is also celebrating its 150th anniversary, and they have opted to mark the occasion by instituting an award for a final-year student who has demonstrated a passion for what the law can do."

Schwikkard also thanked alumnus Andrew Heiberg of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr for their inaugural award to the top student at the Preliminary Level, and Estelle Yach of the Mauerberger Foundation, a staunch supporter. Yach was at the awards ceremony to represent her daughter, alumna Dianna Yach, who instituted the Ionann Scholarship in 2005, for the top student in Criminal Justice.

Dozens of other alumni have given to the Diversity and Endowment scholarships, and in 2010 UCT is offering R40 000 per annum to each of ten prospective LLB students.