Stellar scholars earn place in UCT’s College of Fellows

In recognition of their stellar scholarly work, which epitomises excellence and transformation and places them in pole position in their respective fields, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) College of Fellows has extended a warm welcome to four esteemed academics who have entered the fellowship this year.

Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Mosa Moshabela co-hosted a special celebration at the Southern Sun Newlands Hotel on Monday, 16 September, in honour of their induction. The dinner brought together existing fellows and new inductees for an evening of conversation and cross-faculty networking. UCT fellowships recognise members of the university’s permanent academic staff for original and distinguished academic work that merits special recognition. Induction into the College of Fellows is one of the highest accolades an academic staff member can receive at the university.

“You are testament to the high calibre of scholarship that is constant throughout UCT. With your work all over the world, you include UCT and South Africa on the global stage. You bring us honour with your research and your leadership within your teams. And for us, it is a privilege and honour to work with you,” Professor Moshabela said.

The four new inductees are:

• Professor Mohamed Jeebhay – the Division of Occupational Medicine in the School of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS)
• Professor Amrita Pande – the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Humanities
• Professor Catherine Orrell – the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre located in the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), FHS
• Professor Haris Skokos – Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics in the FHS.

Drawing on collective experience

In his welcome address, Moshabela said the institution values the fellows’ contribution to the academy and to the university more broadly. As a result, he said, talks are in process on how best to draw on the collective experience of this diverse group of scholars, to help the university navigate the myriad complex challenges it faces.

“We want to tap into your collective experience, [your] expertise; tap into your brains and your wisdom, to help us share where we are going as UCT.”

“As we navigate a very complex, a very uncertain, a very volatile environment … [it] requires us to have foresight in the decisions that we make, so that the institution that we hand over is going to cater to [the needs of those who occupy it] 30 years from now,” he said.

“I hope that you understand the value that we attach to these conversations we will be having. We want to tap into your collective experience, [your] expertise; tap into your brains and your wisdom, to help us shape where we are going as UCT.”

Top-rated scholars

In line with tradition, part of the evening’s programme was dedicated to celebrating the College of Fellows Young Researchers awardees. The award recognises emerging scholars’ outstanding scholarly work that has made significant independent contributions to research in various disciplines.

The 2024 researcher awardees are:

• Dr Leo Boonzaier – Department of Private Law
• Dr Gaopalelwe Mathiba – Department of Private Law
• Dr Melissa Nel – Department of Medicine.

While toasting and celebrating the new inductees, as well as the Young Researchers Award recipients, co-host for the evening Professor Jeff Murugan, UCT’s acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation, said that the scholars honoured repeatedly demonstrate their commitment to unleashing human potential to create a fair and just society.

It is also important, Professor Murugan said, to acknowledge the broader importance of the College of Fellows, which is to inspire the next generation of researchers and innovators. He said the gathering both recognised individual excellence and served as a reminder of the collective power of research to influence policy, inspire creativity and solve real-world problems.

“They all demonstrate exceptionally high standards of scholarship and a deep desire to serve Africa and the world.”

“As diverse as they [the fellows] are in their backgrounds and chosen fields of study, they all demonstrate exceptionally high standards of scholarship and a deep desire to serve Africa and the world. They bring global attention and esteem to UCT through their scholarship, their innovation and [their] hard work. The many honours they attract reflect back to us, and we’re grateful that they have chosen to be part of this institution,” he said.

The evening’s programme included brief remarks by Vhugala Nthakheni from the Department of Student Affairs (DSA). Nthakheni’s talk touched on UCT’s Food Sovereignty Programme – an initiative established to provide less fortunate students with a daily meal, which has since evolved to providing them with monthly non-perishable food items, and toiletries every second month. After the College of Fellows committee encouraged fellows to donate generously to the programme last year, Nthakheni’s talk offered the background to why it is necessary, and aimed to encourage the same culture of giving.