Showers of joy at graduation

There was a lot of scurrying around at UCT's June graduation ceremonies on 7 and 8 June, as students and loved ones rushed to get out of the pouring rain and into Jameson Hall. But once inside the hall, though, things warmed up considerably for the serious business of graduation.

Special guests: Vice-chancellor Dr Max Price (middle) welcomes Prof David Sanders and Zakes Mda into the UCT fold of honorees.	Mom & grad: Tamlyn Roman is capped by vice-chancellor Dr Max Price, while her mom, Prof Marian Jacobs, prepares to present Tamlyn with her academic hood.

At the afternoon ceremony on 8 June, for example, the university presented honorary degrees to Zakes Mda (Doctor of Literature) and Prof David Sanders (Doctor of Science in Medicine), the first two of eight honorary degrees UCT will award this year.

There were other highlights aplenty. Associate Professor Mark Fleishman and his wife Jennie Reznek, both associated with UCT's Department of Drama and co-founders of the award-winning Magnet Theatre, upped the family's collection of job-related qualifications. Fleishman received a doctorate in drama, while Reznek graduated with a master's degree (with distinction) in the same field.

Fellow staff member in the Faculty of Humanities Rethar Jansen, an assistant administrator on the faculty's education development programme, also graduated with a BSocSc honours in workplace change and labour law. In turn, staffer Siona O'Connell, curator of UCT's new Curate Africa project and also of the Faculty of Humanities, "finally" finished her PhD in African studies, exploring through family photographs the lives of forcibly-removed residents of District Six.

There were a couple of family celebrations as well. Such as when Professor Marian Jacobs, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, was on hand to hood her daughter, Tamlyn Roman, who finished her third degree at UCT, a master's in applied economics.