Honouring Neville Isdell

Alumnus and former Smuts Hall resident Neville Isdell, the former chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola who is a multi-million-rand donor to the University of Cape Town (UCT), was honoured at a special thank-you lunch on 4 February.

Last year Isdell donated about R18 million to establish an initial five-year Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery and Development at H3D. The long-time supporter and patron of the UCT Rugby Football Club, who donated US$1 million to fund the Neville Isdell Rugby Centre in 2014, was also named as the 13th president of the 137-year-old club in 2019.

He also sponsors Smuts Hall’s annual Neville Isdell Leadership Camp for first-year students to foster integration. Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng delivered the Vote of Thanks at the event, held in the Chemistry Department in the PD Hahn Building on upper campus.