Saying thanks: VC Prof Njabulo Ndebele (far left) receives a cheque from Old Mutual's Keith Wilson (far right).

Old Mutual has been among UCT's trustiest supporters over the past 20-plus years, donating millions of rands to the university's coffers. At an intimate ceremony two weeks ago, vice-chancellor Professor Njabulo Ndebele took the chance to thank the company for that assistance. It's a relationship that has not shown any signs of waning, Ndebele pointed out. It was at the function, in fact, that the VC accepted a cheque for R300 000, the latest instalment in a R3-million pledge towards the Upper Campus Project, from Old Mutual's Keith Wilson. In thanks, UCT has named one of the lecture theatres in the extended Leslie Commerce Building in the company's honour. But other university projects have also benefited from Old Mutual's largesse. Through the Old Mutual South Africa Foundation, for example, the mathematics department has received R200 000 this year. That money has gone towards the department's Mathematics Digest, a publication that is mailed to 2 000 schools across the country. Old Mutual has bankrolled this outreach since 1980, and has donated more than R430 000 towards it since 1994.