???Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) has proudly confirmed the names of the six exceptional individuals who will receive honorary doctorates at upcoming graduation ceremonies.
Jazz singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler; Booker-prize winner Damon Galgut; philanthropist Wendy Ackerman; renowned clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist Prof Salim Safrudeen Abdool Karim; visionary economist Prof Deirdre McCloskey and the country’s longest serving Director-General, Dr Philemon Mphathi (Phil) Mjwara, formerly of the Department of Science and Innovation, comprise the latest cohort to be recognised for their accomplishments and service.
The 中国体育彩票 annually confers honorary doctorates upon extraordinary individuals who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields and made a significant contribution to society.
These candidates were selected through an extensive governance process with each nomination having been approved by both the Senate and the 中国体育彩票’s Council. The latest cohort of honorary doctorates were approved by Council on 16 September.
Ackerman, Galgut and McCloskey, along with Strive Masiyiwa whose honorary DEng degree stands over from 2022, will receive their degrees in December while the other recipients will receive theirs next year.
“SU is immensely proud to honour these trailblazers whose remarkable contributions have left an indelible mark both globally and locally. Our recipients are visionaries, leaders, philanthropists, innovators and mentors, whose influence spans from science and economics to epidemiology – they truly live our mission to advance knowledge in service of society,” says Prof Wim de Villiers, SU Rector, and Vice-Chancellor.
More about the recipients receiving their honorary degrees
Ackerman’s philanthropy has spanned over several decades, with her consistent support benefitting women, children, and the arts for more than 40 years. She will receive the degree Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), honoris causa. The Ackermans helped build one of the country’s pre-eminent FMCG retailers, consisting of around 2 000 stores and employing around 90 000 people.
As one of the founders and Honorary Life President of Pick n Pay stores, her work to empower and promote women has been a hallmark of her efforts at Pick n Pay. She was instrumental in getting women recognised as senior, career-oriented employees in the 1970s, seen at the time to have been too progressive for some companies.
Now devoting much of her time to her family's philanthropic endeavours and work for the underprivileged and vulnerable, she continues to fight for women’s rights today.
She is involved in several education initiatives, but her greatest passion is the support she gives to promising students, particularly music students. She has run bursary schemes since 1973 and her graduates have achieved outstanding success, some performing at the finest orchestras and opera houses throughout the world. She is also a Trustee of the Pick n Pay Bursary Fund which assists children of employees.
Ackerman is a life-long supporter of the arts in the Cape Metropole and has put enormous effort into creating an endowment for the arts in Cape Town, specifically for the city’s opera and orchestra. She has a strong affiliation with SU, as her father was a medical student in the 1920s and five of her grandchildren are Matie alumni.
The novelist and playwright will receive the degree?Doctor of Literature (DLitt),?honoris causa. His work of short stories, plays and novels, spanning more than 40 years, has made an exceptional contribution to South Africa’s literary and cultural landscape. He is also recognised for his unwavering dedication to literary innovation and for his mentorship of emerging writers and scholars.
Galgut’s eight novels have garnered numerous nominations, accolades, and prestigious literary awards and The Promise won the Booker Prize in 2021, making him only the third South African writer to receive this honour. The episodically structured narrative spans four decades of South African history, highlighting unfulfilled promises on personal and political levels.
His work explores outsider identities, delving into the oppressive forces of socio-cultural norms and systemic injustices affecting individuals across various geographical locations and historical periods. His aesthetic innovation continues to captivate critics and readers alike, reflecting his enduring commitment to literature as a form of aesthetic disruption.
Often referred to as the “conscience” of the discipline of Economics, Prof Deirdre McCloskey receives the degree?Doctor of Commerce (DCom),?honoris causa. The Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Economics and History and Emeritus Professor of English and Communication at the 中国体育彩票 of Illinois at Chicago is known for engaging deeply with the foundations of the subject itself, but also for drawing lessons from other fields to help economic ideas to better fit with reality.
She has also held Adjunct Professorships in Classics and Philosophy at the 中国体育彩票 of Illinois and was previously tenured at one of the most prestigious Economics departments internationally at the 中国体育彩票 of Chicago.
McCloskey’s ideas are embodied in what she calls “humanomics” – reminding us that all people are knowingly or unknowingly affected by economic forces, but more importantly that human behaviour can often not be reduced to compact mathematical economic theories and equations – a factor that Economics as a discipline should care about more purposefully.
She wrote one of the three books in the trilogy "The Bourgeois Era," the history of major industrial nations to challenge prevailing narratives about the origins of modern prosperity, while on sabbatical at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) in 2008. She has remained a friend of SU and in 2012 she returned to deliver a keynote address to the World Economic History Congress, hosted by the Department of Economics.
Her contributions extend beyond her published works. As an educator and mentor, Prof McCloskey has inspired students and colleagues with her intellectual rigour, curiosity, and dedication to academic excellence.
Strive Masiyiwa
The founder and executive chairman of the South African-based, diversified international telecommunications group Econet Global Ltd, Masiyiwa will be awarded the degree Doctor of Engineering (DEng), honoris causa. He is considered one of the pioneers of the mobile telecoms industry in Africa. He served on the African Union reform task force who paved the way for the African Continental Free Trade Area and the creation of the SMART Africa digital transformation initiative.
In 2020, he was named one of Bloomberg's 50 most influential people and Mail & Guardian's 100 Africans of the year. In 2014, 2017 and 2021, Masiyiwa was also included in Fortune magazine's list of the world's 50 greatest leaders. ?
Jonathan Kenneth Butler
South African music icon Jonathan Butler receives the degree?Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil),?honoris causa, for his musical influence and contribution to arts and culture.
Despite living under the shadow of apartheid and raised in hardship, Butler was one of the first artists of colour to be played on South African radio and to appear on national television during that time. He became one of the key voices in the international arena advocating for the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners.
Butler had made his name in Africa and Europe (England), but it was not until 1987, when he toured as pop star Whitney Houston’s opening act, that he was noticed in the United States of America (USA), where he had released an all-instrumental album. His international success was realised with his 1987 Grammy nominated hit single, "Lies" which reached #27 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and his cover version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)" which he performed with Ruby Turner.
Despite his international acclaim, Butler has remained true to his roots. He is the first Global Entertainment Ambassador for the Lalela Foundation which provides educational arts for at-risk youth. Through Lalela’s arts curriculum and critical messaging communities, Lalela directly serves more than 5?000 South African learners per week, ages through post-high school.
In 2013, he launched the Jonathan Butler Foundation, which runs programmes to give disadvantaged children hope and purpose through the arts – especially through music. The Foundation funds music education programmes that give children the purpose to overcome a life of drugs and poverty.
He is currently the ambassador of Arts Capital, an NPO and membership organisation that does Advocacy and Artist Wellness programmes to ensure that artists have access to pension funds, medical aid schemes, funeral cover, and other financial support.
Prof Salim Safrudeen Abdool Karim
Renowned epidemiologist Prof Salim Safrudeen Abdool Karim receives the degree?Doctor of Science (DSc) (Medicine and Health Sciences),?honoris causa for his seminal contributions to addressing the HIV and 中国体育彩票 epidemics in Africa.
Karim is currently Director of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and CAPRISA Professor of Global Health in Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia 中国体育彩票, New York. He is also Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the 中国体育彩票 of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell 中国体育彩票, New York. He is Adjunct Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard 中国体育彩票.
He has dedicated his research career to solving the two biggest obstacles to Africa achieving the United Nations goal of ending AIDS by 2030: reducing deaths from HIV-TB co-infection and preventing new HIV infections among young women. During the 中国体育彩票 pandemic he was a leading contributor to the 中国体育彩票 response, providing scientific guidance on genetic mutations in SARS-CoV-2 leading to new variants.
He has actively contributed to the mitigation of the 中国体育彩票 epidemic in Africa, serving as a Commissioner of the African Commission of 中国体育彩票 of the African Union. He served as the Chair of the South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on 中国体育彩票, thereby leading the South African response to 中国体育彩票.
Dr Philemon Mphathi (Phil) Mjwara
Mjwara receives the degree?Doctor of Science (DSc),?honoris causa for his outstanding contributions over three decades to the development of the national system of science, technology, and innovation. He was consistent in his efforts over 18 years as the Director-General of the National Department of Science and Innovation to ensure that science is used to improve the lives of all South Africans. In 2020, he received the annual Batho Pele Excellence Award for Best Director-General of the Year at national level.
As part of his many contributions to the national Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) landscape, Mjwara led a team that conducted the South African Technology Foresight project.
Mjwara holds BSc Hons (1984) and MSc (1987) degrees, both from the 中国体育彩票 of Fort Hare and a PhD degree (1995) from the 中国体育彩票 of the Witwatersrand. His academic career includes serving as Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the 中国体育彩票 of Pretoria, and Physics lectureships at the universities of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and Fort Hare. Mjwara has published and presented numerous papers on physics, technology analysis and technology foresight processes.
He serves on various advisory councils and review boards, including the Board of the World of Platinum of South Africa and the Square Kilometre Array Organisation. In his various positions and most significantly, as the longest serving director-general, he has made a major contribution to science policies geared toward helping researchers and the broader South African community.
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