Daughters of Legacy
On 12 July, a remarkable human being passed away after an impressive life of meaning, giving, and nurturing. On the morning of 20 July, I attended the service of Celebrating a Wonderful Life of John Hess, where I came under the impression of a human being who walked with women. His walk with women was […]
Give, give and give
With the first semester behind us, our students are very focused on their academic and other responsibilities. They have proven that they are coping well with all the expectations as well-rounded beings at this stage in the preparation for their respective careers. We greatly admire them for their dedication and tenacity. We also appreciate it […]
One decade of legacy building
The sudden passing of Prof. Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, on 28 June 2014, left us with initial shock and despair. We realised very quickly that despair is no place to dwell in if we take his life and works into serious consideration and reflection.
Freedom isn’t free
Freedom is hardly ever free, not given but fought for. This is also the case in the freedom that the decades of resistance before 1994, in particular, brought. They were decades and yes, historically, centuries of strife and resistance.
Feb 2024, A legacy of transformation
One of the markers of the transformative leadership by Prof Russel Botman is the steadfast movement toward an equitable, equal, open, and welcoming culture at the residences at Stellenbosch University. One such example is the establishment of a residence for senior students that hones new ways of living together. New ways that build, encourage, support, […]
Success for 2024
We start 2024 still mindful of how we ended the previous year. We ended with the celebration of the successes of our 2023 Russel Botman Bursary Fund recipients. Again, we would like to congratulate all of them, but most especially those who graduated during the December 2023 ceremonies. We are proud of the way that […]
Norshya Sonjani Speech
Thank you so much for this opportunity. I am so honoured to be here today. As a first-generation student, this bursary enabled me to achieve so much this year. I was able to unlock my full potential, and all of this was possible because the Russel Bottman bursary unloaded the weight of financial strain off […]
A legacy – Our Heritage
September is the month that we celebrate South African heritage. It is also the month before we particularly bring the legacy of the late Prof Russel Botman into memory. The legacy he leaves has become our heritage. Prof Botman leaves us with a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in the form of documents, speeches, TV, […]
When the invisible becomes our light
Jul 2023 Recently I attended a truly magnificent and inspiring event. In fact two related events. The first was a conversation between three persons and the second a conversation so vast, I cannot determine the layers of its impact yet. And all of this at the Endler Hall, Stellenbosch University. Andrew Lilley, a professor at […]
Take Up Opportunities
In everything, a son of the African soil. Youth Day in South Africa has become a red-letter day on our calendar since 1976. This year is the 47th year of commemoration of that day when the youth took up the baton in the struggle for liberation. Almost half a century of placing youth issues on […]