By Anelisa Centani
Rhodes bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 recently celebrated its retiring staff members during a memorable tree-planting tradition held on campus. Among them was Professor Justin Jonas, referred to by Dr Bernie Faranoff as the “spiritual guru of the SKA”. Prof Jonas first enrolled as a student at Rhodes bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 in 1976.
Mr Schalk van der Merwe, the Human Resources Manager for Learning and Development, extended his well wishes for a healthy and enjoyable retirement to all the retirees.
Professor Sizwe Mabizela, the Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台, expressed gratitude to the retirees for their many years of dedicated service to the bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台. “Thank you all for serving Rhodes bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 with great honour for so long. You have seen this university change over time and, in the process, made your own unique contribution to make this university great,” he said. Concluding his heartfelt speech, Prof Mabizela stated, "We will continue to lead your knowledge and expertise to mentor young staff members. As you begin this chapter of your lives, please remain in touch with our university, and you'll always be one of us.”
Prof Jonas had the privilege of unveiling the Wild Plum Tree plaque in recognition of his remarkable 43-year tenure, the longest among all the retirees. On behalf of the other retirees, in his emotional speech, he thanked the Vice-Chancellor and the bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 for celebrating collective years of partnership. "We hope that we have made a positive and lasting contribution to the bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 through diverse employee roles. Although it is said that no person is irreplaceable, we hope that our unique personal qualities and attributes will be missed by our colleagues and the bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 as a whole," he said.
This year’s retirees are:
Name |
Department |
Years |
Prof. JL Jonas |
Physics and Electronics |
43 |
Prof. D Thorburn |
Fine Art |
41 |
Prof. PJ Britz |
Ichthyology & Fisheries Science |
38 |
Mr C Dyala |
Infrastructure and Operations |
37 |
Mr MP Katiya |
Infrastructure and Operations |
37 |
Mr DE Martin |
Infrastructure and Operations |
34 |
Mrs PG Ntshebe |
Infrastructure and Operations |
33 |
Mr SG Gill |
Infrastructure and Operations |
31 |
Mrs ACE Goosen |
Library |
30 |
Mr P Jordaan |
Infrastructure and Operations |
28 |
Dr NR Mazwi |
School of Languages |
28 |
Mrs JC Seymour |
Management |
27 |
Mrs NN Mbebetho |
Infrastructure and Operations |
26 |
Prof. KM Ngcoza |
Secondary & Post School Education |
22 |
Ms CR Knowles |
bck体育app_bck体育官网下载-二维码平台 |
21 |
Mrs JA Otto |
Library |
21 |
Prof. A Kirkaldy |
History |
17 |
MR MJ Louw |
Management |
17 |
Mr M Mgqina |
Infrastructure and Operations |
17 |
Mr MM Lunke |
Finance |
16 |
Adv AC Renaud |
Law |
16 |
Mr JC Wessels |
Infrastructure and Operations |
15 |
Prof. LA Wilbraham |
Psychology |
15 |