120 years of excellence – Rhodes University is celebrating in style

To celebrate its 120 years of excellence Rhodes University will be honouring its rich academic history while looking to the future on how they can advance higher education and research in South Africa.

From the first internet protocol connection in SA, to producing some of the country’s greatest academics, scientists, investment bankers and journalists, Rhodes University has cemented itself as a place where leaders learn.

To celebrate 120 years of excellence, the University is honouring its rich academic history by launching RU120 - a year-long celebration of its notable accomplishments as one of Africa’s top institutions of higher learning.

“This milestone year presents opportunities for all of us united behind a singular resolve to pursue growth and sustainability, reinvigorate our mutual connections for deeper collaboration and draw from our collective energies to reimagine a new future for our institution and its purposes,” said Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sizwe Mabizela.

Over the course of 2024, the University will be hosting a number of events to mark the major milestone. These include the opening of the cutting-edge Institute for Nanotechnology, reflective debates, reunions and the historic National Arts Festival in June.

Out the blocks

Kicking things off in January, Rhodes University hosted the Makhanda Education Summit. The summit looked at innovative education strategies that could benefit the local education sector in Makhanda, previously Grahamstown, and improve overall educational outcomes.

In March, Rhodes University’s intellectual history, including South Africa’s internet origin story, was explored by Emeritus History Professor and the University’s longest-serving orator, Paul Maylam. Rhodes University received the first South African IP address in the late 1980s, and in 1991, a team of Rhodes University students made the country’s first IP connection between the University’s computing centre and the home of early internet pioneer Randy Bush in Portland USA.

Thereafter, the university will be looking to the future of science with the grand opening of the R90 million Institute for Nanotechnology building. The building will be home to the research being conducted by renowned scientist Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong and her students. Among Prof Nyokong’s high-profile awards is the National Order of Mapungubwe in Bronze for outstanding contributions in the field of science.

A calendar of celebrations:

The Vice-Chancellors’ dialogue will see Rhodes University, Nelson Mandela University, Walter Sisulu University, and the University of Fort Hare participate in an inaugural debate on pressing social, economic, political and ethical concerns.
Higher Education has become more dependent on public funding since the #FeesMustFall campaign in 2015. A Higher Education Funding and Sustainability Colloquium in the second half of the year will feature discussions on the sustainability of this model and the way forward.
A string of various social and entertainment events planned throughout the year. From sports festivals to parades and art exhibitions, celebrants will not be short on cultural options to explore.

Another key element the University will be looking to tackle is historical debt through fundraising efforts and scholarships. Emeritus Professor Peter Clayton, the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and the Project Sponsor for RU120 emphasised the importance of drawing attention to and addressing some of the challenges within the national educational landscape.

Festivities will wrap up towards the final quarter of 2024 with a reunion of some of the oldest alumni, who in the distinct Rhodes spirit refer to themselves as "Knocking on Heaven's Door". The alumni, who clearly remember the demonstrations they staged in the early 1970s to demand that Black students be admitted to Rhodes University, have appropriately dubbed this poignant event "The Final Countdown".