I thoroughly enjoyed my first graduation at UCT and found the class of 2015 to be an inspirational and dynamic group of young people who, I’m sure, will make a difference wherever they might find themselves.

The pre-graduation celebration, which was held in Kramer Quad ahead of the law graduation ceremony on 13 June, was a particularly festive and joyous occasion. This year the graduates chose the keynote speaker – Professor Hugh Corder, who shared the podium with three graduates – Chelsea Bruk-Jackson, Chanda Chungu and Tahne Thomas. Tahne’s speech was particularly moving. Read how she overcame impossible odds to obtain her law degree in this month’s newsletter. She is an example of the exceptional group of young people who graduated this June despite the many challenges they faced.

In this edition we also pay homage to three faculty members, Drs Lee-Ann Tong, Heleen van Niekerk and Jacqui Yeats, who all received their doctoral degrees at graduation.

Earlier this month I met with law alumni in my former home city New York. They are an impressive group and engaged in a range of professional activities in the Big Apple. I particularly want to thank Johanna Fausto, executive director of the University of Cape Town Fund, Inc, and Trevor Norwitz, chairman of the UCT Fund Board of Directors and president of the Fund, Inc., who are such important links for UCT Law in New York.

An article I recently wrote about disagreement being an act of love drew some media interest. For a complete list of faculty members’ appearances in the media click here.

It is also with great sadness that we say our long goodbye to Professor Mark Shaw, director of the Centre for Criminology. He leaves the faculty in December as familial responsibilities make it difficult for him to be permanently resident in Cape Town. He isn’t completely lost to us as South Africa is a critical case study for his research on illicit economies in the global South. In addition, he has agreed to continue to the co-supervision of a cohort of doctoral students.

I echo Head of Public Law Professor Elrena van der Spuy’s observation that Mark is not easily replaced. “There have been few scholars of his calibre who have contributed so much in such a short space of time. He has accomplished a great deal in terms of innovative research regarding the South African criminal underworld. Mark also has been the guiding hand behind the Centre of Criminology's doctoral research endeavours. Over the past year and a half he has published a truly impressive number of peer reviewed publications,” she recently said.

If you have had contact with Mark and want to personally say goodbye to him join us at the launch of the book he co-authored with Anine Kriegler titled A Citizen’s Guide to Crime Trends in South Africa. The launch takes place on 19 July at 5pm in the Faculty Common Room on the fourth floor of the Kramer Law Building. Please RSVP to Abigail Calata for catering purposes.

The faculty will host another book launch on 16 August. It’s no coincidence that the launch takes place on the day we remember the Marikana massacre as the book, edited by labour law specialist, Professor Rochelle le Roux, has the title Laws against Strikes.

I, together with my colleague and dean of engineering Professor Alison Lewis, will be in Johannesburg on 4 August to meet with alumni. The main focus of our meeting will be transformation. Thus, to those alumni in Gauteng, please check your inboxes for the formal invitation going out in the first week of July.

Planning for the reunion, which will see graduates of the classes of 1956, 1961, 1966,1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2015 returning to Kramer on 14-15 October, is well under way. Invitations will be sent out next month. I urge those from these graduate years to please join us. Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward the invitation to former classmates you have contact with when you receive it. I am very aware that we might not have current contact details for all alumni from those years, so would greatly appreciate your help in this regard.

Kramer appears to have gone into hibernation as all our students are away on holiday and academic staff are deeply immersed research and scholarship. We look forward to an energised and engaged second semester.

Best,

Penelope Andrews

Professor and Dean