Wits Honored to be remembered in Madiba's will

Below is a statement from the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand:

Dear Colleagues

The University of the Witwatersrand is honoured and deeply appreciative to learn that it is a beneficiary of former president Nelson Mandela’s legacy, and we are indeed humbled that he chose to remember the University in his will.

Wits accepts this generous bequest from one of our most illustrious alumni and commits to using it to address the development of higher education in South Africa, for the benefit of the University and its students, but more importantly to advance and perpetuate the values that our inaugural President has bequeathed to our nation and the world.     

Madiba emphasised the need to address inequality – one of the greatest threats to our young democracy, and Wits is determined to utilise this endowment to tackle this societal peril without delay, through the provision of additional scholarships for our students.  

We understand that this endowment brings with it a tremendous responsibility, given the character and legacy of our great leader and his commitment to the transformative power of education.

Thank you, Tata, for remembering us in your will – you live on in our memory and in our lives. 

Professor Adam Habib

Vice-Chancellor and Principal

University of the Witwatersrand

3 February 2014