"Stellenbosch University (SU) will continue fulfilling Prof Russel Botman's vision to move this institution from success to significance in order to be of relevance to the people of our country and continent," Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, said on the first anniversary of Prof Botman's death.
Prof Hayman Russel Botman was halfway through his second term as Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU when he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on 28 June 2014.
"We will continue on the path set out in the University's Vision 2030, which was approved under Prof Botman's leadership and we will honour his legacy by continuing to work towards a just society for the next generation. His steadfast belief that Stellenbosch should make a positive difference will always serve as an inspiration as we move into the future," Prof De Villiers added.
Prof Botman did not only make a positive difference in Stellenbosch. He was highly-regarded in higher education circles the world over. In April 2013 he received Princeton Theological Seminary's Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Theology and Public Life and in March 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Hope College in Michigan. He received the degree Doctor of Letters in recognition of his leadership in higher education and the Reformed church to promote a more just society for all South Africans.
In July 2014, The University of Aberdeen in Scotland bestowed an honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, posthumously upon him for his integrity, leadership and contribution to higher education.
Dr Botman, widow of Prof Botman received the degree on her late husband's behalf and read the graduation speech he had prepared. Her Royal Highness, Camilla, the Duchess of Rothesay (as she is known in Scotland), conferred the degree in her role as Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen.
SU also honoured Prof Botman's legacy of reconciliation, human dignity and social justice, with the naming of a new senior residence on the Stellenbosch campus. The residence, Huis Russel Botman House, was officially opened this year on Human Rights Day on 21 March.
The Botman family has encouraged the public, staff, students and alumni to consider donating to the Russel Botman Bursary Fund (RBBF) as a lasting tribute to him. The Bursary Fund was established on his 60th birthday on 18 October 2013.
"Russel was always passionate about giving access to students who would otherwise not have the opportunity to study at a world-class institution. This Bursary Fund is the perfect way to keep Russel's legacy alive and gives us the opportunity to help make his dream of creating a better future for the next generation a reality," Dr Botman said.
Online donations can be made here. The details for direct payments are: Standard Bank, account number 07 300 695 5 and branch code 05 0610. Please make sure to add the reference: Botman.
Prof Botman's Biography
Professor Hayman Russel Botman was Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. First appointed in 2007, he was reappointed for a second 5-year term in 2012.
At the time of his death, he was also Senior Vice-President of the Association of African Universities, Chairperson of the World Design Capital Cape Town 2014 Board and a Director of Higher Education South Africa and of Media24.
Born in Bloemfontein on 18 October 1953, he attended the Dr Blok School in Heatherdale at primary level and matriculated from Kliptown Senior Secondary School in Johannesburg. He graduated from the University of the Western Cape (UWC), with the degrees BA (1978), BTh (1979), BTh Licentiate (1981), MTh cum laude (1984) and DTh (1994).
As Public Relations Officer of UWC's Student Representative Council in 1976, the year of the Soweto uprising, he led his fellow students in human rights protests against apartheid laws.
Ordained in 1982, he served as minister of religion of the Wynberg congregation of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church from 1982 to 1993. He played a key role in forming the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa (URCSA), and remained a staunch proponent of church unity within the Dutch Reformed Church Family to the end.
He joined UWC in 1994 as a Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology, and was promoted to Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Religion and Theology in 1999. In 2000, he joined SU as Professor in Missiology, Ecumenism and Public Theology.
At SU, he became Vice-Rector: Teaching in 2002, and served in that position until his historic appointment as the institution's first black Rector and Vice-Chancellor in 2007. He also served as President of the South African Council of Churches from 2003 to 2007, and had published widely on human rights, reconciliation, human dignity and social justice.
The title of his inauguration address at SU in April 2007 was "A multicultural university with a pedagogy of hope in Africa", and he said that he would devote his time in office to the practical realisation of SU's stated commitment to redress and development. He launched the University's HOPE Project in 2010, a ground-breaking science-for-society initiative. In 2013, he guided the University to the adoption of its new Vision 2030, which is to become more inclusive, innovative and future focused.
In March 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Letters, by Hope College in Michigan for leadership in higher education and the Reformed church to promote a more just society for all South Africans, and in April 2013 he received Princeton Theological Seminary's Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Theology and Public Life. He had received honorary membership of the United Nations Association of South Africa for advancing the Millennium Development Goals. And his honorary doctorate, Doctor of Laws, from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland was received on his behalf by his widow in July 2014.
