The University of the Western Cape (UWC) has honoured its first rector and vice chancellor of colour, Professor Richard Ernest van der Ross, with the unveiling of a bust of his likeness, located at its Faculty of Education building.
The bust memorialising Van der Ross, warmly referred to as Dickie, was unveiled on Tuesday earlier this week, as reported by IOL.
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Van der Ross was appointed as the rector and vice-chancellor of UWC in 1975, becoming the first person of colour to occupy the position.
He would also oversee the university’s transition as a college of the University of South Africa (UNISA) to a ‘fully autonomous university’ in 1983.
Among his other achievements, Van der Ross was the president of the Labour Party of South Africa, the first editor of the Cape Herald newspaper, the principal of a teacher training school, and an assistant education planner in the Department of Coloured Affairs, according to UWC’s website.
During apartheid, many UWC students could not afford to go home during the holidays and would ‘hide at residences’ on campus, and Van der Ross was well aware of this and would overlook it, cognisant of the struggles of the students at the time.
The university’s current rector and vice chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, was among these students.
‘I remember, as a student, many of us could not afford to travel home during the holidays and had to squat in our residences,’ said Pretorious.
‘Prof van der Ross knew about this but did not have us removed. Behind his intimidating presence and stern face was a passionate man who knew the struggle of poor students and understood where we came from,’ he added.
Van der Ross was often seen in the midst of confrontations between students and police, and despite ‘immense political upheaval’ and violence during apartheid, he demonstrated moral courage by ‘promoting hard work and humane values’, as well as reasoned discussion on campus and in society.
Among the many attendees of Van der Ross’s memorial bust unveiling were his son Ben, his daughter Freda Brock, and Pretorius.
‘When I look at the Resource Centre and I see that the emphasis is placed on learning through doing, it’s fulfilling some of his own ideals about the philosophy of teaching,’ said Brock.
‘He was a decent human being who believed in people and in the potential of people. Coming from that basis as a teacher, he was willing to listen and see people in their context and respected their humanity and what they could bring to teaching,’ she added.
‘As we unveil the bust, we honour a legacy that has profoundly influenced UWC’s character and the trajectory of the University,’ said Pretorious.
Van der Ross was born on November 17, 1921, in Plumstead and went on to complete a BA degree through UNISA in 1943, an MA in Philosophy and a BEd at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1944 and 1946, respectively.
Van Der Ross passed away on December 13, 2017.
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