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Rain co-founder
Phumlani Moholi has paid tribute to former UCT vice-chancellor, Professor Stuart Saunders, who died in his sleep last Friday. He was 89.
“What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
- Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
President Nelson Mandela’s inspirational words have constantly forced me to look inward from outward to reflect on my life and surroundings.
This week I did not realise that it would take the death of Dr Stuart Saunders, Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town from 1981 to 1996, to appreciate truly and be thankful for who I am and what I have because of him.
Dear colleagues and students
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you to convey the sad news of the passing of former University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Stuart Saunders. He died peacefully in his sleep on 12 February 2021, after a short illness.
In light of this sad news, the UCT flag is flying at half-mast as of yesterday morning. Dr Saunders served the university exceptionally well for a remarkable 16 years, holding the role of vice-chancellor from 1981 until 1996.
A former professor of medicine at UCT, he has remained an active part of the UCT family in various ways. The most recent is through the annual Dr Stuart John Saunders Lecture, held in his honour annually for the past two years. The lecture was launched in May 2018 and was made possible by his late wife, Anita Johanna Saunders. Her intention was to pay tribute to the values demonstrated during Dr Saunders’ tenure as vice-chancellor and his impactful medical research.
Academics, deputies bid farewell to UCT vice-chancellor Stuart Saunders
By Sam Spiller
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UCT academics and former institution leaders are voicing their respects following the death of former Vice-Chancellor, Dr Stuart Saunders.
Saunders died in his sleep on Friday after a long battle with an illness. He was 89 years old.
“Dr Saunders was a titan of South African academia in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Professor Tom Moultrie of the Centre for Actuarial Research. “With good grace, charm, humour and compassion, he was able to lead the institution through difficult and turbulent times.”
Born on August 28, 1931, in Cape Town, Saunders graduated from UCT in 1953 with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. He did postgraduate research at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London and at Harvard University, before returning to South Africa and receiving his doctorate in medicine at UCT in 1965.
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