REUNIONS
Wits Dental School Class of 1970 50th Anniversary Reunion
GOLDEN SMILES ACROSS SIX CONTINENTS THE WITS DENTAL School class of 1970 celebrated their 50th anniversary virtually on 5 July after original travel plans to meet in Stellenbosch, South Africa were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Colin Richman (BDS 1970) convened the programme from Perio, Atlanta in the US while golden graduates updated each other on career and family developments. A message of congratulations came from distinguished alumnus Stanley Bergman (BCom 1972, CTA 1973, DCom honoris causa 2016), Board Chair of the Wits Fund and CEO of Henry Schein: “As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
‘To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived: This is to have succeeded!’… “While not occurring in person, your convening during these unprecedented times is a testament to your collective bond. Assuredly our time at Wits was and is special, and I congratulate you on coming together to honor and celebrate the importance of your school’s years upon your lives.” The event culminated in celebratory toasts and alumni in attendance were Alan Barnett
(Philadelphia, US); Joseph Berlin (Israel); Spiers Breitz (Germany); Patrick Daly (SA); David Garber (Atlanta, US); Terence Gordon (California, US); Mervyn Hurwitz (Boca Raton, US); Leslie Joffe (London, UK); Sheldon Jones (SA); Gerald Kaplan (SA); David Karon (SA); Issac Kesler (SA); Neil Kramer (London, UK); Leslie Lang (SA); Tony McCullum (SA); Vince Phillips (SA); Victor Press (San Antonio, US); Colin Richman (Perio, US); Michael Rudolph (SA); Jack Shapiro (Sydney, Australia); Louis Smit (London, UK); Fred van Gelder (Holland); Anthony Widmonte (SA).
• For images and a PDF of this event go to: https://www.wits.ac.za/alumni/alumni-events/past-events/
Wits Medical School Class of 1960 60th Anniversary Reunion
SEARCH FOR MORE DIAMONDS AS A FITTING celebration of their Diamond Jubilee, the Medical School Class of 1960 launched a website (https://wits_medical_alumni_1960.mailchimpsites. com/) dedicated to autobiographical sketches, news as well as obituaries from the class. While re-connecting and celebrating their achievements, they also aim to bolster financial support for current Wits medical students through the Phillip V Tobias Bursary Fund and have set a goal of R400 000. This project was initiated by Chaim M Rosenberg, based in Chicago, with the support of present Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Martin Veller, and the
US Alumni Representative, Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi. They hope to track down as many classmates as possible. A Golden Jubilee committee has also been established, which includes Ronald Auerbach, Gary Katz, Anthony Crosley, Anthony Meyers, Leonard Kahn and Avroy Fanaroff. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with newsletters documenting activity and attracting new readership. For example, the third newsletter featured 10 matriculants of 1954 from Highlands North High School, Johannesburg who were accepted to Wits Medical School. The fourth
LAURENCE GEFFEN
CLIVE ROSENDORFF
newsletter featured classmates who became deans of medical schools: Clive Rosendorff (Wits), Arthur Rubenstein (Mount Sinai, NY and University of Pennyslvania) and Laurence Geffen (Adelaide and Brisbane Medical Schools). O c tober 2020 21
