Latest news with #StFrancisCollege
IOL News
04-07-2025
- IOL News
A Judge for our times
Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial, a book written by Vuyo Mthethwa, the former Judge President's daughter. Image: Supplied Forging a successful career in law is rarely easy, but for a black lawyer during the decades of apartheid, the obstacles that needed to be overcome were daunting. One who mounted each of those obstacles and found success that he could not have contemplated in the 1960s, was Vuka Tshabalala. One of his daughters, Vuyo Mthethwa, has recently published a book on his legal journey, Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial. His career is written from her perspective based on stories she has heard from him as well as some of his colleagues. Tshabalala was born in 1937 in Orlando East, Johannesburg but when he was two, his family moved to Clermont in Durban. After his father, an inveterate gambler, died five years later, it was left to Tshabalala's mother, an extraordinary woman in her own right, to find the means to provide for her young family. He attended various schools including Loram Secondary School in Durban and St Francis College, Mariannhill where he matriculated. Vuka Tshabalala (centre) after his graduation with a BA degree from Fort Hare University, 1960. Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ While studying for a BA Degree at Fort Hare University, his mother died of cervical cancer. Despite this loss, he graduated in 1959 and was given special permission to read for a LLB degree at the white University of Natal at both its Durban and Pietermaritzburg campuses. Financial support was provided by a member of the Baumann family from Bakers (Pty) Ltd. The young family in 1968. L —R : Ayanda, Vuka Tshabalala holding Vuyo (the author), Pearl holding Dudu, and Sakhiwo. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial After graduating, Tshabalala served three years of clerkship with a law firm, but his real goal was to be an advocate. As a black man, he was breaking new ground. He needed to complete a pupillage under a practicing advocate. Philip Meskin accepted this role, but the Bar Council declined the application, citing the Group Areas Act. One of the reasons put forward by the council was that white people would be uncomfortable having an African sitting in on a consultation. Even if a pupillage was accepted, Tshabalala would have to leave Meskin's chambers when he was consulting with his white clients, which would have been most of the time, His only option was to learn on the job. In 1969, he became the first black advocate at the Natal Bar. From his earliest days, he had first hand experience of the injustices legislated by law. In one case, his clients had been charged under the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956 which precluded gatherings of twelve or more people. In his usual disarming manner, Tshabalala argued that a group of people standing meters apart did not constitute a gathering but were simply individuals standing in a line. The judge had little choice but to accept this defence. When he had to travel to represent clients, accommodation was a problem as the hotel facilities were' Whites only'. On one occasion, the only option might have been a prison cell but for a police sergeant who invited Tshabalala to stay at his home. As more black advocates were admitted to the Natal Bar in the 1970's, so their influence and example grew. In 1978, a group of them managed to acquire chambers on the seventh floor of Salmon Grove Chambers in Smith Street (today Anton Lembede Street). They were known as the Group 7 Advocates. Before 1994, no black advocate had been appointed as a judge. With the transformation of the Judiciary, members form the Group 7 advocates were to produce an extraordinary number of judges: two Chief Justices (Pius Langa and Sandile Ngcobo), two Judge presidents of the KwaZulu- Natal Division (Tshabalala and A.N, Jappie)as well as judges Gyanda, Balton, Sishi, Poswa and Ndlovu among others. In 2012, Judge President Vuka Tshabalala was appointed Chancellor of the Durban University of Technology (DUT). He is with Dr Richard Maponya (centre) and Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi (right) in 2015. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial Tshabalala's rise to the Judge Presidency came on the back of a very public controversy. He had been a judge at the Ciskei Supreme Court since 1995 when an opening arose on the Natal bench for the position of Deputy Judge President in 1998. This nomination was opposed by 14 of the 19 judges on the Natal Bench. Ironically Thsabalala himself was initially reluctant as he endured some harsh experiences as an advocate in Natal. Those who backed him included the National Association of Democratic the Judge president of the Eastern Cap, Bobby Pickard, who wrote to the Chief Justice, Ismail Mohamed, outlining Tshabalala's administrative and juristic abilities. Two Judge Presidents at the Oyster Box in 2010. Bobby Pickard (Eastern Cape), who recognised Vuka Tshabalala's qualities early on, catching up. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial Although he was junior to the other nominees for the position, this was only because it was impossible for a black man to have had the opportunity to be a judge prior 1994. Some of those 14 objectors who believed he would not command the respect of more senior judges, soon regretted their objections. Tshabalala was appointed Deputy Judge President in 1998. The following year, the intimidating Judge President, Allan Howard, opted for early retirement enabling Tshabalala to succeed him in 2000. Judge President Vuka Tshabalala in his chambers at the Durban High Court, 2000. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial His 10 year period as JP was marked by collegiality and socialisation among the judges. He brought a human face to the Bench and was considerate and respectful of others. In return, he won the respect of colleagues and was generally popular with members of the profession. In hindsight, Tshabalala was the right judge to ease the Natal Bench along the path of transformation. The current Judge President of the KZN Bench, Thoba Poyo - Dlwati with Vuka Tshabalala at a lunch in December 2024. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial Vuyo Mthethwa has ably outlined her father's career, but on occasion one wants more. How people responded to Tshabalala is documented, but what did he think of them? No doubt he is too discreet to let slip such opinions, but seeking that balance would have been an asset. What was the working relationship between Allan Howard, JP and Tshabalala as his deputy? In retirement, did Howard (who died as recently as November 2024 aged 94) ameliorate his opinion of his successor? Some of the case law could have been explained more clearly, particularly Magiba vs Minister of Police, and there are unnecessary proof reading errors. Behind Tshabalala's jovial demeanour and infectious sense of humour lies, one suspects, a man of grit, determination and confidence. Writing a biography of a parent whom one deeply admires creates boundaries of it's own, but within those confirms, Vuyo Mthethwa has ensured that her father's trail- blazing career is preserved. Others can, and will, draw inspiration from his legacy. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
Forbes
21-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Trump's Foreign Student Crackdown Puts These 16 Struggling Colleges At Risk
S t. Francis College is trying to turn things around. After operating in a deficit since fiscal year 2017, the 166-year-old Roman Catholic college in Brooklyn, New York, ended fiscal 2023 with $66 million in net income, thanks largely to the $160 million sale of its 150,000 square foot campus at 180 Remsen Street. The sale was paired with austere cuts. After former human resources executive Tim Cecere took over as president in 2023, he scrapped the school's 21-team Division I athletics program (saving the college about $8 million per year) and laid off dozens of employees, including, most recently, 17 academic advisors, registrars and librarians in January. Still, auditors are skeptical of St. Francis's ability to continue operations. The college doesn't have much to fall back on—at the end of fiscal 2023, its endowment was worth only $46 million or $16,409 per full-time enrolled student. To raise revenue and fight decaying enrollment, St. Francis has taken its recruitment efforts worldwide, and it's working. Between 2022 and 2023, the college tripled its international student headcount from 465 and 1,289. Most of these foreign students are enrolled in graduate programs at the college, which, in a June 2024 audit, university officials highlighted as 'a significant source of revenue growth.' The Trump administration's recent policies limiting student visas have now endangered that plan, and created an existential risk for the small college. Forbes's requests for St. Francis to comment on its future plans considering the visa crackdown went unanswered. But St. Francis isn't alone. Forbes identified 16 private, not-for-profit colleges that are particularly vulnerable to the Trump administration's crackdown on foreign student enrollment. All 16 schools, listed below, rely on foreign students to fill at least a third of their enrollment, and rely on tuition and fees to make up at least half of their operating revenues. The schools were also financially weak to begin with—each of the 16 scored a C+ or lower on Forbes most recent college financial health ranking. Private colleges that score C's or Ds on Forbes ranking typically struggle from year-to-year to meet their expenses. Tuition income from foreign students is Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania and Hult International Business School in Boston, which both scored the lowest grade, a D, on the 2025 Forbes Financial Grades, more than three quarters of all students are from outside the U.S. The students at arts-focused Manhattan School of Music and California College of the Arts, which both scored a C, are 51% and 42% international, respectively. Under the guise of combatting antisemitism on campus and terrorism in the United States, the state department last month paused scheduling new appointments for people seeking F-1 and J-1 visas, the primary visa types students use to come to the United States. Earlier this month, President Trump issued an executive order that prohibits the state department from issuing visas to any individuals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, with only a few exceptions. Trump also yanked Harvard University's Student Visitor Exchange Program certification (though the move is currently blocked by a temporary restraining order), preventing the Ivy League university from enrolling international students at all and stoking fear about his plans to go after foreign students at other colleges who resist his demands. All 16 colleges on this list declined to comment or did not reply to Forbes's requests for an interview. Their silence is not surprising—the Trump administration has been eager to punish individual colleges, especially those that speak out against administration policies. As the population of American college-age students declines, colleges are tapping new markets to boost their enrollments. Some are targeting adult learners who never enrolled in college or didn't finish their degrees. Others are expanding online course options. But many, especially those that need to fill undergraduate and graduate seats and dorm rooms on campus, have been upping their recruitment of international students. International students don't qualify for federal aid, and many don't receive institutional scholarships either, which means that most of them pay full fare tuition. In other words, filling a seat with an international student instead of an American student often yields higher net tuition revenue. Foreign students not only help keep the lights on at many small colleges, but they also contribute tens of billions to the U.S. economy, start businesses and spearhead invaluable research. One quarter of the 582 billion-dollar startup companies in the U.S. were founded by someone who attended an American university as an international student, according to a 2022 study from the think tank National Foundation for American Policy. Foreign students who are educated here tend to keep their talents in the U.S.—a study from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics found that of 44,450 temporary visa holders who attended American colleges between 2017 and 2019, 32,650 still lived in the U.S. in 2023. Two in five doctorate-level scientists and engineers in the United States are foreign-born. At Campbellsville University in Kentucky, nearly half of the students are international, and the university, which scored a C on the Forbes 2025 Financial Grades, relies on tuition and fees to make up 83% of its operating revenues. The University of Bridgeport in Connecticut enrolls about 3,400 students, and 36% of them are foreign. It makes up 72% of its operating revenues with tuition and fees. Like St. Francis, Bridgeport is also working to reverse a yearslong march toward insolvency. In 2021, the university was acquired by nearby Goodwin University for a small $32 million, though it has continued to operate as an independent institution with its own campus and board of trustees. It has since posted net income of $13.6 million at the end of fiscal 2023, and increasing international student enrollment has been a key part of its turnaround strategy. More from Forbes Forbes Forbes College Financial Grades 2025: America's Strongest And Weakest Schools By Emma Whitford Forbes Trump's Visa Ban Is Barring New Foreign Doctors From Entering U.S. By Emma Whitford Forbes Colleges Big And Small Issue Bonds Amid Political Chaos And Trump's Higher Ed Assault By Emma Whitford
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
YouTube CEO on moving to Lucknow in Class 7 after childhood in US: ‘I sounded funny'
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan appeared on Nikhil Kamath's podcast, where the two discussed a range of topics - from YouTube as a platform for creators and tips to crack its algorithm, to the impact of social media on politics. Amid these more serious topics, the conversation veered briefly towards Mohan's early years and schooling in Lucknow. Mohan was born in India to a father who had studied at IIT. At a young age, he moved to the United States, where his father was pursuing a PhD in soil testing at Purdue University - a transition that shaped his cross-cultural upbringing. Although he spent much of his childhood in the United States, Mohan and his family moved back to India in 1986. He was then in the seventh grade and joined Lucknow's St Francis College. He spent five years in St Francis College, often topping his batch, before he moved back to the United States to pursue electrical engineering at Stanford College. During his conversation with Kamath, the CEO of YouTube opened up about his childhood in the US and how it shaped his interests - 'I grew up on Transformers and Star Wars and all of that,' he said. Even as a teenager, Neal Mohan was interested in technology. 'My background is I am a technologist by training. I've been interested in – let's say, passionate about – technology since I was a really young kid. 'I went to high school in Lucknow. I had a little software startup back in the day, building software for other high school kids and teachers, and so I've always had a deep and abiding interest in technology,' Mohan revealed. 'I went to high school in Lucknow. My dad – I was born in India and my dad was getting his PhD – so my parents were grad students when I was born, and came back here for high school,' the CEO of YouTube explained. Moving to Lucknow in seventh grade brought fresh challenges, not the least of which was Mohan's lack of fluency in Hindi. 'When growing up in the US, I loved baseball, I loved, you know, Transformers, etc etc,' he told Kamath. 'And then coming here where, you know, I sounded funny. I didn't have, sort of like, those immediate things to connect with people on.' Mohan's former classmates and teachers remember him being unable to speak in Hindi initially. 'We were in the same section (D) of class VII. He was a bright student but since he came from the US he didn't know Hindi. However, in no time, he learned it and scored high marks in the subject in class X exam,' his former classmate Shantanu Kumar told Times of India. This account was corroborated by a former teacher at Lucknow's St Francis College, Nishi Pandey, who told Mid-Day: 'His Hindi was a bit anglicised, maybe because he had just got back from the US, but he studied hard and improved. Sometimes, when fellow students would tease him for his spoken Hindi, he'd laugh them off.'
The Age
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Twist in legal saga as church vows to develop site next to XXXX brewery
A church site at Milton, tucked away beside the XXXX brewery not far from Suncorp Stadium, would be become home to an upmarket retirement village under plans submitted to Brisbane City Council. The Anglican Church is still embroiled in a legal dispute with beverages giant Lion over its bid to install ethanol tanks at the Milton brewery. The tanks are needed for production of drinks other than beer, but the church is worried they pose a safety risk to its theological college next door. While the council approved the tanks, only for the church to appeal to the Planning and Environment Court, it has now been asked to approve a major redevelopment of the neighbouring St Francis College site. The 9.5 acre site, which can only be accessed via Milton or Baroona roads, has at its heart the heritage-listed Old Bishopsbourne, which was home to Brisbane's first Anglican bishop, and a chapel. Under plans prepared by Cox Architecture and Urbis, three modern buildings would be constructed on site, with a combined 76 independent living units to be managed by Aura. Loading 'The Anglican Church has the opportunity to develop an underutilised component of St Francis College to create a medium density residential development targeted at retirement living which facilitates the maintenance of this unique historic site,' the council has been told. The buildings would be up to six storeys, which is higher in parts, and closer to boundaries, than would normally be allowed. Some units would have city or mountain views, while there would also be communal sky terraces looking out over Old Bishopsbourne and the neon XXXX sign next door.
Sydney Morning Herald
02-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Twist in legal saga as church vows to develop site next to XXXX brewery
A church site at Milton, tucked away beside the XXXX brewery not far from Suncorp Stadium, would be become home to an upmarket retirement village under plans submitted to Brisbane City Council. The Anglican Church is still embroiled in a legal dispute with beverages giant Lion over its bid to install ethanol tanks at the Milton brewery. The tanks are needed for production of drinks other than beer, but the church is worried they pose a safety risk to its theological college next door. While the council approved the tanks, only for the church to appeal to the Planning and Environment Court, it has now been asked to approve a major redevelopment of the neighbouring St Francis College site. The 9.5 acre site, which can only be accessed via Milton or Baroona roads, has at its heart the heritage-listed Old Bishopsbourne, which was home to Brisbane's first Anglican bishop, and a chapel. Under plans prepared by Cox Architecture and Urbis, three modern buildings would be constructed on site, with a combined 76 independent living units to be managed by Aura. Loading 'The Anglican Church has the opportunity to develop an underutilised component of St Francis College to create a medium density residential development targeted at retirement living which facilitates the maintenance of this unique historic site,' the council has been told. The buildings would be up to six storeys, which is higher in parts, and closer to boundaries, than would normally be allowed. Some units would have city or mountain views, while there would also be communal sky terraces looking out over Old Bishopsbourne and the neon XXXX sign next door.
