South Africa program names six new fellows

Six Harvard South Africa Fellows have begun a year of study at the University’s graduate schools. They are participating in the Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program, a program begun by Harvard in 1979 to address the needs of South Africans who were denied access to advanced education because of apartheid. The program provides educational opportunities for men and women who are mid-career in various professions and have shown considerable skill in their chosen fields.

During its 20 years in existence more than 100 South Africans have studied at Harvard under this program, including union, business, academic, and government leaders. The program is directly funded by the President of the University.

The 2000-01 fellows

Gregory Davids is at the Business School during the fall and will study at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences during the spring term. He is a lecturer in public management at Peninsula Technikon in South Africa and an executive member of its South African Public Management Group. Davids serves on the steering committee of a nongovernmental organization (NGO) focusing on rural development in the Western Cape and was part of the task group on the State of Provincial government within South Africa. He has also done training for Namibian Public Health officials.

Nathaniel Johnstone is at the Business School during the fall and will study at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences over the spring term. He has been the director of the Catholic Institute of Education, the coordinating and service body for Catholic education in South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland, since January 1999. Johnstone is also the executive deputy chairperson of the Catholic Education Investment Company and a non-executive director of the Independent Examinations Board.

Mfana Eubert Mashabane is studying for a master’s in international educational policy at the Graduate School of Education. In South Africa, he was project officer for the National Development Agency (NDA). The NDA is a statutory body set up to provide funding to the NGO sector. Previously he served as regional manager of Operation Hunger for Northern Province Region. Operation Hunger has programs addressing the water supply, sanitation, health and hygiene education, nutrition, and food production in the Region.

Harry May is studying in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He is a project leader with the Surplus People Project, a South African organization working for land reform and rural development. May was coordinator for the project “Rural Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management in Post-Apartheid South Africa.”

Sehloho Francis Moloi is studying for the LL.M at the Law School. He is a lawyer and deputy director of the South African Department of Trade and Industry. He administers agreements of the World Trade Organization – ensuring compliance with these agreements within South Africa and externally with its trading partners. Such issues of compliance include the negotiations currently taking place in the context of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

Sharon Van Wyk is studying for a master’s in public administration through the Mason Program at the Kennedy School of Government. She has taught at the University of Western Cape, been a researcher at the University of Capetown, and a researcher and consultant on public and development management. She is transformation manager, strategic management, with the Port Authority (Transnet) in South Africa.

For more information on the Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program or fellows, contact Rita Breen at (617) 495-5265.