“Yet building excellence is an expensive exercise,” says Chris. Between them, the couple have over the years donated considerable sums to the University, the faculties of Arts and Social Sciences and Law.
A former Eendrag resident, Chris obtained both his BCom (1970) and LLB (1972) degrees at SU. Marica completed her BA degree in 1973 and pursued a career in singing.
“We believe education is the key to all success. And every person who works hard should be able to access good academic training. We also take care not to lose sight of disciplines that are often neglected, such as music and history. Without social sciences training, society becomes shallow,” says Chris.
“We aim to help nurture Stellenbosch and its students into the best on the continent. We also believe each of us has a duty to help reduce our dependence on the State. Considering the sound leadership that Stellenbosch currently enjoys and will hopefully continue to have, the anticipation is that SU will come out tops in terms of status and leadership, at least on our continent. The days of an isolated community college for a privileged few have long gone. For the sake of everyone’s future, we have a duty (particularly a financial one) to help strengthen Stellenbosch University,” he says.
“It’s a virtuous cycle – quality breeds quality, and ultimately we’ll boast top-performing alumni at all levels of society.
Why have they decided to focus their giving on SU specifically? “We donate to SU because of our long history with Matieland – this is where we studied and developed loyalties, and so did our forebears. Hopefully, our grandchildren will become the fourth generation of Maties in our family. Grandfather (Rev) Piet van der Westhuizen graduated back in 1928; then Marica and I followed in his footsteps, and then came our own children, Diderik and Zephne.”
Would you like to make a difference? Contact the Development and Alumni Relations Division on development@sun.ac.za.
