A Tribute to the Life of Dr Richard Pieter Viljoen
- DFO
Dr Richard Pieter Viljoen (1940-2025)
Richard Pieter Viljoen passed away on 22 November 2025 at the age of 85 following complications from heart surgery. He was predeceased by his identical twin brother, Morris, in 2021. He is survived by his wife, Miranda, and his son, Anthony.
Born in Johannesburg on 21 July 1940, Richard and his twin shared a lifelong bond. After schooling at Highlands North High, both studied geology at the University of the Witwatersrand, completing their BSc, Honours and MSc degrees by the early 1960s under Professor Des Pretorius.
Their early research led to one of their most significant contributions: the identification of komatiites, a new class of ultramafic volcanic rocks first described in the Barberton greenstone belt. This discovery had global impact, with similar rocks later identified in ancient terrains worldwide.
Richard joined the Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company in 1963, where he established himself as a leading exploration geologist. In 1983, he became Chief Consulting Geologist at Gold Fields, contributing to major discoveries including the Northam platinum mine and Tarkwa gold mine. His work spanned multiple continents and commodities.
He was deeply committed to the geological profession, serving twice as President of the Geological Society of South Africa and contributing to international initiatives, including the 35th International Geological Congress in 2016. His achievements were recognised with numerous awards, including the Lindgren Award and the Council for Geoscience’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
After retirement, Richard remained active in academia and industry, serving as an Honorary Professor at Wits and advising on exploration ventures through the Viljoen Mojapelo Investment Company.
Richard Viljoen leaves a legacy of scientific excellence, leadership and mentorship. His contributions, alongside those of his twin brother, shaped modern geological understanding and inspired generations of geoscientists.
A Tribute to Dr Jennifer “Jenny” Glennie
- DFO
Jennifer “Jenny” Glennie (1950 - 2025)
Born in Johannesburg in 1950, Glennie grew up in Vanderbijlpark and matriculated from Kingsmead College in Rosebank, where she was head prefect, Dux scholar and Victrix ludorum. Her association with Wits began soon after school and lasted for over 50 years. She graduated with a first-class honours degree in pure mathematics in 1972 and later earned a master’s degree in education and development from the University of London.
It was at Wits that she met her husband, former SRC president Dr Mark Orkin. Both were arrested for distributing pamphlets at a railway station during a protest march on the 10th anniversary of the Extension of University Education Act. After three years teaching mathematics abroad, the couple returned to South Africa to consult with historian Philip Bonner on how they could best contribute to the battlefront.
In 1974 she joined the South African Committee for Higher Education, where she championed access to education during the apartheid era. In 1993, she became director of the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE), an NGO committed to strengthening distance education at the tertiary level. She spearheaded initiatives that shaped national policy, improved student success and embraced technology and open educational resources to expand access.
Among her proudest contributions was SAIDE’s pioneering African Storybook Initiative, which uses the concept of open educational resources and a technology platform to provide children in multiple countries and 104 languages with contextually appropriate stories, setting them on a path to a life of reading and learning.
In 2007 she received the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of Pretoria for her contribution to education and later received the African Council for Distance Education Legacy Service Award. In March 2025, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in education by Wits for her remarkable visionary and forceful leadership.
Throughout the memorial service held in her honour at Wits, she was fondly remembered for her intellect, egalitarian values and exceptional leadership. Among the tributes, it was stated that she was a role model for everyone and everywhere, never losing her temper but showing fortitude through the toughest projects. She always met people at their level, despite being extraordinary herself. She never made anyone feel inadequate or less than, and made everyone feel seen and heard.
Dr Jenny Glennie passed away on 2 December 2025. She is survived by her husband Mark, children Andrew Orkin and Kate, and two grandchildren.
A Legacy Written in Generosity: Roy McAlpine
- DFO
Roy McAlpine (1941-2026)
The University of the Witwatersrand is remembering one of its most generous benefactors, Roy McAlpine, who donated R70 million towards the building of the state-of-the-art Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, who passed away in January 2026, in Johannesburg, at the age of 85.
McAlpine was born in Scotland in 1941 and at the age of 22, as a young, chartered accountant who had achieved the top mark in his final Scottish board exams, emigrated to South Africa, settling in Johannesburg, and taking up a job at Liberty Life. He became known as a guru of wealth creation. His daughter Claire told mourners at his memorial that “my dad was a modest man, but Business Day tells me that he was the most high-profile fund manager in South Africa and the best investment mind of his generation”.
McAlpine went on to become the Executive Chairman of Liberty Asset Management. He was not only responsible for Liberty’s own portfolio of investments but also for the Guard Bank suite of unit trusts and for the assets of some 300 large third-party pension funds that were managed by Liberty.
A former colleague, Jamie Inglis, who spoke at the memorial, said: “Roy’s investment policy was essentially conservative preservation”; while his children Claire, David and Alistair related how their father was always telling them that “if you take care of the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves”.
He likely followed his own advice, as in 2011 he formed the Roy McAlpine Charitable Foundation, into which he placed half of his wealth. His own genius ability of growing this saw the Trust support several worthy causes, which included the building of a classroom, block hall and library at Deep Schools. He also supported John Perlman’s Dreamfields project, which promotes, organises and funds football and netball at 396 township and rural schools, impacting 65 000 children. Out of this sprang the McAlpine Rangers Football Club, of which he was inordinately proud. In 2021, the Roy McAlpine Charitable Foundation donated R70 million towards building the Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. It was an honour for him to have been able to attend the official opening of this world-class facility on 26 August 2024.
For 16 years, Roy McAlpine suffered from a progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder, which he fought valiantly with a stringent exercise regimen and with the help of medical professionals and his family.
The University sends its sincere condolences to his wife Anne, and his children, Claire, David and Alistair, and would like to express its deepest gratitude for his extraordinarily generous philanthropy, which continues to make a real difference to South African communities.
Richard Pieter Viljoen passed away on 22 November 2025 at the age of 85 following complications from heart surgery. He was predeceased by his identical twin brother, Morris, in 2021. He is survived by his wife, Miranda, and his son, Anthony.