Year in Review - June 2000 to June 2001

[see photos]

September 23 – 30
Visit and Lecture by Dr. Edna Van Harte, Executive Director of the Desmond Tutu Educational Trust.

Dr. Van Harte received her doctorate in Psychology from Columbia University, New York and worked at Pace University, New York for seven years as a psychologist. Prior to her return to South Africa in 1999, she served as the president of the South African – American organization. Currently she holds the position of chairperson of the Durbanville ANC branch.

Dr. Van Harte was one of the first people to graduate with undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Communication from the University of South Africa. She received the Pappillon Young Rising Star Award in 1979 in which she was voted one of the top eight women in South Africa in recognition of her contributions to community development in South Africa.

The visit by Dr. Edna Van Harte explored ways in which the University of Connecticut could collaborate with the Desmond Tutu Educational Trust, in particular ways in which the UConn-ANC Partnership can assist in providing educational opportunities in South Africa. Prof. Amii Omara-Otunnu also introduced Ms. Van Harte to various constituencies in Connecticut including the Episcopal Archdiocese of Connecticut.

Dr. Van Harte’s Comparative Human Rights lecture addressed the challenges to the reconfiguration of the higher education system in South Africa.