Celebrating the Graduating Class of 1975
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The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SoCEE) hosted a three-day reunion to celebrate the graduating Class of 1975.
The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SoCEE) hosted part of day 2 of a 3-day reunion, celebrating the graduating class of 1975 on Friday, 17 October 2025 in the Hillman Building. Seventeen graduates, five spouses and the wife of a deceased classmate attended the 50th anniversary event and travelled from all over South Africa and overseas.
The reunion kicked off with a meet and greet - the graduates, their wives, and a few staff members and students. It was amazing to see the excitement on the faces of friends who have not seen each other in 50 years. Friends were getting reacquainted and catching up on their lives.
The group then moved into lecture venue H7 for an introductory talk by the Head of School, Prof Adesola Ilemobade titled: Shaping the future of the SoCEE. The personalities of the classmates quickly emerged. The laughter and noise prompted Prof Ilemobade to note that some things never change.
A group photo was taken in front of the Hillman Building ending off a memorable and special experience.
Graduating class of 1975
Emeritus Professor Yunus Ballim then presented a rich lecture entitled: 100 years of Wits, a personal reflection on the evolution of the SoCEE. There was lively engagement, friendly debate, sharing of funny stories and elaborating on special memories about the School, lecturers and each other.
Mr. Peter Bezuidenhout, Director of the Development and Fundraising Office, shared on what is happening at Wits now. He highlighted specific places of interest for the group to visit, since a lot of changes have occurred over the years. The group concluded the lecture room event by presenting the School with books of their memoirs, the preface of which was written by Emeritus Professor Ballim.
A walkabout through the School, started off at the museum where the group further reminisced on the old days. The group also visited the laboratories, while engaging with staff members on their work and the changes in the building.
Cohort in the laboratory |
Viewing the graduating class of 1975 class photo |
Viewing equipment in the museum. |
Viewing an exhibit in a display case. |
 Prof. Ballim and Prof Ilemobade addressing the cohort |
 Cohort listening to the address in the lecture room |