Many years ago a young man sat on a boat in the middle of Lake Sibaya. He was on a university field trip to conduct studies about freshwater fish. He and a classmate controlled the boat while lecturers and other students were pulled behind to do the surveys. But the young men behind the wheel drove too fast and when they looked back there was no one on the line any more – they had lost their lecturers and co-students, who were left adrift in a lake that is home to the second-largest population of hippos and crocodiles in KwaZulu-Natal.
Many years ago a young man sat on a boat in the middle of Lake Sibaya. He was on a university field trip to conduct studies about freshwater fish. He and a classmate controlled the boat while lecturers and other students were pulled behind to do the surveys. But the young men behind the wheel drove too fast and when they looked back there was no one on the line any more – they had lost their lecturers and co-students, who were left adrift in a lake that is home to the second-largest population of hippos and crocodiles in KwaZulu-Natal.
Professor Paul Skelton laughed as he recollected this and other memories of his student years, and assured the guests at his farewell party on Tuesday that “everyone is still alive”.
At the occasion, Rhodes University's Vice Chancellor, Dr Saleem Badat, thanked Skelton for his 44 years' association with Rhodes University as student and teacher, as well as the 10 years he spent as managing director of the South African Institution for Aquatic Biodiversity (Saiab), in Grahamstown.
He said under Skelton’s management, Saiab had become the leading African academic institution for ichthyology.
Established in 1968 as the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, and supported jointly by Rhodes University and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
In 1980 it was declared a Cultural Institution under Act 29 of 1969, to be funded by the Department of National Education.
Post-1994 legislation saw the institute, along with similar institutions, outside Cape Town and Johannesburg, handed over to local governments.
The institute was set to become a provincial museum. It was at that point that Skelton intervened, saying, the negotiation of the institute’s future as a national facility had been his greatest achievement.
“A proposal was made on our behalf but not in our interest. I had to defend our interest,” he said.
Skelton convinced the government that the institute was worthy of national status and in 1999 it was declared a National Research Foundation research facility. This guaranteed the institute funding, the status of an internationally competitive facility, and better conditions of employment for the staff.
Honesty and integrity were two of the main values that Skelton lived by, said colleague, Professor Alan Whitfield.
“Skelton did not see problems, he saw challenges,” Whitfield continued. Whitfield also said Skelton never spoke about himself or his achievements and always gave his team and staff credit.
Guests at the farewell saw for themselves the truth of Whitfield’s description when, later in the function, Skelton thanked his mentors and work colleagues.
In an emotional speech, he paid tribute to them for their assistance and hard work on his behalf, and for “picking up the pieces and making things happen”.
He praised the National Research Foundation for the opportunities it gave students to witness professionals at work, outside academia. He said the foundation had good values and high standards of financial management.
“We are in good hands,” said Skelton. He said the relationship between the university and the foundation had not always been perfect, but said it had developed over time. “It was born, matured, became a teenager and is now an adult. It was tested through time,” he said.
Skelton also wished new managing director, Dr Angus Paterson, good luck. “It is important when passing the baton that you do not drop it,” Skelton said.
He said Paterson was energetic, knew the institute's traditions and was more than capable of taking over.
Paterson said he had big shoes to fill but was looking forward to working with everyone at the institute. He hoped to bring transformation within both the senior and lower levels of the institute's academic component, to extend the research platform to serve the research community, and to work on the sustainability of the institution in the long run.
