The UWC Law Faculty is deeply saddened at the news of the passing of our dear colleague, Letetia van der Poll.
Letetia joined UWC in the 1990s. She completed her Doctorate under Prof Lourens du Plessis in 2001 on the constitutionality of pornography, and became an Associate Professor in the fields of Jurisprudence and Public Law soon thereafter. She was Head of the Department of Academic Teaching and Development from July 2002 to June 2004, and served on various faculty committees, including higher degrees, teaching and learning, and the library committee.
Click here to read more about her academic achievements.
Letetia through the years taught jurisprudence, public international law, international humanitarian law, and modules in gender equality. She was a popular lecturer and well-known for her structured and well-presented lectures. She had the extraordinary ability to remember the names of most of her students.
Letetia had a wicked sense of humour and often used her knowledge of feminist theory to this end. She was the heart of every function and Faculty Board meeting.
The Head of Department of Public Law and Jurisprudence, Wessel le Roux, shared the following: “Letetia was a core member of the Department. She was 110% committed to her students and colleagues and values. She was a person who lived with integrity and demanded the same of other people. Proud but often also alone. From the perspective of an HOD, she was a model colleague, who always submitted all administrative information and documents on time and in perfect order. She insisted on the same level of punctuality and thoroughness from those who worked with her and studied under her. More than anything else, Letetia called out patriarchy where she encountered it and had a special gift of effectively using sarcasm to critical effect. Her strong voice and presence emboldened others to take up struggles against hierarchy and exclusion in the Department and Faculty. Her research and supervision of students in various aspects of gender fluidity and identity will continue to have an impact on many academic and professional careers to come.”
A former student of Letetia, Anthea-lee September-Van Huffel, now a lecturer at the University of the Free State expressed her condolences as follows:
“I'm deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Prof Letetia van der Poll. I was fortunate to be taught by her in my undergraduate studies, thereafter, benefitted from her guidance and knowledge as my LLM supervisor. Prof Van der Poll was consistent, feisty and kind, all rolled up in a wonderful mix of feminist personality. She introduced me to women's rights and gender equality, human rights and international humanitarian law, in a way that continues to bear fruit in my teaching philosophy and understanding of practice as a lecturer and attorney today.”
Professor Jacques de Ville
Dean: Faculty of Law
Letetia joined UWC in the 1990s. She completed her Doctorate under Prof Lourens du Plessis in 2001 on the constitutionality of pornography, and became an Associate Professor in the fields of Jurisprudence and Public Law soon thereafter. She was Head of the Department of Academic Teaching and Development from July 2002 to June 2004, and served on various faculty committees, including higher degrees, teaching and learning, and the library committee.
Click here to read more about her academic achievements.
Letetia through the years taught jurisprudence, public international law, international humanitarian law, and modules in gender equality. She was a popular lecturer and well-known for her structured and well-presented lectures. She had the extraordinary ability to remember the names of most of her students.
Letetia had a wicked sense of humour and often used her knowledge of feminist theory to this end. She was the heart of every function and Faculty Board meeting.
The Head of Department of Public Law and Jurisprudence, Wessel le Roux, shared the following: “Letetia was a core member of the Department. She was 110% committed to her students and colleagues and values. She was a person who lived with integrity and demanded the same of other people. Proud but often also alone. From the perspective of an HOD, she was a model colleague, who always submitted all administrative information and documents on time and in perfect order. She insisted on the same level of punctuality and thoroughness from those who worked with her and studied under her. More than anything else, Letetia called out patriarchy where she encountered it and had a special gift of effectively using sarcasm to critical effect. Her strong voice and presence emboldened others to take up struggles against hierarchy and exclusion in the Department and Faculty. Her research and supervision of students in various aspects of gender fluidity and identity will continue to have an impact on many academic and professional careers to come.”
A former student of Letetia, Anthea-lee September-Van Huffel, now a lecturer at the University of the Free State expressed her condolences as follows:
“I'm deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Prof Letetia van der Poll. I was fortunate to be taught by her in my undergraduate studies, thereafter, benefitted from her guidance and knowledge as my LLM supervisor. Prof Van der Poll was consistent, feisty and kind, all rolled up in a wonderful mix of feminist personality. She introduced me to women's rights and gender equality, human rights and international humanitarian law, in a way that continues to bear fruit in my teaching philosophy and understanding of practice as a lecturer and attorney today.”
Professor Jacques de Ville
Dean: Faculty of Law
