Emeritus Professor Isabel Venter. Image: Supplied

Former colleagues, students, friends and family recently gathered at the Life Sciences Building Auditorium at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to remember retired Emeritus Professor Isabel Venter as a dedicated lecturer, leader, researcher and supervisor. Prof Venter passed away on Sunday, 27 July 2025.

Prof Venter’s former colleague at UWC’s Computer Science department, Professor Louise Leenen, said her impact would be felt for many years to come and that she was a dedicated lecturer, professor and (doctoral) supervisor.

“We all knew her as someone that jumped in with heart and soul in every project,” said Prof Leenen. Even after her retirement from UWC in 2017, Venter took on Master’s students with Prof Leenen as a co-supervisor. She said it was something that enriched her greatly.

 Dr Michael Norman, senior lecturer in the Computer Science Department, said he had worked with Prof Venter as a colleague, as the head of the department and as his PhD supervisor. She had been associated with the department for 28 years, starting as a junior lecturer in 1988 until her retirement in 2017.

“She was productive as an academic, administrator, leader (she was HOD on many occasions) and researcher, and attained a C3-rating from the NRF (National Research Foundation),” said Dr Norman.

Before joining UWC, Prof Venter worked for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Stellenbosch University’s Saldanha Bay campus. There, she was head of the Department of Computer Information Systems.

Along with her numerous academic accomplishments, Prof Venter was also a reviewer of many publications, including for the Council for Higher Education. 

In a joint statement following her death, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Department of Computer Science said following Prof Venter’s retirement, she was appointed Emeritus Professor and continued in Chairing the Management Committee of the Telkom/Aria Technologies Centre of Excellence (CoE). 

Prof Mehrdad Ghaziasgar shared his experience of Prof Venter as his Head of Department and PhD supervisor: “She was an exceptional human being. In my student days, I found her to be a lively, caring, charismatic and well-spoken lecturer with a very positive can-do mindset. As my HOD, she was a huge pillar of support and strength, a voice of constant encouragement, and a true mentor.

"She lived a life empowering and enriching the lives of others; a life well lived, and an amazing legacy left behind. May God take her into His eternal mercy and bestow on her the same kindness which she bestowed on others,” said Prof Ghaziasgar.

A former colleague at UWC, now at Stellenbosch University, Professor Bill Tucker, said Prof Venter was one of the most supportive people he met.

“She always looked younger than her age, she always had style but was very mature. She lived that ‘Carpe Diem’ phrase before it was a WhatsApp status,” said Prof Tucker. 

She hired Prof Tucker in 1998 and said she taught him some valuable life lessons.

“As HOD, as my HOD, or our HOD, for many years, me being the impulsive one, she was the one who pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, Bill, before you send that email, save it in drafts, edit it, and then send it," he said.

“And there was one other thing about the emails that I really liked, that sticks with me to this day. She said, ‘Bill, replace the I with the We.’ That just changes the tone and grounds it in reality,” said Prof Tucker.

Venter is survived by her husband, Dr Leon Venter, their four children and grandchildren.