The history of STIAS

The idea of establishing an institute for advanced study arose from the democratic transition of South Africa in 1994 and the need for Stellenbosch University to enhance its research profile and create opportunities for long-term, innovative and groundbreaking research, as well as active engagement with the global research community.

STIAS was conceived based on the model of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, which was the first in the world, and where theoretical physicist Albert Einstein worked as one of the first four permanent Fellows. Princeton has served as a model for many such institutes globally.

Bernard Lategan, who had been the Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University, became involved in the early planning and discussions to develop the idea of the institute and was appointed first as Interim Director in 2000 and later as Director of STIAS until 2008 when he was succeeded by Hendrik Geyer who was subsequently succeeded in 2019 by Edward K Kirumira.

Lategan was introduced to Peter Wallenberg Sr., who worked in present-day Zimbabwe and had strong ties with political and business leaders in South Africa. Wallenberg Sr. was passionate about the future development of southern Africa and pledged support for the institute.

Early funders included Karel Bos, the founder of Bosal, a leading automotive firm based in the Netherlands, as well as the Swedish Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. It was the substantial and ongoing funding from the Wallenberg Foundations, based on the initial introduction and contact with Peter Wallenberg Sr. in 2004, that gave and continues to afford the institute the ability to build infrastructure and to expand and grow.

STIAS is housed in Mostertsdrift – one of the first farms in Stellenbosch dating back to 1691. The property, a total of 2.8 hectares, came with a farmhouse, a wine cellar and horse stables. The farm was acquired by Stellenbosch University for student housing in 1985. A few years later, the property was refurbished and repurposed, with the Manor House now the headquarters of STIAS.

The Manor House is an elegant tribute to the estate’s past - Victorian in style with elegant décor and a relaxing old-world feeling. The house dates back to 1818, while the wine cellar is as old as 1848. The Mostertsdrift farm as a whole and its restored buildings and antique furniture are protected by the South African Council for National Heritage.

In 2003, the outside of the wine cellar was restored, redesigned and refitted to be used as a modern research facility. The South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) currently occupies the cellar, and in 2015, the stables were converted to host the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST).

The initial 2005 grant of R26 million from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation facilitated the construction of the Wallenberg Research Centre, which opened in 2007. The design of the building in architect Hein Visser’s words, aimed “to ensure the feeling of free-flowing space which sets no limits to the mind, opening new vistas and unexpected perspectives”.

The building also had to respect the tradition of the historic 19th-century structures at Mostertsdrift. To connect old and new, the historic leivoor [irrigation stream] running in front of the Manor House and cellar was incorporated.

Initially, Fellows were headhunted and invited to STIAS, and to immediately facilitate multi-disciplinarity, the first three projects were in the fields of theoretical physics, biochemistry and history. From these initial three projects, the expanded facilities meant that full cohorts could be accommodated, and an extensive application system was developed.

Among countless highlights of the past 25 years, in 2018, STIAS was invited to join a group of international institutes for advanced study known as Some Institutes for Advanced Study (SIAS). This makes STIAS the first southern hemisphere and first African institute to join this consortium which includes the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study; the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford; the National Humanities Center in North Carolina; the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard; the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study; the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study; the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies; and the Nantes Institute for Advanced Study.

When planning the development of the Mostertsdrift site for STIAS, municipal zoning forbade buildings on the southwest corner of the property, which was part of the old bed of the First River and subject to potential flooding. This led to the plan to plant a vineyard on this half-hectare section.