Issue 169: March 2002: JLB Smith has a new name

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SANCOR Newsletter Issue #169: March 2002
 
JLB SMITH INSTITUTE HAS NEW NAME
by Margot Collett
The world-renowned JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology has recently changed its name to the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity as part of the strategic process of assuming the role of a National Facility. The new name was made official in the Government Gazette no. 1241 on the 30thNovember 2001 and back dated to 1 October 2001.
The Institute has existed since Prof. JLB Smith’s death in 1968. Prior to that it was the Department of Ichthyology at Rhodes University. In 1980 the Institute became a Declared Cultural Institution under the Department of Education, and later, in 1994 the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST)..
On 1 January 1999, the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, with its impressive research record and valuable fish collection, was recognised as a national asset when it became a National Facility of the Foundation for
Research Development (FRD), which soon after became known as the National Research Foundation (NRF).