For Adolph Neethling of the Department of Business Management at Stellenbosch University (SU), retirement at the end of this year is not a final chapter but simply a new stretch of road. As he likes to say, “Retirement is just a phase that is over. I still have much more to offer.”

The early years

Adolph’s journey began in Kraaifontein on the Cape Peninsula, where he grew up as the eldest of four children in a close-knit family. Although Afrikaans was spoken at home, his parents enrolled him in an English-medium school – Spes Bona High School in Athlone – believing it would open doors later in life. This early decision laid the foundation for his career working in diverse environments and across communities.

After completing business studies at the Peninsula Technikon, Adolph joined his father’s construction business, later managing a building complex before starting his own enterprise in 1989. These early professional years gave him what he describes as “extensive experience in the SMME environment, both as an entrepreneur and as a business manager in the FMCG industry.” This practical grounding would eventually prove invaluable in the classroom.

From business to academia

While embarking on his entrepreneurial career, Adolph simultaneously registered as a student at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in 1990, and completed his BCom and BComHons degrees.

It was during this time that he met his future wife, Lorraine (also known as Lorrie), whose first teaching job was at a school in Lime Acres in the Northern Cape. In an effort to be closer to the woman who had captured his heart, Adolph secured a job at the Bloemfontein campus of Vista University, and the two wedded in December 1997.

Since he joined Stellenbosch University in 2006, Adolph has taught in the fields of entrepreneurship, business management and corporate entrepreneurship, engaged in social impact initiatives and specialised in research on entrepreneurship education and innovation commercialisation. He supervised numerous postgraduate students and served as an external examiner for Master’s theses, contributing consistently and capably to the learning environment.

Leading social impact initiatives

One area where Adolph’s influence has been particularly visible is social impact. He played a central role in developing and growing the Young Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP), launched in 2018 in collaboration with the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht in the Netherlands. The programme offers high school learners from disadvantaged communities the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial thinking and practical business skills. With his steady leadership, YEP found its footing and continues to operate with strong support, now led by his colleague Sabrina Matthee.

Adolph also initiated and coordinated an international collaboration between SU’s Department of Business Management and three Norwegian universities, creating internship opportunities for SU students in Bergen and for Norwegian students in South Africa. Since 2020, the project has expanded to include other faculties, and by June 2026 he will have helped facilitate the internships of more than 30 Norwegian Master’s students in Stellenbosch. Along the way, the initiative has also created a helpful additional income stream for his department. He is proud of the practical value it brings to students on both sides.

His contributions earned him the SU Social Impact Award three times, most recently in 2024 as part of the YEP team – recognition he accepts with characteristic modesty.

Maths, music and making memories

Beyond his work, Adolph is someone who simply enjoys being involved. He jokes that he can identify with the quote “God has placed us on earth to do a number of things. Right now I’m so far behind; I’ll never die,” a reflection of the busy pace he naturally gravitates toward. Even in retirement, he plans to continue community work, and hopes to offer mathematical literacy classes; something he has long wanted to do.

Music remains one of his great pleasures. A dedicated pianist and jazz enthusiast, he looks forward to spending more time refining his playing and revisiting the arrangements he worked on in his youth. “Music has always been a way of life for me,” he says. “It’s the perfect way to unwind.”

Today, Lorrie teaches English at Fairmont High School in Durbanville. Their daughters, Autumn (24) and Sage (22), have both pursued their studies at SU – Autumn studied BCom while Sage is a final-year BA (Law) student.

When he and Lorraine take time off, they enjoy exploring small, character-filled towns like Tulbagh and Greyton. The latter holds special memories for Adolph from childhood visits to nearby Genadendal.

Although he will be stepping away from his formal role at SU, Adolph does not view retirement as an ending. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to continue contributing, just in different ways.

“It’s simply a new part of the journey,” he reflects. “There is still so much I want to do.”