Rita was one of a handful of people in my life whom I loved deeply, completely, effortlessly. Perhaps what she meant to me is best expressed in her own words which she wrote in 2003, which I now share here:
23 January 2003
To: The Nieman Selection Committee
This letter is in reference to Kanthan Pillay, Executive Producer at etv, South Africa’s first independent free-to-air television channel where he also serves as deputy editor-in-chief of news, and runs the channel’s journalism learnership program. Kanthan has applied for a Nieman Fellowship.
I have known this person since the mid-1980’s when he appeared at Princeton University as a first-year student. He had been political editor for a black South African newspaper during a time of extreme censorship and military control. Having crossed one authority too many, he left his home before he was taken from it by force, and found his way to Princeton. Kanthan responded to my campus advertisement seeking first-year students as potential computer consultants. He explained he had no knowledge of, or experience with, computers—but had used a terminal to enter his copy as a journalist and was interested in learning more about the technology.
Although at the time I’d already engaged the intended complement of knowledgeable undergraduates, there was something compelling about this man that made me add him to the mix. It was a fateful decision.
Within a few weeks, Kanthan had learned enough about the multi-platform resources to match the best of our experienced senior student consultants. He became a technology tutor for the other student consultants. Within a few months, our senior systems and networking professionals were coming to Kanthan for information, advice and collaboration. The Vice President for Computing and Information Technology began suggesting assignments for him, and Kanthan began coding his own more creative inventions for support of the campus clientele–and for pursuit of personal diversion.
I might have provided a personal letter of reference for Kanthan Pillay by saying only this: he almost certainly is the most extraordinary person I’ve ever known. You don’t know me, so may not understand what a high compliment that is. Let me be more specific. The man is bright and a very rapid learner. He is monumentally engaging and diverting; he remains legend among those who knew him during his time here. He is a man of relentless insight and irrepressible humor, of extreme generosity and intense loyalty. And sometimes, he is the person who steps one pace over the line just because that line has been drawn. Is it bravery? Perversity? A little of both, I think.
If you take Kanthan Pillay as one of your international fellows, he will learn something from the experience: it’s as natural to him as breathing. The other fellows will learn more than they otherwise would, not just from Pillay’s sharing his knowledge and experience, but because his very presence stimulates others to become better at whatever they do, including the art of being human. When I first met him, it was the decision of a moment to take him on as an employee. The longer-lasting consequence was to accept him as a friend for life. Both were decisions with joyous results. I hope you will share the pleasure.
Most sincerely,
Rita Seplowitz Saltz
Associate Director, Information Services
Princeton University Computing and Information Technology
(Sent by email and therefore unsigned)
Rita Seplowitz Saltz, 20 August 1939–27 February 2025
Rita and me, at Gary Burn's wedding circa 1988
