Woods Accepts a Nieman Fellowship

Donald Woods, former editor of a leading South African opposition newspaper, recently accepted the post of visiting Nieman fellow for the term of July 1, 1978 to June 1979, James C. Thomson Jr., curator of the Nieman Foundation, said yesterday.

The special fellowship frees Woods from the normal obligations of a Nieman Fellowship, which include taking courses, remaining in full-time residence, and refraining from professional writing, Thomson said. Woods will have full access to all Harvard facilities, Thomson added.

Although the visiting fellowship does not provide a stipend, as the regular fellowships do, Thomson said private institutions and foundations are collecting funds to support Woods, his wife, and five children, during their stay at Harvard.

Thomson said he hopes the fellowship will give Woods "a base at Harvard and full freedom to bring his message to this and other communities."

As editor of the East London Daily Dispatch, Woods, a white South African, consistently opposed the government's apartheid policies. He escaped from South Africa two months after the government banned him, confining him to his home and preventing him from writing.

Thomson and Bok had originally offered the post to Woods for immediate residency shortly after his escape from South Africa on December 31 of last year. Thomson said, however, that Woods needed to stay in London to finish his book on Steven Biko, the leader of South Africa's black consciousness movement who died shortly after he was imprisoned last fall.

Woods also wanted to allow his five children to finish their year in British schools, Thomson added.

Woods is spending this week in Washington testifying before Congressional and other government committees on the apartheid policies of the South African government, and could not be reached for comment