The campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg contain a number of notable buildings. There are five campuses: East Campus and West Campus are located in Braamfontein on opposite sides of the M1 highway, while the Education Campus and the Medical and Management schools are located in Parktown.
When, in 1922, the University College, Johannesburg was granted full University status as the University of the Witwatersrand, a site in Milner Park in Braamfontein was donated to the new university by the Johannesburg municipality. [1] That site is today East Campus.
East Campus is the home of the faculties of Humanities [2] and Science. [3] As the oldest of the university's five campuses, it contains many of the university's most notable buildings and locations; chief among these is the iconic Great Hall, the location of the university's graduation ceremonies and a national monument. Construction of the Great Hall, and the rest of Robert Sobukwe Block, the building in which it is located, began on 4 October 1922 when the university was inaugurated. The foundation stones of the building (one in English and the other in Dutch) were laid by Prince Arthur of Connaught, then the Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, and also the university's first chancellor. In 1925, Edward the Prince of Wales opened Central Block (as Robert Sobukwe Block was then called). [4]
Just south of Robert Sobukwe Block is Solomon Mahlangu House, the tallest building on campus. Construction of Solomon Mahlangu House (formerly Senate House) was completed in 1977, [5] and it has since become strongly identified with University management, located on the eleventh floor of the building. "The eleventh floor" has become a metonym on campus for University management. [6] Solomon Mahlangu House is the location of meetings of the university's senate, as well as the university council. East Campus is also the location of Jan Smuts House, home of the South African Institute of International Affairs, as well as Bidvest Stadium, the home stadium of Wits University F.C.
The campus itself is centred on the Library Lawns, to the north of the Great Hall. The Wartenweiler and William Cullen Libraries are located on each side of the Library Lawns. To the north-east of the Library Lawns is the Student Union Building, home of the Matrix Student Mall (from which the building's colloquial name, "The Matrix", derives), opened in 2003, as well as the Student Representative Council (SRC) and many of the university's student clubs, societies and organisations. The Origins Centre, a museum that houses archaeological exhibits relating to the evolution of humans, as well as the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research are also located on East Campus.
There are four student residences on East Campus: Men's Hall of Residence, colloquially known as Men's Res, for male students, as well as the Sunnyside Hall of Residence, and Jubilee Hall, for female students. The fourth, International House, is a self-catering residence for foreign students. [7]
Prior to 1985, what is now West Campus was the Rand Show fairgrounds. In 1985 the university underwent significant expansion and acquired the grounds from the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society. Today, West Campus is home to the faculties of Engineering and the Built Environment [8] and Commerce, Law and Management. [9]
The staff club [10] and a tower housing, a tuck shop and the security office were originally constructed for the Empire Exhibition, South Africa. [11]
There are three residences on West Campus, all mixed-gender. They are the self-catering Barnato Hall, the catering David Webster Hall, and the self-catering West Campus Village. [12]
The Medical and Management schools and Education Campus are located in Parktown. The Medical School, home of the Faculty of Health Sciences is adjacent to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Education Campus, home to the School of Education (part of the Faculty of Humanities), was formerly the Johannesburg College of Education, prior to the 2005 merger of that institution into the University of the Witwatersrand.
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in the mining industry, as do Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand in general. Founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley, it is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University. Prior to the merger, the Daveyton and Soweto campuses of the former Vista University had been incorporated into RAU. As a result of the merger of Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), it is common for alumni to refer to the university as RAU. The vice-chancellor and principal of UJ is Professor Letlhokwa George Mpedi who took office on 1 January 2023. Between 2018 and 2022, UJ's vice-chancellor and principal was Tshilidzi Marwala.
The suburbs of Johannesburg are officially demarcated areas within the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. As in other Commonwealth countries, the term suburb refers to a "neighbourhood", although in South Africa most "suburbs" have legally recognised borders and often separate postal codes. The municipal functions for the area, such as municipal policing and social services, are still managed by the city government.
The M1 De Villiers Graaff motorway is a metropolitan route and major freeway in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. The highway connects the southern areas with the city centre and extends further north through Sandton into the Ben Schoeman Highway towards Pretoria. Construction began in 1962 and resulted in the demolition of many properties and houses including numerous historical Parktown Mansions.
Parktown is a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the first suburb north of the inner city. It is affectionately known as one of the Parks, others including Parkview, Parkwood, Westcliff, Parktown North, Parkhurst and Forest Town. Parktown is one of Johannesburg's largest suburbs, neighbouring Hillbrow, Braamfontein and Milpark to the South; Berea and Houghton to the East; Killarney and Forest Town to the North, and Westcliff, Melville and Richmond to the West. Originally established by the Randlords in the 1890s, Parktown is now home to many businesses, hospitals, schools, churches and restaurants, whilst still maintaining quiet residential areas. It is also home to three of the five campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand including the education campus, medical school and Wits Business School. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.
Doornfontein is an inner-city suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, located to the east of the city centre, Region 8.
The Rand Afrikaans University was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand and two campuses of Vista University to form the University of Johannesburg.
Damelin is a private college founded in 1943 by Benjamin Damelin. It has 9 campuses in South Africa and is owned by Educor group. Damelin offers degrees, diplomas and other higher qualifications, but is considered a college instead of a university due to the regulations for tertiary institutions in South Africa. Damelin is the oldest and most profitable education subsidiary owned by Educor. By November 2012, over one million students had graduated from Damelin.
Transvaal University College was a multi-campus public research university in South Africa which gave rise to the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Pretoria.
The Johannesburg Planetarium is a planetarium owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, located on the University's East Campus in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. It was the first full-sized planetarium in Africa, and the second in the southern hemisphere.
The Schmerenbeck Educational Centre for Gifted and Talented Children, an organisation based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, promoted, encouraged and fostered the education of gifted children within South Africa without regard to race. The centre was originally housed on campus in portable prefabricated buildings before it moved to a house in the Johannesburg suburb of Parktown opposite the University of the Witwatersrand's Education Department until it closed in 1995.
Bunting Road Campus Auckland Park, also known as APB, is one of the four urban campuses of the University of Johannesburg. The APB was originally a campus of the Technikon Witwatersrand.
Jan Smuts Avenue is a major street in Johannesburg, South Africa. It begins in Randburg, and passes through important business areas like Rosebank. It passes the Johannesburg Zoo, Zoo Lake and Wits University before becoming Bertha Street, and the Nelson Mandela Bridge near the Johannesburg CBD. It has been described as "the most important road for a tourist" in Johannesburg. It forms part of Johannesburg's M27 route.
The Wits Theatre Complex is a performing arts complex in Braamfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is part of the University of the Witwatersrand, although it also caters for professional companies, dance studios and schools. It is run by the University's Performing Arts Administration (PAA).
The mansions of Parktown are an important part of the history of the city of Johannesburg. They were the homes of the Randlords, accountants, military personnel and other influential residents of early Johannesburg, dating back as early as the 1890s. The first of these mansions, Hohenheim was designed by Frank Emley and was built for Sir Lionel Phillips and his wife Lady Florence Phillips. The name Hohenheim had been used originally by Hermann Eckstein, one of the first Rand Lords to name his house after the place of his own birth. When Phillips became the head of Eckstein & Co, he moved in to Eckstein's house but due to the expansion of the city decided to build the new Hohenheim in an enviable site further from the mine workings. Sir Lionel Phillips was banished from the Republic for his involvement in the Jameson Raid. It is perhaps fitting that the next occupant of this famous house was none other than Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, the author of the best selling book 'Jock of the Bushveldt'. The house was demolished but a plaque remains in honor of this building.
The Faculty of Science is one of the faculties of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, located in TW Kambule Mathematical Sciences Building on West Campus. The Dean of the Faculty is Professor Nithaya Chetty. The Faculty offers undergraduate Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees, and postgraduate Honours, Masters (MSc) and PhD degrees. The Faculty encompasses the following schools:
Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu was a South African freedom fighter, struggle activist and operative of the African National Congress (ANC) militant wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). He was convicted of murder and hanged in 1979.
The Transvaal Memorial Hospital for Children, based in Johannesburg, was the first dedicated children's hospital in South Africa when it opened in 1923. The hospital would remain open until 1978 when its functions were moved to the then newly opened Johannesburg General Hospital. The building is a heritage listed monument and parts of the building are currently used by community groups dedicated to the service of children.
The M9 is a major metropolitan route in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. Passing through the heart of the Witwatersrand, it connects the southern suburbs of Johannesburg via the centre of Johannesburg, with the northern suburbs and business centres of Rosebank and Sandton before ending in the outer northern suburbs.
M27 is a major road in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. A large part of the route is named Jan Smuts Avenue which is roughly 12 km long. It begins in the southern suburb of Booysens and heads northwards through the Johannesburg CBD and the northern suburbs of Randburg.
