Mission
The fundamental role of any university is to promote freedom of enquiry and the search for knowledge and truth. Wits has built a reputation for itself in this role, establishing itself at the industrial and commercial heart of South Africa as a centre for education and research of the highest quality. Wits's mission is to build on this foundation in a way that takes account of its responsibilities within South Africa today; and to maintain and enhance its position as a leading university in the Republic, in Africa, and in the World by sustaining globally competitive standards of excellence in learning, teaching and research.


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ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MISSION ENTAILS COMMITMENT TO:

academic freedom, autonomy, accountability, tolerance of difference of opinion, and transparency
democracy, justice, equality, and freedom from racism and sexism as enshrined in the Constitution
playing a leading role in addressing historical disadvantages in the education of the majority of the population of South Africa
fostering a culturally diverse, intellectually stimulating and harmonious environment within which there is vigorous critical exchange and communication
supporting, developing and unifying its staff and students, through providing opportunities for all to participate in the academic activities of the University, its governance and its cultural and sporting activities
creating and maintaining accessible, safe, friendly and well-resourced campuses
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

to communicate with the people and institutions of the community in which it works, so that the community will participate more effectively in fulfilling the goals and priorities of the University
to continue to support and enhance basic, strategic and applied research, especially research of particular relevance to South Africa
to ensure that its graduates achieve levels of skill, knowledge and understanding comparable with those of graduates from the best universities world-wide
to continue to develop its courses to serve the needs of Southern Africa, recognising that this requires a solid foundation in basic, theoretical and comparative studies
to improve the success rate of students through enhanced teaching and learning, and coherent academic development programmes
to continue to attract and retain excellent staff, providing ongoing development opportunities at all levels
to eliminate discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation and disability, through effective labour relations policies and affirmative action programmes leading to equal opportunity
IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

to foster dialogue and interaction between different cultural communities within the University, with the goal of rapidly increasing mutual respect and trust
to ensure that the campuses are safe, well-resourced and clean, so as to build a sense of pride on the part of all stakeholders
to foster capacity in science and engineering and increase the number of graduates in these areas, especially from historically disadvantaged groups
to prepare students for managerial, professional and leadership positions in the public and private sectors and to produce social scientists with the capacity for skilled research on issues of critical importance to the country
to maintain a commitment to studies in the humanities and social sciences
to contribute to the production and upgrading of school teachers, particularly in English, Mathematics and Natural Sciences
to increase the number of post-graduate students, especially from historically disadvantaged groups
to develop flexible study programmes that will improve interaction between disciplines, mobility between institutions in post-secondary education and opportunities for part-time study
to provide executive and certificate courses to sectors of the society it serves, including organised labour, business and the public sector, thereby also increasing income to the University
to participate with other private and public institutions (nationally and internationally) in developing a rational and effective system of higher education in South Africa
VISION

Universities have the immense responsibility of producing cutting edge research, generating knowledge, producing high-calibre leaders and critical thinkers for the future, and reaching out to the communities in which they are located.
Wits University is proudly fulfilling that role both in Africa and on the international stage. It is catering for the changing needs of a democratic South Africa and, from its location in the heart of Gauteng, reflects and celebrates its diversity of cultures.

Its outstanding academic reputation and sustained stance against social injustice has earned it the respect of the international community and has attracted international students and researchers. This century we will continue redressing historical injustices, thereby providing new and fulfilling opportunities for black students and attracting and retaining the best black staff in the sector.

We will build increasingly close relationships with the private sector, and the public sector professions in seeking sponsorship of research projects, research students, joint appointments of staff, and joint programmes of research that contribute to economic and academic development.

We will have a selective approach to research development, concentrating on areas of actual and potential international excellence, as well as new collaborations with top universities in Europe and the US. Our student-centred learning will be sensitive to the needs, views and lives of students.

We will strive for transformation in the context of an unswerving commitment to academic standards. We will continue to produce outstanding graduates armed with the confidence to serve this continent at the highest level, and to contribute to the international context, in which South Africa is taking its place as a leading democracy.
The origins of Wits lie in the South African School of Mines, which was established in Kimberley in 1896 and transferred to Johannesburg as the Transvaal Technical Institute in 1904, becoming the Transvaal University College in 1906 and renamed the South African School of Mines and Technology four years later.
Full university status was granted in 1922, incorporating the College as the University of the Witwatersrand, with effect from 1st March. Seven months later the inauguration of the University was duly celebrated. Prof. Jan Hofmeyr became its first principal. Construction began at Milner Park on a site donated to the University by the Johannesburg Municipality. The University had, at that stage, six faculties (Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, Law and Commerce), 37 departments, 73 members of academic staff and little more than 1 000 students. The period between 1947 and the 1980s was marked by considerable growth — student numbers increased rapidly to 6275 in 1963, 10600 in 1975 and 16400 by 1985.

The acquisition of additional property in adjacent areas became imperative. The medical library and the administrative offices of the Faculty of Medicine moved to a new building in Esselen Street, Hillbrow during 1964. The Graduate School of Business was established in Parktown in 1968. In 1969 the Ernest Oppenheimer Residence was formally opened in Parktown. Also in 1969 the clinical departments in the new Medical School were opened. The Medical School moved premises once again and is now situated in York Street, Parktown. Expansion into Braamfontein also took place when, in 1976 Lawson’s Corner, renamed University Corner, was acquired. Senate House, the University’s main administrative building, was occupied in 1977.

In the 1960s, the University acquired the Sterkfontein site, which has world-famous limestone caves, rich in archaeological material, and has subsequently been declared a World Heritage Site.

In 1968 the neighbouring farm, Swartkrans, also a source of archaeological material, was purchased. In the same year, the University acquired excavation rights in caves of archaeological and palaeontological importance at Makapansgat in the area now known as the Limpopo province. The Wedge, a building formerly owned by the National Institute of Metallurgy, was taken over by the University in 1979.

The Milner Park showgrounds were acquired in 1984 from the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society and renamed West Campus. In 1989, the Chamber of Mines Building for the Faculty of Engineering on the West Campus was inaugurated, and the brick-paved AMIC deck was built across the M1 motorway to link the East and West Campuses.

Since 2000, Wits has been implementing expansion and modernisation plans across different areas of the campus. Many of these address the physical, academic and technological infrastructure and processes necessary to implement the new streamlined faculties and schools, while others cater for the large growth in student numbers since the start of the decade. The delivery of excellent customer service and the provision of more leisure and convenience facilities to students and staff have also been an important part of these plans.

The main library, the Wartenweiler, underwent a major revamp. This modernisation exercise resulted in the traditional model of a library being dramatically altered by the installation of ICT connectivity and 'knowledge commons' (group learning areas) throughout the entire building.

During 2002 the School of Oral Health moved into a new state-of-the-art facility within the Johannesburg General Hospital. The space they vacated was revamped to accommodate the Wits School of Arts. This beautiful space now accommodates the disciplines of Fine Arts, Dramatic Arts, History of Arts and Music. International House, a residence catering mainly for the burgeoning international student population, was opened in 2003. Yale Road has been upgraded from an erstwhile municipal road to become a softer and greener university space. A student mall, the Matrix, houses 26 leisure and convenience outlets. The Student Enrolment Centre, based in Senate House, welcomed the 2003 registration cohorts. All education entities are based at the new Education Campus (formerly the Johannesburg College of Education). The Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (formerly the Kenridge Hospital) has been extensively upgraded to serve as an academic teaching hospital. It officially opened during 2004.

Spread over more than 400 hectares, Wits University is an urban, comprehensive university which has a distinctive capacity to contribute to the reconstruction and development of South Africa through research and the production of skilled, critical and adaptable graduates. With its more than 100 000 graduates in its 83-year history, Wits has made and will continue to make its mark nationally and internationally.

WITS AT A GLANCE


The University is structured into five Faculties which comprise 37 Schools.

The University library system comprises two main libraries and 14 divisional libraries. Students have access to 740 000 book volumes, 25 000 journal titles and a host of new electronic resources.

Wits comprises seven major ‘clusters’ spread over 400 hectares in Braamfontein and Parktown: East & West Campus, Sturrock Park, the Education Campus, the Management Campus, the Health Sciences Campus and the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre.

The University has 20 residences which accommodate 22% of the student population. Seven residences are on the main campus while the rest are off campus.

Wits has two commercial companies, Wits Enterprise and the Wits Health Consortium, offering a vast array of tailor-made solutions for the public and private sectors.

Wits is the proud home of three new Centres of Excellence (CoE) - the Department of Science and Technology (DST)/National Research Foundation (NRF) CoE for Biomedical TB Research, the DST/NRF CoE in Strong Materials and the Department of Trade and Industry National Aerospace Centre of Excellence.

Wits has over 34 research entities, ten of which are Medical Research Council units. It is also home to four NRF Chairs in Geosciences, Electrical and Information Engineering, History and Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Wits has 14 ‘A-rated’ scientists (based on a stringent evaluation of an individual scientist’s research record over five years). These scientists are international leaders in their disciplines.

The Wits Business School was ranked 53rd in the UK-based Financial Times Survey for Executive Education Courses in 2006.

The Wits MBA programme was voted the best in South Africa for six consecutive years in the Financial Mail annual survey. It was also rated as the top Business School for three consecutive years (2004 – 2006) in the Sunday Times Top Brands Survey.

Wits is ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the world in seven defined fields of research according to the 2006 ISI international rankings.

ACCREDITATION

The Wits Business School is fully accredited by the South African Council for Higher Education and received the prestigious International Accreditation by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) in 2005.

Our undergraduate engineering degrees are recognised by the Engineering Council of South Africa. In terms of the Washington Accord signed in June 2000, of which South Africa is a signatory, official recognition of our degree programmes has been approved by the professional engineering accrediting bodies in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong.

Our professionally qualifying architecture degrees are accredited by the South African Council of Architects, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Commonwealth Association of Architects.

Wits’ professionally qualifying degree in quantity surveying is accredited by the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, UK, while the construction management degree is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building.

The Wits Actuarial Science Programme (leading to BSc or BEconSc followed by a BScHons) provides exemption from 12 of the examinations required for qualification as a professional actuary with the Edinburgh Faculty of Actuaries or the London Institute of Actuaries.
BUILDING SOCIETY

The Wits Centre for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine is a partner in a R5,7 million training and support project to help South Africa become a leader in the global soccer arena, ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

Wits’ Marang Centre, a first for South Africa, is an outstanding institute that aims to improve the quality of mathematics and science education on the continent.

The Yebo Gogga Yebo AmaBlomo exhibition - a five day interactive exhibition of insects, plants and animals open to the public - has successfully been hosted for more than five years by the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences.

The Graduate School of Public and Development Management is the largest postgraduate school of public management in southern Africa. During its 10-year history it has provided high level capacity building through a range of postgraduate degrees and short courses to more than 9 000 people.

Wits has launched a palaeontological outreach programme in the Eastern Cape village of Nieu Bethesda in association with the Albany Museum and the Department of Science and Technology. It has also played an instrumental role in having the fossil-rich Makapan Valley in Limpopo declared a World Heritage site.

The Wits School of Geosciences is home to the first pan-African geophysics initiative, AfricaArray, that aims to address the problem of limited human capacity in Africa in the field of geophysics and to determine the tectonic make-up of the African continent and its underlying mantle.

Wits offers a range of community services to the community. The Wits Disability Unit is a model centre for higher education institutions that caters for disabled students. The Wits Centre for Deaf Studies offers support and education to caregivers and families of the Deaf. The new Emthonjeni Community Centre offers services such as speech and hearing therapy, counselling and psychotherapy to the public and acts as a practical training ground for students in this area.
INNOVATION

In 2006, Wits students designed a software system to solve virtually all mathematics problems, built a theft-proof, pyramid shaped coffin that allows the deceased to be buried in a squatting position and developed a fuel that burns more cleanly and produces fewer greenhouse gases, while using up agricultural by-products.
The City of Joburg and 20 leading IT companies in SA have partnered with Wits to create a world-class software development hub – the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering. The IBM LINUX Centre of Competence was opened within the JCSE in 2006.
The new Wits University Convergence Laboratory in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering brings together under one roof voice, data, video, multimedia and entertainment via ‘a next generation’ telecommunications network. In 2006, these students developed software systems to aid the visually-impaired, devices to allow video streaming from the T-shirts of soccer players to mobile phones and developed virtual music gloves.
In 2007, a team of students from the School were awarded a silver medal at the annual SIMagine awards at the World 3GSM International Software conference in Barcelona. David Vannucci, Teddy Mwakabaga and Rolan Christian won for their innovative mobile phone game, Mobiraba™, an adaptation of the local Morabaraba game played on the continent.
The Wits School of Arts created the first South African 3D animation political satire - The Bushpig Project - for both television series and mobisodes in 2006.
The Wits Centre of Material and Process Synthesis has undertaken a sizable new initiative in China to produce fuel from coal.
ARTS & CULTURE

The University boasts 14 museums and two art galleries housing a variety of rare and valuable artworks.
Wits Art Galleries are the custodians of important heritage collections of South African and classical African art. The internationally renowned collections are currently available to researchers and students by appointment. A major new project is underway to develop world-class premises and a permanent home to all South Africans have ensure easy access to the works.
The Wits Theatre has staged more than 2 000 different productions over its 23-year history.
Wits University is home to more than 97 sports clubs and societies.   More detail...