Rand Afrikaans University

Coordinates: 26°11′0″S 27°59′56″E / 26.183333°S 27.99889°E / -26.183333; 27.99889

The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surrounds in from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the now defunct Technikon Witwatersrand and Vista University to form the University of Johannesburg.

Origins

On 5 November 1963, 468 delegates at a conference unanimously accepted a motion to establish an Afrikaans University. An act of Parliament was promulgated on 4 August 1965 to establish such a university in Johannesburg. Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was founded as an Afrikaans language university in 1967 with just over 700 registered students. The first campus was situated in a brewery in Braamfontein. The RAU was officially opened on the 24th of February 1968. The first chancellor of the University was Dr Nico Diederichs (then Minister of Finance of South Africa) and the first rector was Prof G Viljoen.

Over time the university evolved to a dual medium institution, offering nearly all degree courses in both Afrikaans and English.

Faculties

The faculties of the RAU were as follows:

• Faculty of Commerce and Economics
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Health Sciences

Location

What was the main campus is now the APK campus of University of Johannesburg (UJ) and is situated in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa. Satellite campuses in Soweto and Doornfontein are now DFC and SWC campuses of UJ.

Merger

On 1 January 2005, RAU, Technikon Witwatersrand and some campuses of the now defunct Vista University merged to become the University of Johannesburg. The outgoing and final vice chancellor of the University was Prof Roux Botha.

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