WITS, the 'open' years, a history of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1939-1959, foreword by Yunus Ballim

427pp., illus., paperback, New Edition, Johannesburg, (1997) 2022

The second volume of Bruce Murrays's intellectual history of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. In the period between the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and the enactment of university apartheid by the Nationalist Government in 1959, the University of the Witwatersrand developed as an ‘open university’, admitting students of all races. This volume focuses on the University’s role in South Africa’s war effort, its contribution to the education of ex-volunteers after the war, its leading role in training job-seeking professionals required by a rapidly expanding economy, and the rise of research and postgraduate study.

Includes chapters by Alf Stadler, who was Professor of Political Studies and the author of The Political Economy of Modern South Africa, and Jonty Winch, former Sports Officer and author of Wits Sport.

Bruce Murray was Professor Emeritus of History at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is the author of The People’s Budget 1909/10: Lloyd George and liberal politics and Wits: The ‘Open’ Years.

Yunus Ballim is Emeritus Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand.