University of Pretoria
Encyclopedia
The University of Pretoria (commonly referred to as UP, Tuks, or Tukkies) is a multi campus public
research university located in Pretoria
, the administrative and de facto
capital of South Africa
. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johannesburg
based Transvaal University College
and has grown from the original 32 students in a single late Victorian house to approximately 39,000 in 2010. The University was built on 7 suburb
an campuses on 1120ha
(2767acre
).
The University is organised into nine faculties and a business school. Establsihed in 1920, the University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science is the second oldest veterinary school
in Africa
and the only veterinary school in South Africa. In 1949 the university launched the first MBA programme outside of North America and the university's Gordon Institute of Business Science
(GIBS) has consistently been ranked the top business school in Africa for executive education (open), as well as being placed in the top 50 in the world. In 2011 the Financial Times
ranked the GIBS Executive MBA 1st in Africa and 67th in the world.
Since 1997, the university has produced more research outputs every year than any other institution of higher learning in South Africa, as measured by the Department of Education's accreditation benchmark. In 2008 the university awarded 15.8% of all masters and doctorate degrees in South Africa, the highest percentage in the country.
In post-nominals the University of Pretoria is typically abbreviated as Pret or UP, although Pretoria is also used in official publications.
Campus the precursor to the university was established, initially offering courses in languages, sciences, and law.
Instruction commenced with 32 students, 4 professors and 3 lecturers in the Kya Rosa, 270 Skinner Street a late Victorian
residence purchased from Leo Weinthal the then owner of The Press (forerunner to the Pretoria News
Newspaper). The first four professors were Prof H. Th. Reinink (Dutch), J. Purves (Scottish), D.F. du Toit Malherbe (South African) and A.C. Paterson (Scottish), who would also become the first Vice-Chancellor
In 1910 the Colonial Secretary, General Jan Smuts
tabled the act constituting the university as a separate entity before the Transvaal Parliament, the "Transvaalse Universiteits-Inlijvingswet" Law 1 of 1910. On 17 May 1910 the Johannesburg and Pretoria campuses separated, each becoming an independent institution. The Johannesburg campus being reincorporated as the South African School of Mines and Technology, while the Pretoria campus retained the name of Transvaal University College until 1930. The South African School of Mines and Technology would later go on to become the University of the Witwatersrand
in 1922. In 1910 the TUC acquired its own campus in the East of Pretoria, what is now the western part of the university’s main campus in Hatfield. On 3 August 1910 Governor-General Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone laid the cornerstone of the Old Arts Building, the first building to be built on the newly established Hatfield campus. The building’s striking Cape Dutch
and Neo-Romanesque architectural style was recognised in 1968 when it was declared a National Monument. During this time the colloquial name for the university, Tukkies or Tuks, was derived from the Afrikaans
acronym for the college i.e. Transvaalse Universiteits-Kollege (TUK).
The late 1910s and early 1920s saw the establishment of several faculties as the academic activities were expanded. Courses in agriculture (1917), theology (1918), economics and political science (1919), veterinary science (1920), and music (1923) were established as the institution grew.
, Saint Gabriel's. This property now forms the eastern section of the Hatfield campus.
In 1949 the university founded the Graduate School of Management (GSM), the GSM MBA was the first MBA programme to be launched outside of North America.
The university’s business school in Illovo Johannesburg
, the Gordon Institute of Business Science
, was established in January 2000 following a substantial contribution by Sir Donald Gordon, the founder of Liberty Life
and Liberty International
, and a major investment by the University of Pretoria following discussions started in 1998. The Business school follows on the university's now defunct Graduate School of Management's long tradition of MBA tuition and replaced it in January 2008.
As set out in the Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997, the university is governed by the Council with the Vice-Chancellor & Principal
responsible for the day-to-day administration of the university.
The university's academic activities are divided into nine faculties and one business school. Whilst the faculties comprise of 140 departments and 85 institutes, bureaus and centres.
, Pretoria
and houses six of the nine faculties. The campus, bordered by the suburb of Brooklyn
to the south and Hatfield to the north, was built over 24 hectares and has more than 60 buildings of historical value.
Adjacent to the Hatfield campus is the LC de Villiers Sport Grounds & High Performance Centre which were developed on an area of 76 ha
. The university's High Performance Centre, which was established in 2002 has become the favoured location for the pre-departure camps of Team South Africa in addition to being chosen by several national and international federations as their preferred specialisation centre. Adjacent to the sport grounds is the university's experimental farm, which is used to conduct field experiments for the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The campus will be connected to the Gautrain
rapid rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg with the completion of Hatfield station and rail link in 2011.
, Gregoire Boonzaier, William Kentridge
and Sam Ngethwa. The collection also incorporates artworks by renowned international artists among others such as Max Pechstein
, Käthe Kollwitz
, Max Lieberman, George Grosz
, Otto Mueller
, Rembrandt van Rijn, Thomas Benton
and Marc Chagall
.
The Old Arts Building was proclaimed a National Monument in 1968 and houses the Van Tilburg Collection, Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection and Mapungubwe Museum. The Van Tilburg Collection
is a permanent museum that comprises 17th & 18th century furniture
, paintings, Delft
ceramics
and other works of art
, and includes the largest South African collection of Chinese ceramic
objects, from the Chin (221-206 B.C.), Han
(202 B.C. – A.D. 220), Tang
(A.D. 618-906), Song
(A.D. 960-1279), Ming
(1368–1644) and Qing
(1644–1912) dynasties.The university is the custodian of the collection of artifacts found at the Mapungubwe
National Park and World Heritage site
and such display these artifacts in the Mapungubwe Museum
. Gold ornaments, ivory, bone, ceramic-ware, clay figurines, trade beads, iron and copper artifacts are on permanent public display. The Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection
is a ceramic collection, donated by Dr Horace Hugo Alexander van Gybland Oosterhoff and accepted by the university on 14 March 1939, is the largest collection of objects, publications, memorabilia and photographs of historical interest, relating to Dutch culture outside of the Netherlands.
The Old Merensky Library houses the Edoardo Villa Museum. The Edoardo Villa Museum currently houses the largest collection of sculptures by the Italian artist Edoardo Villa and one South Africa's most renowned sculptors, who was mentored by Minotti
at the Scuola D’Arte Andrea Fontoniby.
The Van Wouw Museum
is the largest collection of bronze, marble and plaster sculptures by the famous pioneer South African sculptor, Anton van Wouw (1862–1945). Van Wouw, who is widely regarded as the founder of traditional sculpture in South Africa, created masterful artworks portraying Boer figures and the indigenous peoples of South Africa. Besides documents, photos, paintings and tools the exhibits are mainly bronze
maquette
s and casts of Van Wouw's sculptural work. The Van Wouw Museum is housed in Anton Van Wouw
's last residence, a Dutch national monument.
The University's Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Discovery Centre, Sci-Enza, was officially launched in 1977. The Discovery Centre is an umbrella complex where young children, students and adults can explore the world of science, engineering and technology in a "play-as-you-learn" way. Activities at the Centre museum include: a Digital planetarium
; Exploratorium; Camera Obscura
; Biological science exhibit; Botanical garden; Indigenous technology exhibit
The main hall and site of ceremonies, the Aula, was designed by Karel Jooste and completed in 1958. The Aula was the first Opera House to be built in the capital and remained the major venue in the city until the State Theatre's completion in the early 1980s. The 1012 seater auditorium has played host to foreign dignitaries, presidents, local and international artists. The main music complex, comprising the 500 seater Musaion and 3000 seater Amphitheatre was built between 1960-1964 The University Chapel, formally the Church of Saint Alfons Maria de Liguori, and the accompanying Monastery was built in 1925 and was bought from the Catholic Church in 1980. Saint Alfons, who was canonised in 1839, was the founder of the order of Ligournians (or Redemptorists), an order founded in 1732 in Naples, Italy and dedicated to helping underprivileged communities.
In 1933 the University decided that the library collection necessitated the building of a new library building, the collection which at that time was kept in the Old Arts building. The library was designed by the South African architect Gerard Moerdijk, following a donation of £10 000 from mining geologist Dr. Hans Merensky and construction started in 1937. Drawing from his inspiration from Persia and Africa, the design of the building incorporates several architectural styles including Art Deco, Neo-Classicism, Arts and Crafts, Cape Dutch and Regency. The Old Merensky Library was proclaimed a National Monument in 1991. Despite expansions to the Old Merensky Library in 1957, the library subsequently became insufficient to meet the growing needs of the institution and in 1975 the Merensky Library II was completed, currently housing 7 of 9 the faculty libraries. Besides the main Merensky Library complex, the university library system also includes the separately administered Jotello F Soga Library (Veterinary Science), Oliver R Tambo Law Library, Education Library, Mamelodi Library and Health Sciences Library.
In 2006 the University established UPSpace
, its own open access digital research repository. and the university's library has since become one of 27 partners in the World Digital Library
project. In January 2011 the Webometrics World Ranking of Institutional Repositories ranked UPeTD, the university's repository of electronic theses and dissertations, 133rd in the world.
engineering education initiative and international collaboration.
SERA
In 1999 a strategic alliance was formed between the University of Pretoria and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR). This alliance, which is known as the Southern Education and Research Alliance (SERA), collaborates locally and internationally with universities, NGO’s, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. The SERA partners share a vision for a world-class, innovative and market responsive business that delivers appropriate information, facilitates knowledge connectivity through knowledge workers, links the best minds to create a global network, and protects intellectual property
. Through their co-operation the alliance partners aim at fostering a non-exclusive academic, scientific and technological environment that will benefit all participants and the country as a whole. Sera has a 50% shareholding in the Innovation Hub, a fully accredited technology park situated on 60 hectares of the university's experimental farm.
Notable Research
League table rankings
The QS World University Rankings
ranks the university as follows:
In January 2011 Webometrics
ranked the university as the 2nd in South Africa and Africa.
Residential life
Residence is provided to students in 24 undergraduate and post graduate residences and 3 post graduate only residences spread over the University's campuses. The first students of the Transvaal University College, resided in the Kya Rosa, a Victorian house in Skinner Street. In 1915, the first male residence Kollegetehuis was constructed on the Hatfield campus and the first female residence Asterhof in 1925. In 1916 Dutch Reformed Church established the Sonop Christelike Tehuis aiming to provide accommodation to the male students of the University, the private residence enjoys an official recognition agreement with University authorities. Students not living in a University residence can join one of four Day Houses which gives them the opportunity to partake in organised student life activities.
Student organisations
Approximately more than 100 student clubs and organisations operate on the university campus. These include numerous student government, service providers, and service organizations. The most prominent amongst these are the Student Parliament, Student Representative Council, and Constitutional Tribunal (Student Court). The Student Parliament is the plenary body of student governance and determines the wider mandate for student governance. The Student Representative Council (SRC) is the executive body of student governance and subsequently charters and provides most of the funding for other student groups, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. The SRC is the residential student government, specializing in programming, policy, and facilities and services. Societies are registered in the following categories as catering for religious, political, social, cultural, academic and other. The Constitutional Tribunal adjudicates disputes primarily between student organisations and its judge’s sit on the panel of student disciplinary hearings. The various service providers are the university’s primary programming organisations, serving as a centre of social, cultural, intellectual and recreational life.
Student activities
Student media
The Perdeby, the official university newspaper, was founded in 1939 and has a readership of approximately 30 000. Tuks FM
(107.2FM),the campus radio station, was established on 9 February 1981 and is run by university students out of the university's Student Centre.
Civic engagement
Civic service and outreach programmes are performed in the fields in which the University has proven competencies. These fields include professional associations, business and management and are performed in underdeveloped or developing communities.
Traditions
It is common belief that if a blossom from a Jacaranda
tree falls on your head you will do well in the end of year exams. Other traditions and customs vary by residence, day house and faculty.
University Anthem
s and Springboks.The University sports facilities, the LC de Villiers sports grounds, were developed on an area of 760,000 m².
Rugby is a particularly popular sport, and there are competitions between residences, faculties, and the University participates in the National Club Championships, Carlton Cup and the FNB Varsity Cup
Rugby Union
tournament, involving the top 8 rugby playing universities in the South Africa.
Pretoria University F.C. participates in the National First Division
football (soccer) tournament as well as in the Nedbank Cup
. Historically the university's major intervarsity rival has been the University of Johannesburg
.
Alumni in commerce include several CEO's of JSE Top 50 and American Fortune 500
companies. Dr. Anton Rupert
was a South African entrepreneur, businessman and conservationist. He was honoured as Tukkie of the century, former chancellor of the university, and a major benefactor of the university. Marius Kloppers is the international CEO of BHP Billiton
, the world's largest mining
company and named by CNN Money as the world's 18th most powerful person in business. Johan De Nysschen was the former President at Audi Japan and is the current President of Audi America. Russell Loubser is the CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Meyer Kahn is the Chairman of SAB Miller the second largest brewer in the world.
Alumni in law include several Judges of the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court as well as serving as United United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the United Nations International Law Commission. Johann van der Westhuizen
is a judge in the Constitutional Court
of South Africa
. He was appointed to the bench in 2004 by Thabo Mbeki
.He was previously a professor a the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law and the founding director of the university's Centre for Human Rights
. He currently sits on the board of the Centre for Human Rights and the University of Pretoria Council.. Johann Kriegler
is a former Constitutional Court
and Appeal Court
judge from South Africa
. Christof Heyns
is a former Director (1999-2006) of the Centre for Human Rights
, is a Professor of Human Rights Law, Co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria and United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.Dire Tladi
is a former Principal State Law Adviser for International Law for the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation , legal advisor to the South Africa Mission to the United Nations
and member of the United Nations International Law Commission.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
research university located in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, the administrative and de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
capital of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
based Transvaal University College
Transvaal University College
Transvaal University College is a former name of two universities in South Africa:* The University of the Witwatersrand was named the Transvaal University College from 1906 to 1910....
and has grown from the original 32 students in a single late Victorian house to approximately 39,000 in 2010. The University was built on 7 suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an campuses on 1120ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(2767acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
).
The University is organised into nine faculties and a business school. Establsihed in 1920, the University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science is the second oldest veterinary school
Veterinary school
A veterinary school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, which is involved in the education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian one must first complete a veterinary degree A veterinary school should not be confused with a department of animal science...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the only veterinary school in South Africa. In 1949 the university launched the first MBA programme outside of North America and the university's Gordon Institute of Business Science
Gordon Institute of Business Science
Gordon Institute of Business Science is the business school of the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg, South Africa and a leading South African business school. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial business hub...
(GIBS) has consistently been ranked the top business school in Africa for executive education (open), as well as being placed in the top 50 in the world. In 2011 the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
ranked the GIBS Executive MBA 1st in Africa and 67th in the world.
Since 1997, the university has produced more research outputs every year than any other institution of higher learning in South Africa, as measured by the Department of Education's accreditation benchmark. In 2008 the university awarded 15.8% of all masters and doctorate degrees in South Africa, the highest percentage in the country.
In post-nominals the University of Pretoria is typically abbreviated as Pret or UP, although Pretoria is also used in official publications.
Foundational years: 1889–1929
The proposal for a university for the capital, first mooted in the Volksraad in 1889, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War in 1899. In 1902 after the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging, the Normal College for teacher training was established in Groenkloof, Pretoria and in 1904 the Transvaal Technical Institute, with emphasis on mining education, opened in Johannesburg. In 1906 the Transvaal Technical Institute changed its name to the Transvaal University College. On 4 March 1908 when the Transvaal University College (TUC) transferred its arts and science courses to its newly established PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
Campus the precursor to the university was established, initially offering courses in languages, sciences, and law.
Instruction commenced with 32 students, 4 professors and 3 lecturers in the Kya Rosa, 270 Skinner Street a late Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
residence purchased from Leo Weinthal the then owner of The Press (forerunner to the Pretoria News
Pretoria News
Pretoria News is a daily newspaper based in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa....
Newspaper). The first four professors were Prof H. Th. Reinink (Dutch), J. Purves (Scottish), D.F. du Toit Malherbe (South African) and A.C. Paterson (Scottish), who would also become the first Vice-Chancellor
In 1910 the Colonial Secretary, General Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
tabled the act constituting the university as a separate entity before the Transvaal Parliament, the "Transvaalse Universiteits-Inlijvingswet" Law 1 of 1910. On 17 May 1910 the Johannesburg and Pretoria campuses separated, each becoming an independent institution. The Johannesburg campus being reincorporated as the South African School of Mines and Technology, while the Pretoria campus retained the name of Transvaal University College until 1930. The South African School of Mines and Technology would later go on to become the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
in 1922. In 1910 the TUC acquired its own campus in the East of Pretoria, what is now the western part of the university’s main campus in Hatfield. On 3 August 1910 Governor-General Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone laid the cornerstone of the Old Arts Building, the first building to be built on the newly established Hatfield campus. The building’s striking Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch are people of the Western Cape of South Africa who descended primarily from Dutch and Flemish as well as smaller numbers of French, German and other European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained...
and Neo-Romanesque architectural style was recognised in 1968 when it was declared a National Monument. During this time the colloquial name for the university, Tukkies or Tuks, was derived from the Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
acronym for the college i.e. Transvaalse Universiteits-Kollege (TUK).
The late 1910s and early 1920s saw the establishment of several faculties as the academic activities were expanded. Courses in agriculture (1917), theology (1918), economics and political science (1919), veterinary science (1920), and music (1923) were established as the institution grew.
Establishment and expansion years 1929-1982
On 10 October 1930 the University of Pretoria Private Act, No. 13 of 1930 changed the name of the TUC to the University of Pretoria. The TUC originally established as an English medium institution had evolved into the only fully bilingual university in South Africa and remained as such until the early 1930s. The rapid increase of Afrikaans speaking students brought about an imbalance between the demographics of students and the languages of instruction. By 1931, although 65% of students were Afrikaans speaking, 68% of the classes were conducted in English. In 1932 the University Council addressed the imbalance, deciding that Afrikaans would become the only medium of instruction. An increase in student numbers necessitated the building of new facilities such as the Club Hall and Administration Building (colloquially known as the ship) when the 7th faculty, the Medical Faculty, was established in 1943. This period further saw the establishment of numerous student activities such as the annual Spring Day event and intervarsity. Student publications established include the Trek in 1931, the first Rag Mag in 1936 and the weekly student newspaper, Die Perdeby in 1939. The period of 1948-1982 is characterised by the substantial increase in student numbers and physical growth of the university. The nearly doubling of student numbers demanded the physical expansion of the Hatfield campus and new buildings were built in quick succession as the campus grew eastward. In the mid 1960s, the university urgently required additional land and acquired the adjacent property of Christian Brothers' CollegeChristian Brothers' College, Mount Edmund
The Christian Brothers' College, Mount Edmund is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Pretoria, South Africa.-St Gabriel's :...
, Saint Gabriel's. This property now forms the eastern section of the Hatfield campus.
In 1949 the university founded the Graduate School of Management (GSM), the GSM MBA was the first MBA programme to be launched outside of North America.
Transformation years: 1982 & beyond
During the period of 1982 to 2008 the university transformed into a bilingual, multiracial and inclusive institution. The comparatively smooth introduction of students from all races formed the initial impetus for transformation and in 1989 the University was declared officially desegregated and opened for all races. In 1993 a policy document was introduced, aiming to position the university in a newly democratic South Africa. In 1994 the university regained its status as a bilingual university when a new language policy was adopted. In 1999 the only two veterinary science faculties in the country, those of the University of Pretoria and Medunsa were amalgamated and the university once again had the only veterinary faculty in South Africa. In 2000 the Teachers Training College Pretoria, formerly the Normal College, was incorporated into the university’s Faculty of Education, which saw the faculty moving to the self sufficient Groenkloof campus.The university’s business school in Illovo Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, the Gordon Institute of Business Science
Gordon Institute of Business Science
Gordon Institute of Business Science is the business school of the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg, South Africa and a leading South African business school. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial business hub...
, was established in January 2000 following a substantial contribution by Sir Donald Gordon, the founder of Liberty Life
Liberty Holdings Limited
Liberty Holdings Ltd is an African wealth management group based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Liberty has interests in life and health insurance, asset management and property development, with business operations in six other countries across Southern, East and West Africa.The group’s...
and Liberty International
Liberty International
Liberty International plc was a British property investment company. It switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007...
, and a major investment by the University of Pretoria following discussions started in 1998. The Business school follows on the university's now defunct Graduate School of Management's long tradition of MBA tuition and replaced it in January 2008.
Governance
| Faculty founding | |
|---|---|
| Faculty | Year founded |
| Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences | 1920 |
| Faculty of Education | 1902 |
| Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Information Technology | 1908 |
| Faculty of Health Sciences | 1943 |
| Faculty of Humanities | 1908 |
| Faculty of Law | 1908 |
| Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences | 1917 |
| Faculty of Theology | 1919 |
| Faculty of Veterinary Science | 1920 |
| Gordon Institute of Business Science Gordon Institute of Business Science Gordon Institute of Business Science is the business school of the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg, South Africa and a leading South African business school. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial business hub... |
2000 |
As set out in the Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997, the university is governed by the Council with the Vice-Chancellor & Principal
Cheryl de la Rey
Cheryl Merle de la Rey is the vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She was installed as vice-chancellor in November 2009, replacing Calie Pistorius...
responsible for the day-to-day administration of the university.
The university's academic activities are divided into nine faculties and one business school. Whilst the faculties comprise of 140 departments and 85 institutes, bureaus and centres.
Campus
The university’s main campus and central administration offices are situated in the suburb of HatfieldHatfield, Pretoria
Hatfield is a suburb in Pretoria with a high density of students and student accommodation due to hosting the University of Pretoria's main campus...
, Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and houses six of the nine faculties. The campus, bordered by the suburb of Brooklyn
Brooklyn, Pretoria
Brooklyn is a suburb of the city of Pretoria, South Africa. It is a well-established area, lying to the east of the city centre, encompassing high-end residential properties and several upmarket mall developments. It borders the University of Pretoria to its north and the suburbs of Groenkloof and...
to the south and Hatfield to the north, was built over 24 hectares and has more than 60 buildings of historical value.
Adjacent to the Hatfield campus is the LC de Villiers Sport Grounds & High Performance Centre which were developed on an area of 76 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
. The university's High Performance Centre, which was established in 2002 has become the favoured location for the pre-departure camps of Team South Africa in addition to being chosen by several national and international federations as their preferred specialisation centre. Adjacent to the sport grounds is the university's experimental farm, which is used to conduct field experiments for the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The campus will be connected to the Gautrain
Gautrain
Gautrain is an mass rapid transit railway system in Gauteng Province, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, and OR Tambo International Airport...
rapid rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg with the completion of Hatfield station and rail link in 2011.
Museums
The university’s art collection consists primarily of paintings, sculptures and graphic works by South African artists including the likes of Jacobus Hendrik PierneefJacobus Hendrik Pierneef
Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef Pretoria, was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters...
, Gregoire Boonzaier, William Kentridge
William Kentridge
William Kentridge is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. These are constructed by filming a drawing, making erasures and changes, and filming it again. He continues this process meticulously, giving each change to the drawing a quarter of a second to two...
and Sam Ngethwa. The collection also incorporates artworks by renowned international artists among others such as Max Pechstein
Max Pechstein
Hermann Max Pechstein was a German expressionist painter and printmaker, and a member of Die Brücke group.-Life and career:...
, Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century...
, Max Lieberman, George Grosz
George Grosz
Georg Ehrenfried Groß was a German artist known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s...
, Otto Mueller
Otto Mueller
Otto Mueller or Müller was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement.-Life and work:...
, Rembrandt van Rijn, Thomas Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (painter)
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States...
and Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
.
The Old Arts Building was proclaimed a National Monument in 1968 and houses the Van Tilburg Collection, Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection and Mapungubwe Museum. The Van Tilburg Collection
Van Tilburg Collection
The Van Tilburg Collection is a permanent museum that comprises 17th and 18th century furniture, paintings, Delft ceramics and other works of art, and includes the largest South African collection of Chinese ceramic objects, of which the oldest date from the Chin Dynasty ....
is a permanent museum that comprises 17th & 18th century furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, paintings, Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
and other works of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, and includes the largest South African collection of Chinese ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
objects, from the Chin (221-206 B.C.), Han
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(202 B.C. – A.D. 220), Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(A.D. 618-906), Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(A.D. 960-1279), Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644) and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644–1912) dynasties.The university is the custodian of the collection of artifacts found at the Mapungubwe
Mapungubwe
After Mapungubwe's fall, it was forgotten until 1932. On New Year's Eve 1932, E. S. J. van Graan, a local farmer and prospector, and his son, a former student of the University of Pretoria, discovered the wealth of artifacts on top of the hill. They reported the find to Professor Leo...
National Park and World Heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and such display these artifacts in the Mapungubwe Museum
Mapungubwe Museum
The Mapungubwe Museumat the University of Pretoria houses the national treasures of Mapungubwe, South Africa, a 13th century Iron Age site in the Limpopo Valley and a World Heritage Site...
. Gold ornaments, ivory, bone, ceramic-ware, clay figurines, trade beads, iron and copper artifacts are on permanent public display. The Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection
Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection
The Van Gybland-Oosterhoff collection of the University of Pretoria in South Africa, donated by Dr Horace Hugo Alexander van Gybland Oosterhoff and accepted by the university on 14 March 1939, is the largest collection of objects, publications, memorabilia and photographs of historical interest,...
is a ceramic collection, donated by Dr Horace Hugo Alexander van Gybland Oosterhoff and accepted by the university on 14 March 1939, is the largest collection of objects, publications, memorabilia and photographs of historical interest, relating to Dutch culture outside of the Netherlands.
The Old Merensky Library houses the Edoardo Villa Museum. The Edoardo Villa Museum currently houses the largest collection of sculptures by the Italian artist Edoardo Villa and one South Africa's most renowned sculptors, who was mentored by Minotti
Minotti
Minotti was a Governor of Corinth, then under the power of the Doge. In 1715 the city was stormed by the Turks, and during the siege one of the magazines in the Turkish camp blew up, killing 600 men...
at the Scuola D’Arte Andrea Fontoniby.
The Van Wouw Museum
Van Wouw Museum
The Van Wouw Museum, housed in Anton Van Wouw's last residence, a Dutch national monument. Besides documents, photos, paintings and tools the exhibits are mainly bronze maquettes and casts of Van Wouw's sculptural work.-Anton van Wouw :...
is the largest collection of bronze, marble and plaster sculptures by the famous pioneer South African sculptor, Anton van Wouw (1862–1945). Van Wouw, who is widely regarded as the founder of traditional sculpture in South Africa, created masterful artworks portraying Boer figures and the indigenous peoples of South Africa. Besides documents, photos, paintings and tools the exhibits are mainly bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
maquette
Maquette
A maquette is a small scale model or rough draft of an unfinished architectural work or a sculpture...
s and casts of Van Wouw's sculptural work. The Van Wouw Museum is housed in Anton Van Wouw
Anton Van Wouw
Anton van Wouw was a Dutch-born sculptor regarded as the father of South African sculpture.-Biography:...
's last residence, a Dutch national monument.
The University's Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Discovery Centre, Sci-Enza, was officially launched in 1977. The Discovery Centre is an umbrella complex where young children, students and adults can explore the world of science, engineering and technology in a "play-as-you-learn" way. Activities at the Centre museum include: a Digital planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
; Exploratorium; Camera Obscura
Camera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
; Biological science exhibit; Botanical garden; Indigenous technology exhibit
Key places
Other campuses
- The Faculty of Veterinary Sciences was developed on the 65 hectares OnderstepoortOnderstepoortOnderstepoort is situated in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Its geographical coordinates are .Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute and the faculty of veterinary science of the University of Pretoria, founded by Sir Arnold Theiler, is also situated here...
campus, with buildings covering a total of 55 000 square meters 20 km north west of the Hatfield main campus. It's the only faculty in South Africa educating veterinarians and veterinary nurses. - The now defunct Vista UniversityVista UniversityVista University, South Africa was established in 1981 by the apartheid government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking tertiary education would be accommodated within the townships rather than on campuses reserved for other population groups ....
's Mamelodi campus was incorporated on 2 January 2004, as part of the restructuring of South African tertiary institutions. - Health Sciences are taught at the PrinshofPrinshofPrinshof is an area in Pretoria. It is the home of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Pretoria and the Steve Biko Hospital...
Campus, adjoining the Steve Biko Hospital (Formerly Pretoria Academic Hospital) the main healthcare training facility of the university. - The Faculty of Education is situated on the self-sufficient GroenkloofGroenkloofGroenkloof is a suburb of Pretoria, South Africa.The famous Little Company of Mary Hospital is situated in Groenkloof as well as the Education Faculty of the University of Pretoria. It is also home to other well known establishments,such as Groenkloof Spar, Café 41, Pride of India, Fumo...
campus. - The university's business school, the Gordon Institute of Business ScienceGordon Institute of Business ScienceGordon Institute of Business Science is the business school of the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg, South Africa and a leading South African business school. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial business hub...
(GIBS), is situated in a greenfieldGreenfield landGreenfield land is a term used to describe undeveloped land in a city or rural area either used for agriculture, landscape design, or left to naturally evolve...
campus in the IllovoIllovo, GautengIllovo is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It borders Hyde Park, Sandhurst, and Craighall Park. It is located in Region 3.Wanderers Stadium is located in Illovo, which is home to the Highveld Strikers, Johannesburg's cricket team....
Boulevard, mixed-use commercial node between the suburbs of RosebankRosebank, GautengRosebank is a cosmopolitan commercial and residential suburb in the northwestern part of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 3, and will be the location of a Gautrain station in 2011....
and Sandton in Johannesburg, with a satellite Inner City Campus on Pritchard Street.
- The WitbankWitbankWitbank , also known as eMalahleni is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the eMalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested...
and Hammanskraal satellite campuses, were established in 1988 and 1994 respectively and are used as additional practical facilities and for community engagement.
Library system
In 2006 the University established UPSpace
Upspace
UPSpace is the name of the open access digital institutional repository of the University of Pretoria, South Africa...
, its own open access digital research repository. and the university's library has since become one of 27 partners in the World Digital Library
World Digital Library
The World Digital Library is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide...
project. In January 2011 the Webometrics World Ranking of Institutional Repositories ranked UPeTD, the university's repository of electronic theses and dissertations, 133rd in the world.
Research
The university's achievements and performance in research locally and internationally, including its collaboration and cooperation with the private sector, industry, science councils, foundations and NGO’s, the large number of graduates that it produces (particularly doctoral and other postgraduate students) as well as scientists and engineers and its focus on innovation, contribute directly towards enhancing the South Africa's competitiveness. A 2010 report by Centre for Higher Education Transformation identified the university as a top research-intensive university in South Africa. The university is member of the CDIOCDIO
The CDIO™ INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers. The framework provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating real-world systems and products...
engineering education initiative and international collaboration.
SERA
In 1999 a strategic alliance was formed between the University of Pretoria and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the city of Pretoria...
(CSIR). This alliance, which is known as the Southern Education and Research Alliance (SERA), collaborates locally and internationally with universities, NGO’s, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. The SERA partners share a vision for a world-class, innovative and market responsive business that delivers appropriate information, facilitates knowledge connectivity through knowledge workers, links the best minds to create a global network, and protects intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
. Through their co-operation the alliance partners aim at fostering a non-exclusive academic, scientific and technological environment that will benefit all participants and the country as a whole. Sera has a 50% shareholding in the Innovation Hub, a fully accredited technology park situated on 60 hectares of the university's experimental farm.
Notable Research
- Centre for Human RightsCentre for Human RightsThe University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908 and consists of five academic departments, six centers, a law clinic and it's own publisher the Pretoria University Law Press...
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)
- African Centre for Genome TechnologiesAfrican Centre for Genome TechnologiesThe African Centre for Gene Technologies is located on the Experimental Farm of the University of Pretoria campus, and was established by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research , the University of Pretoria, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg and the...
Reputation and ranking
The QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
ranks the university as follows:
| Year | World rank | Art & Humanities | Engineering & IT | Life Sciences | Natural Sciences | Social Sciences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 451-500 | 351-400 | 351-400 | — | — | 351-400 |
| 2009 | 401-500 | — | 291 | — | — | — |
| 2008 | 501+ | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | 469 | 405 | 368 | 367 | 357 | 290 |
| Financial Times World Ranking | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive MBA | |||||
| 67 | |||||
| Executive Education Customised | 49 | 51 | 41 | 38 | |
| Executive Education Open | 39 | 38 | 49 | 50 | 49 |
In January 2011 Webometrics
Webometrics
The science of webometrics tries to measure the World Wide Web to get knowledge about the number and types of hyperlinks, structure of the World Wide Web and usage patterns...
ranked the university as the 2nd in South Africa and Africa.
Student life
Residence is provided to students in 24 undergraduate and post graduate residences and 3 post graduate only residences spread over the University's campuses. The first students of the Transvaal University College, resided in the Kya Rosa, a Victorian house in Skinner Street. In 1915, the first male residence Kollegetehuis was constructed on the Hatfield campus and the first female residence Asterhof in 1925. In 1916 Dutch Reformed Church established the Sonop Christelike Tehuis aiming to provide accommodation to the male students of the University, the private residence enjoys an official recognition agreement with University authorities. Students not living in a University residence can join one of four Day Houses which gives them the opportunity to partake in organised student life activities.
Student organisations
Approximately more than 100 student clubs and organisations operate on the university campus. These include numerous student government, service providers, and service organizations. The most prominent amongst these are the Student Parliament, Student Representative Council, and Constitutional Tribunal (Student Court). The Student Parliament is the plenary body of student governance and determines the wider mandate for student governance. The Student Representative Council (SRC) is the executive body of student governance and subsequently charters and provides most of the funding for other student groups, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. The SRC is the residential student government, specializing in programming, policy, and facilities and services. Societies are registered in the following categories as catering for religious, political, social, cultural, academic and other. The Constitutional Tribunal adjudicates disputes primarily between student organisations and its judge’s sit on the panel of student disciplinary hearings. The various service providers are the university’s primary programming organisations, serving as a centre of social, cultural, intellectual and recreational life.
Student activities
- The university started the tradition of RAG (student society)RAG (student society)University Rag societies are student-run charitable fundraising organisations that are widespread in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Most universities in the UK and Ireland, as well as some in South Africa and the Netherlands have a Rag...
in South Africa in 1925 - The university's Springday celebrations (a declared university holiday) are held annually on the second Wednesday of September and are only second to the annual rag festivities.
- The amphitheatre hosts the annual Ienkmelodienk song and dance competition between the first years of the various residences and day houses in January.
- The annual Serenade and Serrie singing competitions between the residences and day houses are held in the Musaion and Aula theatres in July / August and April / May respectively. The winners of the Serenade competition go on to represent the university at the National Serenade competition.
- The university’s Drama Department hosts the annual week long Krêkvars Arts Festival each July in the intimate Bok, Lier and Masker theatres on the Hatfield campus. The festival has transformed from an event started in 2000 and centred around the Drama honours students’ Directing course to an open festival where other students and the public at large are encouraged to put on productions.
- The university maintains the: UP Symphony Orchestra (UPSO), the only comprehensive student orchestra in Pretoria frequently performing symphonic repertoire, UP Chorale, UP Brass Band, Tuks Camerata, UP Children's choir, UP Concert choir and the UP Youth choir. The university supports, and has been host to the annual National Youth OrchestraSouth African National Youth Orchestra FoundationThe South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation is a non-profit organisation in the music education and development sector. The Foundation supports the training and development of South Africa’s young musicians through national courses, national and international tours and workshops, and...
course for a number of years. - The university organises the annual SAE InternationalSAE InternationalSAE International is an organization for engineering professionals in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries. The Society is a standards development organization for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and others.SAE...
sanctioned student automotive engineering Baja SAEBaja SAEBaja SAE is an intercollegiate design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers . Teams of students from universities all over the world design and build small off-road cars. The cars all have engines of the same specifications...
competition in South Africa sponsored by SasolSasolSasol Ltd. is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synfuels. In particular, they produce petrol and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch process...
.
Student media
The Perdeby, the official university newspaper, was founded in 1939 and has a readership of approximately 30 000. Tuks FM
Tuks FM
Tuks FM is the radio station of the University of Pretoria and one of South Africa's most respected community broadcasters. In addition to its deeply impressive output of media professionals, many of whom have become household names in the world of radio and TV, it was also one of the first...
(107.2FM),the campus radio station, was established on 9 February 1981 and is run by university students out of the university's Student Centre.
Civic engagement
Civic service and outreach programmes are performed in the fields in which the University has proven competencies. These fields include professional associations, business and management and are performed in underdeveloped or developing communities.
Traditions
It is common belief that if a blossom from a Jacaranda
Jacaranda
Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is also found in Asia, especially in Nepal...
tree falls on your head you will do well in the end of year exams. Other traditions and customs vary by residence, day house and faculty.
University Anthem
- Our country's pride and hope we bear
- Proud students of UP
- To celebrate the fame of our land
- Faithful we shall stand
- To lead, to serve our nation
- To follow our vocation
- Alma mater source of light
- Inspire to noble heights
- Ad destinatum persequor
- Ad destinatum persequor
- We're bound by the cord of blue, red and gold
- Ad destinatum persequor
- Ad destinatum persequor
- Ad destinatum persequor
- We're bound by the cord of blue, red and gold
- Ad destinatum persequor.
Sport
The University maintains a long tradition of student participation in sport and recreation. The University has 30 registered sport clubs and 10 academies, in which 9 000 students annually participate in on a competitive and recreational level, more than 1 000 volunteers are involved in sport in various designations and capacities. In 2007 University of Pretoria produced 93 Senior ProteaProtea
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
s and Springboks.The University sports facilities, the LC de Villiers sports grounds, were developed on an area of 760,000 m².
Rugby is a particularly popular sport, and there are competitions between residences, faculties, and the University participates in the National Club Championships, Carlton Cup and the FNB Varsity Cup
FNB Varsity Cup
The FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International is an annual South African Rugby Union tournament that involves the top 8 rugby playing universities in the country....
Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
tournament, involving the top 8 rugby playing universities in the South Africa.
Pretoria University F.C. participates in the National First Division
National First Division
The National First Division is the second-highest league of South African club football after the Premier Soccer League . Both the NFD and PSL are organised by the National Soccer League.-For seasons in 2007-11:...
football (soccer) tournament as well as in the Nedbank Cup
Nedbank Cup
The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club football knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance to compete with clubs from the top league for the cup...
. Historically the university's major intervarsity rival has been the University of Johannesburg
University of Johannesburg
The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Technikon Witwatersrand and the Rand Afrikaans University . Prior to the merger, the Daveyton and Soweto campuses of the former Vista University had been incorporated into RAU...
.
Alumni and people
The university in its more than a century of academic service has delivered more than 200 000 alumni. Through its enduring servitude it has become the largest contributor to graduates in South Africa. During the 2007 academic year, approximately 11 500 students graduated with a degree and diploma, and about 18 000 persons attended the university's comprehensive offering of short courses through its continuing education programme.Alumni in commerce include several CEO's of JSE Top 50 and American Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies. Dr. Anton Rupert
Anton Rupert
Dr. Anthony Edward Rupert was an Afrikaner South African billionaire entrepreneur, businessman and conservationist. He was born and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. He studied in Pretoria and ultimately moved to Stellenbosch, where he established the Rembrandt Group ...
was a South African entrepreneur, businessman and conservationist. He was honoured as Tukkie of the century, former chancellor of the university, and a major benefactor of the university. Marius Kloppers is the international CEO of BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
, the world's largest mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
company and named by CNN Money as the world's 18th most powerful person in business. Johan De Nysschen was the former President at Audi Japan and is the current President of Audi America. Russell Loubser is the CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Meyer Kahn is the Chairman of SAB Miller the second largest brewer in the world.
Alumni in law include several Judges of the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court as well as serving as United United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the United Nations International Law Commission. Johann van der Westhuizen
Johann van der Westhuizen
Johann van der Westhuizen is a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the bench in 2004 by Thabo Mbeki. He was previously a professor a the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law and the founding director of the Centre for Human Rights...
is a judge in the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He was appointed to the bench in 2004 by Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
.He was previously a professor a the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law and the founding director of the university's Centre for Human Rights
Centre for Human Rights
The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908 and consists of five academic departments, six centers, a law clinic and it's own publisher the Pretoria University Law Press...
. He currently sits on the board of the Centre for Human Rights and the University of Pretoria Council.. Johann Kriegler
Johann Kriegler
Johann Christiaan Kriegler is a former Constitutional Court and Appeal Court judge from South Africa.-Early life:Born in Pretoria, he matriculated at King Edward Vll School in Johannesburg in 1949. He then attended the South African Military Academy for two years. He studied law at the University...
is a former Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
and Appeal Court
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
The Supreme Court of Appeal is an appellate court in South Africa; it is the highest appeal court except in constitutional matters, which are ultimately decided by the Constitutional Court...
judge from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Christof Heyns
Christof Heyns
Christof Heyns is a Professor of Human Rights Law, Co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria and United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.-Education:...
is a former Director (1999-2006) of the Centre for Human Rights
Centre for Human Rights
The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908 and consists of five academic departments, six centers, a law clinic and it's own publisher the Pretoria University Law Press...
, is a Professor of Human Rights Law, Co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria and United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.Dire Tladi
Dire Tladi
Dire Tladi is a South African professor of international law. He has served as the Principal State Law Adviser for International Law for the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation and South Africa Mission to the United Nations....
is a former Principal State Law Adviser for International Law for the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation , legal advisor to the South Africa Mission to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and member of the United Nations International Law Commission.
Further reading
- Duffey, Alexander et al. The Art & Heritage Collections of the University of Pretoria (2008)
- van der Watt, F. Rectores Magnifici (2003). 196pp. ISBN 978-1-86919-043-9
- Roodt, P.H., ed. Amfiteater: skrywerstemme van oud-Tukkies (2008) Protea Boekhuis
- Botha, M.C. Foundation stone laid at the University of Pretoria (1942) UPSpace at the University of Pretoria: Hoeksteenlegging by Universiteit van Pretoria