Since 1922 we have been curating and publishing innovative research that informs debate for the greater good of society. The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg was born when the South
African School of Mines and Technology was awarded University status by an Act of Parliament, becoming operational on 1 March 1922. At its first Senate meeting on 27 March 1922, a proposal for the formation of ‘The University of the Witwatersrand Press’ was accepted by the Principal, Jan Hofmeyr. Of course, things have changed since then. The Press (since 2002 simply called ‘Wits University Press’) started publishing manuscripts by academic authors from around the world, and in the 1980s became renowned as a publisher of engaged political and historical works. However, Wits Press’s publishing programme was much broader and included genres such as theatre, palaeontology, archaeology, literary studies and selected textbooks. After 1994 there was a trend towards ‘cross-over’ books, which are still based on serious academic research and subjected to peer-review but appeal to both academic and general readers.
