List of University of Johannesburg people
# List of University of Johannesburg people

This is an incomplete list of notable alumni and faculty (past and present) of the University of Johannesburg including notable people from the merger of the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) and Vista University into the University of Johannesburg.

## Alumni

### Athletes

| Name | Class year | Notability |
| - | - | - |
| Lisa-Marie Deetlefs | N/A | South African Olympic field hockey player |
| Zaid Timol | N/A | South African rugby player who plays for the Lions |
| Uzair Docrat | N/A | South African basketball player |
| Thornton McDade | N/A | South African Olympic field hockey player |
| Caylib Oosthuizen | N/A | South African rugby player for the Tel Aviv Heat |
| Shireen Sapiro | N/A | South African Paralympic swimmer |
| Micheen Thornycroft | N/A | Zimbabwean Olympic rower |
| Francois Uys | N/A | South African rugby player who plays for the Free State Cheetahs |
| Irvette van Zyl | N/A | South African Olympic long-distance runner |
| Walter Venter | N/A | Former South African rugby player who represented the Golden Lions, Leopards, Falcons, Griquas and the Lions |
| Jano Vermaak | N/A | South African national rugby player |
| Adel Weir | N/A | South African squash player |

### Business

| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
| - | - | - | - |
| Zibusiso Mkhwanazi | 2005 | Entrepreneur | |
| Bridget van Kralingen | 1985 | Senior Vice President of IBM Global Business Services | |

### Politics

| Name | Year | Notability | Reference |
| - | - | - | - |
| Joseph Kabila | 2019 | Former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo | |

## Faculty

| Name | Class year | Field of expertise | Academic level | Notability |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Nicolaas Johannes Diederichs | N/A | Economics | Doctorate (Ph.D.) | First chancellor of the Rand Afrikaans University and Minister of Finance of South Africa (1967–1975) |
| Farid Esack | N/A | Religion | Professor | Islamic studies |
| Hendrik C. Ferreira | N/A | Engineering | Professor | NRF "A-rated" researcher specialising in Communication technologies, Information systems and technologies, Electronic engineering, Applied mathematics, Communication technologies & Information systems and technologies |
| Adam Habib | N/A | Political Science | Professor | Former deputy Vice Chancellor |
| Tshilidzi Marwala | N/A | Engineering | Professor | Known for extensive contributions to the field of mechanical engineering; received the Order of Mapungubwe in Bronze for outstanding contributions to, and inspirational achievements in, the field of engineering science |
| Gerrit Viljoen | N/A | Classical literature & Philosophy | Masters | First vice-chancellor of the Rand Afrikaans University, Minister of Education in South Africa (1980–1989), and Minister of Constitutional Development (1989–1992) |

## Honorary doctorates

The university may confer advanced degrees, including an honorary doctoral degree honoris causa as an academic award in any faculty. The university follows a conservative awards policy in order to emphasise the extraordinary and inherent value of the honorary doctorate.

| Name | Doctorate field | Year awarded | Notability |
| - | - | - | - |
| Richard Goldstone | Law | 2010 | Former Constitutional Court judge |
| Richard Maponya | Management | 2010 | Businessman |
| Willem Boshoff | Fine Arts | 2010 | South African artist |
| Aung San Suu Kyi | Literature | 2011 | Nobel Peace laureate |
| Barack Obama | Law | 2013 | 44th president of the United States |
| Kees Schouhamer Immink | Engineering | 2014 | Digital pioneer |
