Making a mark: Wits School of Construction Economics and Management and its contribution to the construction and property fields

Author

Samuel Laryea

Author

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski

Author

Bongi Mphuti

Synopsis

During the 2022 centenary celebrations of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), it became strikingly clear that the rich history and societal contributions of the Wits School of Construction Economics and Management (SCEM) had remained largely undocumented. This revelation sparked a comprehensive effort to uncover and preserve the School’s legacy – its origins, evolutions and impacts on the South African and global construction industry.

While a handful of historical accounts had surfaced over the years – from JS Lewis’s 1953 retrospective and Monte Bryer’s 1976 faculty history, to Calderwood’s departmental reflection and Graeme Jay’s 2011 curriculum study – no complete narrative had yet captured the SCEM’s pivotal role in shaping Quantity Surveying and Building Science education in South Africa.

In this landmark volume, three scholars at Wits set out to fill that void. Drawing on University archives, interviews with influential alumni and academics, and a deep analysis of the SCEM’s engagement with professional councils and industry stakeholders, they offer a detailed and compelling portrait of the School’s contributions to higher education and the built environment industry.

This book stands as both a tribute to the visionary educators and students who shaped the SCEM and a vital record of Wits’ enduring and inculcating legacy in advancing knowledge, practice and transformation in the construction industry.

Chapters

Foreword

Thokozani Majozi
Preface

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Genesis of this book

Bongi Mphuti, Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 1
Forged in gold: The formation of Johannesburg and its built environment

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 2
The birth of formal training for quantity surveyors and architects

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 3
Focus on quantity surveying

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 4
Developments after the Second World War

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 5
Students show their mettle in the 1950s

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 6
The 1960s and 1970s: Resistance and growth

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 7
The pre-democracy era

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 8
A new dawn in South Africa

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 9
The School of Construction Economics and Management is born in the millennium

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Chapter 10
2011 until 2020: Focus turns to academics

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Samuel Laryea
Chapter 11
Shaping the present: The School of Construction Economics and Management from 2021 onwards

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 12
Growth for the future

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 13
Statistical collation of the School of Construction Economics and Management graduates from 1930 to 2024

Bongi Mphuti, Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Chapter 14
Building Johannesburg: Stories behind the bricks

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski
Appendix 1
Heads of the School

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Appendix 2
Lecturer list

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Appendix 3
In their own words

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Appendix 4
Selected work by students and lecturers

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Appendix 5
Inaugural addresses

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti
Appendix 6
Graduation and staff photographs (1976–2018)

Alexandra Smit-Stachowski, Bongi Mphuti

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ISBN-13 (15)

978-1-990982-28-6