Vista University,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

was established in 1981 by the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking

tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

would be accommodated within the

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

rather than on campuses reserved for other population groups.

Campuses

Its campuses were based in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

Daveyton Daveyton is a township in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality of Gauteng in South Africa. It borders Etwatwa to the north-east, Springs to the south and Benoni to the south-west. The nearest town is Benoni, which is approximately 18 kilome ...

(East Rand),

Mamelodi Mamelodi, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Etymology "Mamelodi" is the name derived from the Sepedi word with the prefix be ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

, Sebokeng,

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a ...

and

Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The ci ...

. The administrative head office and the Distance Education Campus (VUDEC) were located in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

Expansion

In the late 1990s to early 2000s the Vista University and the University of Central Florida Consortium developed a mutually interactive program designed to: 1) Create a technologically based distance education program sensitive to local challenges, including the enhancement of Vista University's Distance Education Campus Student Support Centres 2) Enhance the capacity of various programs, including the Sociology program and academic staff through appropriate education instruction models, curriculum development, media-based instruction and research agendas.

Closure

The university closed as part of a broader reorganisation of South African universities in the early to mid 2000s . Its facilities and some members of the staff have been merged into other universities, including: * the

Nelson Mandela University Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as ''Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)'' ) and before that - the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus. This South Afr ...

, * the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...

, * the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the ...

, * the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

, * the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

(VUDEC) and * the

Vaal University of Technology Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is a tertiary institution in South Africa. It attracts students from all over the country. It is one of the largest residential Universities of Technology, with about 25,000 students, 300 programs, all primari ...

Notable staff and alumni

* Paul Avis, 1970s professional tennis player and clinical psychologist *

Mark Behr Mark Behr (19 October 1963 – 27 November 2015) was a Tanzanian-born writer who grew up in South Africa. He was professor of English literature and creative writing at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee. He also taught in the MA program at the U ...

, author *

Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, ...

, CEO of

SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world ...

Kenny Kunene Kenny Kunene (born 21 October 1970) is a South African ex-convict, businessman and former Secretary-General of the Patriotic Alliance. While working as a high school English teacher, Kunene opened a shebeen selling alcohol after work and began e ...

, businessman * Mcebisi Jonas, Deputy Finance Minister *

Mimy Matimbe Lt Col Mimy Matimbe is an officer in the South African Army and was appointed as the first female Commanding Officer in the South African Army Artillery Formation when she took over command of 4 Artillery Regiment on 7 April 2017. Early life M ...

, Commander

4 Artillery Regiment 4 Artillery Regiment is based at Potchefstroom, responsible for the training of soldiers allotted to Field and Medium Artillery. History Origins Under the UDF On May 28, 1945, authority was granted for the formation of 4 Field Artillery as ...

Roy Matube Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

, Union Chairperson-Vista nationality *

Ignatius Makgoka Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Religious * Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop * Ignatius of Constantinople (797–877), Cath ...

, Chief Information Technology Officer and businessman *

Buyisiwe Sondezi Buyisiwe Sondezi is a South African physicist. She was the first woman in Africa to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in experimental physics of highly correlated matter when she graduated at University of Johannesburg on 23 September 2014. A ...

, first woman in Africa to earn a PhD in Experimental physics

References

{{Authority control Defunct universities and colleges in South Africa Distance education institutions based in South Africa Educational institutions established in 1981 1981 establishments in South Africa Organisations associated with apartheid Year of disestablishment missing