The University of Johannesburg was established on 1 December 2005. It is the result of the incorporation of the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University into the Rand Afrikaans University, which took place on 1 January 2004, and the merger of the Rand Afrikaans University (into which the two Vista campuses had been incorporated) and the Technikon Witwatersrand on 1 January 2005, to create the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The Technikon Witwatersrand had been in existence since 1925, the Rand Afrikaans University since 1967 and the Vista University since 1982. UJ has five campuses spread over Central Gauteng: the Auckland Park Kingsway Campus (the main campus), the Doornfontein Campus, the Auckland Park Bunting Road Campus, the Soweto Campus and the East Rand Campus. With over 40,000 full-time students and 2700 permanent employees, it is one of the largest residential universities in South Africa.

The incorporation and merger which led to the establishment of the University of Johannesburg was part of a major programme of restructuring of higher education in South Africa. The National Plan for Higher Education, published in 2001, charted a course for a major revamp of South African higher education institutions. The most important consequence of the restructuring exercise conducted by the Department of Education was the reduction of thirty-six universities and technikons into twenty-two higher education institutions. This reduction was achieved by mergers and incorporations of existing higher education institutions, the planning and implementation of which was executed in 2002-2004. The final decision of the Minister for Education on the restructuring of higher education institutions was published as Government Notice 855 in the Government Gazette of 21 June 2002. As a result of the restructuring exercise South Africa now has eleven traditional universities (offering traditional formative degree programmes), five universities of technology (offering vocational and professional programmes) and six ‘comprehensive institutions’ (offering both formative degree programmes and vocational programmes).

Michael Francis Dutton, B.Tech., PhD, DSc, emeritus Professor, University of Natal, is a research professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Faculty of Health Sciences.  He is the director of the Food, Environmental and Health Research group, which trains post graduate students ranging from Bachelor in Technology, Masters and Doctorates in Technology.   He has 45 years experience in microbial and mycotoxin research and has cover a wide range of topics in these areas, including: biosynthesis of mycotoxins; analysis of mycotoxins; relationship between fungi and mycotoxin production; commercial surveys of crops and foods; surveys of rural areas for fungi and mycotoxins in food and air and microbial contamination of water; the role of fungi and mycotoxins rural chronic disease and other health issues; and the improvement of commodities and food through better storage and treatments; the effect of mycotoxins on cell cultures and isolated lymphocytes with particular reference to microarray methodology.  He has published 66 papers in peer reviewed journals and has 7 chapters in books.  In 2007 he was invited to join the EU Framework 6 Biotracer programme as a South African associate.