UFS History



EXPLORE A CENTURY OF HISTORY

The UFS has become a respected, well-known institution since its founding in 1904.

For close to 120 years, it has grown to become a multi-campus university contributing to local, national, and international knowledge production, remaining relevant in a challenging and ever-changing higher education landscape.  



1900s: The beginning years

2000s: Change and growth



1900s

 
1904
- Founded as Grey University College (GUC)
- First Rector: J Brill
- Language medium: English (1904 is the date when the university became a separate tertiary institution. Grey College, the school from which it developed, was founded in 1855.)

1906
- First Senate established
1909
- Main Building completed
- First men’s residence, House Abraham Fischer, completed
 
1911 - First subject taught in Dutch
1913 - First intervarsity
1918 - Faculties of Science and Arts established
- Prof DF Malherbe became first professor of Afrikaans
- Language medium: English and Afrikaans

1919 - First women’s residence, President Steyn, completed
1920 - Second Rector: JD Kestell 
- Recruitment campaign for financial survival
1923 - Reitz dining hall built
- First ‘Rag’ festival
 
1925 - Commencement of evening lectures
1928 - Third Rector: GM Hofmeyr
1929 - Fourth Rector: DF Malherbe
- GUC adopted a Christian Afrikaans character

1930 - Number of departments: 22
1934 - Fifth Rector: RB Saayman
- Campaign for 50/50 Afrikaans/English language medium
 
1935 - Renamed University College of the Orange Free State (UCOFS)
1938 - Faculty of Commerce established 
1944 - Irawa student newspaper launched
1945 - Faculties of Law, Education, and Social Sciences established

1946 - Sixth Rector: H vd M Scholtz 
- University adopted a Christian-National character
- Growth phase started with a major building programme and fundraising
1948 - Dual-medium instruction phased out in favour of Afrikaans only
1950 - Renamed the University of the Orange Free State (UOFS)
- First honorary doctorate awarded: GLP Moerdyk (DLitt)
 
1953 - Die Bult publication launched
- Library building built (later Johannes Brill Building)
1954 - Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences established
1958 - Faculty of Agriculture established
1959 - Seventh Rector: PWG Groenewoud

1962 - DF Malherbe Hostel built (later Villa Bravado)
1963 - Agriculture Building and Emily Hobhouse Hostel built
1965 - Theology Building built
1966 - Odeion and West Block built
 
1967 - Eighth Rector: B Kok (Students: 4 440)
- Growth phase started with new buildings and hostels, roads on campus, and sports facilities
1969 - Faculty of Health Sciences established
- Idalia Loots became first female professor
1970 - CR Swart Building completed

1973 - George du Toit Administration Building completed
1974 - Flippie Groenewoud Building completed
- Karee Hostel Pedal Prix launched
1975 - Callie Human Centre and Stabilis lecture halls completed
 
1976 - Ninth Rector: WL Mouton
- Medical Faculty Building completed (later Francois Retief Building)
- More than 90 separate university departments
1978 - Sello Ishmael Mokotjo became first black undergraduate student at UOFS
- First black postgraduate students admitted
- Benedictus Kok Student Centre completed
- ‘Mooimeisiesfontein’ developed

1980 - Faculty of Theology established
1983 - UOFS-Sasol Library Building completed
- Wynand Mouton Theatre completed
1985 - FARMOVS clinical research facility founded
1986 - Shimla Park sports facility completed
- Simon Mdluli first black recipient of PhD
 
1989 - Tenth Rector: FP Retief
1990 - Chancellor: JS Stegmann
1991 - Odeion String Quartet founded
1993 - Language Policy: parallel-medium education (Afrikaans and English)
- First black Council member: Prof Benito Khotseng
1994 - First coloured Council member: Rev Kiepie Jaftha



1996  - Chancellor: WL Mouton
1997 - Eleventh Rector: SF Coetzee
- Transformation started to gain momentum
1998 - Faculty of the Humanities established
1999 - Chancellor: Winkie Direko

Back to top

2000s
 
2000 - Turnaround strategy implemented to achieve financial sustainability
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences established
2001 - Renamed University of the Free State (UFS)  
- Honorary doctorate: NR Mandela (late former South African President – LLD)
       



2003 - Twelfth Rector: FCvN Fourie
- Qwaqwa Campus incorporated
- Increased academic depth
- Thakaneng Bridge completed
- First female SRC President: Anchen Laubscher 
 
2004 - South Campus (former Vista University Bloemfontein Campus) incorporated
- Centre for Business Dynamics launched
- Centenary Complex completed
2005 - Central Student Representative Council (CSRC) established, representing students from all three university campuses
2006 - UFS aligned key areas of academic and research efforts with national priorities
- First black female director appointed: Mrs Refiloe Seane
- Biggest construction contract in history of UFS – refurbishing and extending Chemistry Building

2007 - Comprehensive transformation plan approved
- UFS Council approved racial integration of residences with overwhelming majority
2008 - Closure of controversial Reitz Hostel after defamatory anti-integration video; establishment of Institute for Diversity in its place
- Faculty of Education established
2009 - Thirteenth Rector: J Jansen
- UFS Choir won International Music Festival Competition in Prague
- Extensive building projects launched on Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa campuses
 
2010 - Development of a new brand for the UFS 
- Drive to make campuses more accessible for people with disabilities
- Sculptures-on-campus initiative launched, featuring works by leading local artists
- Kovsies crowned USSA Tennis Champions

       



2011 - UFS received World Universities Forum Award for Best Practice in Higher Education
- UFS doctors made history by implanting special new aortic valve
- UFS School of Open Learning established on South Campus – opening up access to higher education studies
- Postgraduate School launched – bringing research-based education in line with national priorities
- No Student Hungry Project launched

 
2012 - UFS 101 core curriculum programme launched – focusing on aspects of citizenship and entrepreneurship for all students
- Shimlas Rugby celebrated 100 years
- UFS launched Schools Partnership Programme to turn ineffective schools into institutions producing outstanding results
- International Studies Group (ISG) established for high-calibre postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows

2013 - UFS selected as one of four South African universities to benefit from a multimillion dollar programme of the US-based Kresge Foundation
- Clinical Skills Simulation Unit opened by Faculty of Health Sciences
- UFS became first African manufacturer of eye-tracking devices
- UFS Naval Hill Planetarium – first digital planetarium in sub-Saharan Africa, opened
- UFS recognised as leading higher education institution for students with disabilities
- SARChI Research Chair awarded: Solid State Luminescent and Advanced Materials (Prof Hendrik Swart)
- SARChI Research Chair awarded: Higher Education and Human Development (Prof Melanie Walker)
 
2014 - UFS Internet Broadcast Project, providing assistance to school learners, won international award
- Kovsie student Elzane van den Bergh crowned Deaf Miss South Africa
- Kovsie medical student Rolene Strauss won Miss World title
- UFS NRF research funding doubled from previous year

2015 - UFS offered SA’s first master’s degree in Social Cohesion and Reconciliation
- Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) launched
- Kovsie student Wayde van Niekerk won gold in 400 m in IAAF World Championship
- Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre opened
 
2016 - SARChI Research Chair awarded: Disease Resistance and Quality in Field Crops (Prof Maryke Labuschagne)
- SARChI Research Chair awarded: Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Pathogens (Prof Felicity Burt)
- UFS giraffe conservation research project featured in National Geographic documentary ‘Last of the Longnecks’

2017 - Fourteenth Rector: F Petersen
- Language of instruction changed to English
- Prof Abdon Atangana published highest cited Math paper in the world
 
2018 - Solar charging stations launched as part of wide-ranging sustainability measures on all three campuses
- Pharmacology student Innocensia Mangoato won prestigious Women in Science award
- Cardiac simulation laboratory added to the UFS’ expanding medical simulation technology
- Centre for Teaching and Learning playing leading role in academic advising nationally

2019  - Agribusiness Transformation Programme launched to develop black emerging farmers and agri-entrepreneurs
- Kovsie alumna Karla Pretorius named best netball player in the world
- Kovsies Multilingual Mokete launched
- Kovsie tennis team crowned best student team for ninth year in a row

 
2020 - Global COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown instated in South Africa; UFS adopted online/blended approach to learning and teaching 
- #NoStudentLeftBehind initiative launched, using advanced data analytics to ensure student participation in online learning
- Prof Willem Boshoff, Senior Professor in Department of Fine Arts, received A2 rating from National Research Foundation (NRF)
- Africa’s largest microscope facility for undergraduate students established at UFS
- First virtual graduation ceremonies
- SARChI Research Chair awarded: City-Region Economies (Prof Ivan Turok)

2021 - Prof Maxim Finkelstein, Outstanding Professor in Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, received South Africa’s first A-rating in Probability, Statistics and Operations Research from the NRF
- Dr Matteo Grilli (Political History), affiliated with the UFS International Studies Group, was awarded a top P-rating from the NRF
- Prof Melanie Walker (Higher Education and Human Development) was awarded an A1 rating by the NRF for a second time
- Academy for Multilingualism established
- UFS alumna and staff member Louzanne Coetzee won silver and bronze medals at the Paralympics
- UFS Netball team crowned Varsity Netball champions
 
2022 - UFS ranked among world’s best universities in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings
 - Launch of African Languages Press, promoting preservation of marginalised African languages
- Prof Abdon Atangana ranked as South Africa’s top mathematician
- Department of Nuclear Medicine successfully treats advanced stage prostate cancer
- Department of Pharmacology and FARMOVS conduct first SAHPRA-approved clinical trial of plant-based treatment for COVID-19 
- Innovative UFS Science Education facility opened, enabling creative scientific interaction 

Back to top




We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept