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It gives the University of the Free State (UFS) great pleasure to announce that five honorary doctorates will be conferred during its graduation ceremonies that will take place on the Bloemfontein Campus from 19 to 22 April 2022 and on the Qwaqwa Campus from 29 to 30 April 2022.

The five honorary doctorate recipients are: Prof Mike Wingfield, Justice Albie Sachs, Judge Dennis Davis, Justice Dikgang Moseneke, and Ms Winnie Byanyima.

On 19 April 2022, honorary degrees will be conferred as follows:

Prof Mike Wingfield

Prof Mike Wingfield began his academic career at the University of the Free State in 1988. Shortly after, he received the National Research Foundation (NRF) President’s award and has held an NRF A-rating for more than 26 years. He was the founding director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) established at the University of Pretoria in 1998, stepping down from this position at the end of 2017 after 20 years. Currently, he serves as adviser to the Executive of the University of Pretoria and conducts research both in South Africa and globally.

Justice Albie Sachs

Justice Albie Sachs is an activist and was a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1994 to 2009. He began practising as advocate at the Cape Bar at the age of 21, defending people charged under the racial statutes and security laws of apartheid. Justice Sachs went into exile to England, where he completed a PhD at the University of Sussex. He spent a further 11 years in Mozambique as law professor and legal researcher. He is the author of several books and has travelled to many countries, sharing his experiences to help heal divided societies.

Judge Dennis Davis

Judge Dennis Davis was educated at the United Herzlia Schools and the Universities of Cape Town and Cambridge. He served as judge of the High Court in Cape Town from 1998 to 2020 and as Judge President at the Competition Appeal Court from 1999 to 2020. Since his elevation to the Bench, Judge Davis has held honorary professorships at the Universities of Cape Town, Western Cape, Free State, and Witwatersrand. He has held visiting professorial posts at the Universities of Toronto, Melbourne, Georgetown, and the Harvard, New York, and Florida Brown Universities. He has authored 11 books and more than 200 articles in academic journals.

On 29 and 30 April 2022, honorary degrees will be conferred as follows:

Justice Dikgang Moseneke

Justice Dikgang Moseneke retired in May 2016 as the Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa and as justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before his appointment to the Constitutional Court, he was judge of the High Court in Pretoria. Justice Moseneke completed matric while imprisoned on Robben Island for participating in political activities against the apartheid regime. He continued to complete BA, BIuris, and LLB degrees from the University of South Africa before starting his professional career as an attorney’s clerk in 1976. In 2018, Justice Moseneke received the Order of Luthuli in gold, the Republic of South Africa’s highest national award.

Ms Winnie Byanyima

Ms Winnie Byanyima is the Executive Director of UNAIDS and a Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Oxfam International, a confederation of 20 civil society organisations working in more than 90 countries worldwide, empowering people to create a future that is secure, just, and free from poverty. Currently, she leads the United Nations’ efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and believes that health care is a human right; hence, she was an early champion for a people’s vaccine against COVID-19, which should be available and free of charge to everyone, everywhere.

Chancellor’s and Council Medals awarded on 19 April 2022

In addition, the Chancellor’s Medal will be awarded to Dr Nicholas Pearce, Head of the Department of Surgery at the UFS, and the Council Medal will be awarded to Mr Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director: University Estates at the UFS, during the Bloemfontein Campus graduation ceremony on 19 April 2022.