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06 December 2018 Photo Johan Roux
December 2018 Graduation
Tears of joy as the graduates made their way to the Callie Human Centre for their graduation ceremonies.


Former Group CEO of Mediclinic, Danie Meintjes, gave a riveting guest speech at the opening ceremony of this year’s final graduations on 4 December 2018. “I know no-one who is both extremely successful and lazy. Hard work does not necessarily refer to long hours but to what you achieve within those hours.”

Candidates from the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences and Education were told that there are no shortcuts to success; however, hard work can speed up the process of progress.

“This day marks a sense of achievement and an atmosphere of celebration,” said Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen. Indeed, the air was heavy with excitement punctuated by applause and ululations.

December graduations reach an ecstatic high

Sounds of joy reverberated through the Callie Human Hall yesterday as delighted graduates, accompanied by their parents and relatives, celebrated an important milestone in their lives after years of turbulence and hard work.

These were the graduates from the Faculty of Health Sciences, who will be joining the ranks of the private and public health system which is plagued by a myriad of service-delivery challenges.


Graduates urged to prioritise mental health


Academia is extremely stressful. The degree and level of intensity that accompanies academic success often has a debilitating impact on one’s psyche,” said Dr Millard Arnold, our guest speaker at the final graduation ceremony on 6 December 2018.

The editor of Steve Biko: Black Consciousness in South Africa, and University of the Free State Council member, advised the 173 master’s and doctoral candidates across all faculties to look after their mental health. 

Moments before graduates were bestowed the highest honour that any university can offer, our Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, shared his sentiments on the value of goal-getting. “There is nothing more fulfilling than walking across the stage and being capped, conscious of the fact that you have achieved what you set out to do in your academic career.”

Closing the 2018 graduations on a high note, Dr Khotso Mokhele,  UFS Chancellor, assured graduates that they have done a good job, by saying, “This is the pinnacle of education, it doesn’t get any better than this”.

Graduate professionals who can impact society

The procession of graduates, academics, and UFS management, led by flag bearers and drummers, announced the last graduation ceremony for graduates in the Faculties of Law and Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Two hundred and twenty-six graduates walked over the stage of the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus, with the words of Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Petersen, fresh in their minds. “Three values I leave with you: critical inquiry, social responsiveness, and integrity. Take these values with you as you enter your professional lives.”  

Guest speaker Dan Kriek, who is a member of the UFS Council and President of Agri SA, motivated graduates to become leaders who will inspire South Africa. “You can all play a role to provide us with a better future,” he said.

Storytelling is important for Human Science graduates

 It has been described as the culmination of your university career, the day you receive the degree you have been pursuing for three to four years. The 141 graduates in the Faculties of The Humanities and Theology and Religion were at this culminating moment yesterday when they received their degrees during the third ceremony of the December graduations.

Guest speaker for the ceremony, Ace Moloi – UFS Young Alumnus of the Year and author, impressed the audience with his ‘Wows of Storytelling’ speech; it was indeed a ‘wow’. He shared his three wows of storytelling, namely that storytelling is a weapon of diversity, that storytelling is story taking, storytelling is a liberating experience. “I challenge you to go tell the story behind your scars at the end of this session. No, do not tell your story. Scream it. Broadcast it on every platform,” he said.

South Campus graduands exhorted to “continue the journey of learning”

A total of 529 students from the South Campus received certificates and diplomas during the second session of the graduation ceremonies on the afternoon of 4 December 2018. The guest speaker was Lesedi Makhurane, from the Stellenbosch University Business School. Relating the lessons from World War I to modern challenges, Makhurane urged graduands to face changing ideas in the digital age with courage, to celebrate and enjoy graduating, while still remembering what it means to become a graduate and honouring those who have supported them thus far.

He exhorted the assembly to stand apart from the masses, making their unique voice count and developing their signature presence. Makhurane said, “Once you become a graduate, the flame of continuous education is ignited. Therefore, you must continue the journey of learning, becoming a specialist in your field.”


4 December 2018
WATCH: 4 December 2018 (Morning Session)

Graduation readmore 1
09:00 Economic and Management Sciences, Education 
EMS and EDU Graduation Programme

“You now form part of the 58% of South African citizens who hold a degree,"-Danie Meintjies

Watch: 4 December 2018 (Afternoon Session)

4 December afternoon
14:30 South Campus: Open Distance Learning
South Campus Graduation Programme

‘Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.’ And the fact that you are all sitting here, is testimony to the hard work and effort, the energy, and the dedication you have put into the process of continuously becoming.” - Lesedi Makhurane

5 December 2018
WATCH: 5 December (Morning Session)

Small grad photo 3
09:00
Humanities and Theology and Religion
HUM and THEO Graduation Programme

" ...your qualification is a vital addition to society. You are the only graduates who are trained in human science-a science that is tricky, unpredictable and contradictory," - Ace Moloi

WATCH: 5 December (Afternoon Session)

Graduation 5 December Afternoon small
14:30  Law, Natural and Agricultural Sciences
LAW and NAS Graduation Programme

“You as graduates inspired me, your parents, yourself, your friends; and you will go on to inspire South Africa. We need young leaders who can inspire all of us," - Dan Kriek 


6 December 2018
WATCH: 6 December 2018 ( Morning Session)

Health Sciences Graduation

09:00: Health Sciences (including School of Nursing)
Health Sciences Graduation Programme

You should not worry about the past – what has happened has happened – but look to the future, as we have been given the gift of time.” Dr Anchen Laubscher.

WATCH: 6 December 2018 ( Afternoon Session)

Postgraduate graduation ceremony
14:30: Master's and Doctorates (all faculties)
M and D Graduation Programme

“Your success today does not mean that you are immune to the diabolical effects of depression and anxiety or schizophrenia.”- Dr Millard Arnold


News Archive

Premiere of the documentary on King Moshoeshoe - Address by the Rector
2004-10-14

Address by the rector and vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, prof Frederick Fourie, at the premiere of the documentary on King Moshoeshoe, Wednesday 13 October 2004

It is indeed a privilege to welcome you at this key event in the Centenary celebrations of the University of the Free State.

We are simultaneously celebrating 100 years of scholarship with 10 years of democracy

Today is a very important day with great significance for the University. This Centenary is not merely a celebration of an institution of a certain age. It is a key event in this particular phase of our history, in our transformation as an institution of higher learning, in taking the creation of a high-quality, equitable, non-racial, non-sexist, multicultural and multilingual university seriously.

This is about building something new out of the old, of creating new institutional cultures and values from diverse traditions.

It is about learning together - as an higher education institution - about who we are where we come from – to decide where we are going.

It is about merging the age-old tradition of the university, of the academic gown, with the Basotho blanket, the symbol of community engagement.

Then why is it important that we remember Moshoeshoe, where does he fit into our history?

In the Free State province, where large numbers of Basotho and Afrikaners (and others) now live together, a new post-apartheid society is being built in the 21st century.

The challenge is similar to that faced by Moshoeshoe 150 years ago. As you will see tonight, he did a remarkable thing in forging a new nation out of a fragmented society. He also created a remarkable spirit of reconciliation and a remarkable style of leadership.

Not all people in South Africa know the history of Moshoeshoe. Many Basotho – but not all – are well versed in the history of Moshoeshoe, and his name is honoured in many a street, town and township. Many white people know very little of him, or have a very constrained or even biased view of his role and legacy. In Africa and the world, he his much less known than, for instance, Shaka. (In Lesotho, obviously, he is widely recognised and praised.)

We already benefit from his legacy: the people of the Free State share a tradition of moderation and reconciliation rather than one of aggression and domination.

With Moshoeshoe, together with Afrikaner leaders and reconciliators such as President MT Steyn and Christiaan de Wet, we have much to be thankful for.

Our challenge is take this legacy further: to forge a new society in which different cultural, language and racial groups – Basotho, Afrikaners and others – will all feel truly at home.

Bit by bit, on school grounds, on university campuses, in each town and city, people must shape the values and principles that will mould this new non-racial, multicultural and multilingual society.

A shared sense of history, shared stories and shared heroes are important elements in such a process.

Through this documentary film about King Moshoeshoe, the UFS commits itself to developing a shared appreciation of the history of this country and to the establishment of the Free State Province as a model of reconciliation and nation-building.

Moshoeshoe is also a strong common element, and binding factor, in the relationship between South Africa / the Free State, and its neighbour, Lesotho.

For the University of the Free State this also is an integral part of real transformation – of creating a new unity amidst our diversity.

Transformation has so many aspects: whilst the composition of our student and staff populations have been changing, many other things change at the same time: new curricula, new research, new community service learning projects.

In also includes creation of new values, new (shared) histories, new (shared) heroes.

It includes the incorporation of the Qwaqwa campus, which serves a region where so many of the children of Moshoeshoe live, including her majesty Queen Mopeli.

We see in Moshoeshoe a model of African leadership – of reconciliation and nation-building – that can have a significant impact in South Africa and Africa as a whole.

We also find in the legacy of King Moshoeshoe the possibility of an “founding philosophy”, or “defining philosophy”, for the African renaissance.

To develop this philosophy, we must gain a deeper understanding of what really happened there, of his role, of his leadership.

Therefore the University of the Free State will encourage and support further research into the history, politics and sociology of the Moshoeshoe period, including his leadership style.

We hope to do this in partnership with National University of Lesotho.

The Moshoeshoe documentary is one element of a long-term project of the UFS. The other elements of the project that we are investigating are possible PhD-level research; a possible annual Moshoeshoe memorial lecture on African leadership; and then possible schools projects and other ways and symbols of honouring him.

It is my sincere wish that all communities of the Free State and of South Africa will be able to identify with the central themes of this documentary, and develop a shared appreciation for leaders such as King Moshoeshoe and the legacy of peace, reconciliation and nation-building that they have left us.

Prof. Frederick Fourie
Rector and Vice-Chancellor
University of the Free State
13 October 2004.

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