Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
![]()
Prof Stef Coetzee, former Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), passed away in the Mediclinic Cape Gate on Saturday 27 October 2018.
Prof Coetzee assumed duty as the 11th Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS on 1 April 1997. He will be remembered for his drive to promote transformation at the UFS. During his time as Rector and Vice-Chancellor, he initiated a revitalisation process (turnaround strategy) which was ultimately finalised by his successor, Prof Frederick Fourie.
Among others, he established a Broad Transformation Forum (BTF) and transformation office to draft a new political framework for the UFS. He strived to manage the university as a business enterprise and was focused on developing the academy in an entrepreneurial manner. His legacy includes the establishment of the BTF, the revitalisation process (turnaround strategy), academic revitalisation, growing student numbers, and increased research outputs. He stepped down as Rector at the end of 2002.
“The turnaround strategy initiated by Prof Coetzee during his term as Rector and Vice-Chancellor is still evident today in the management approach of the UFS. On behalf of the executive management and the university community, I wish his family, relatives, and former colleagues all the best during this difficult and sad time. I hope that they will find comfort in his significant contribution to various sectors in the country – especially at the UFS,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.
Prof Stef Coetzee obtained his MA degree in Economics at Stellenbosch University in 1973, and a DPhil in Development Economics at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 1980. He is a former Executive Officer of the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut and was also associated with Unisa and the North-West University.
Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393
Louzanne smashes world record despite strong wind
2017-04-13
Louzanne Coetzee and her guide
Khothatso Mokone.
Photo: Johan Roux
Despite the terribly windy conditions at this year’s Nedbank National Championships for the Physically Disabled, Louzanne Coetzee managed to improve her world record in the 5 000 m race.
Record improved by almost 40 seconds
Last year, Coetzee, who works at the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State (UFS), was the first blind athlete to complete the 5 000 m race in less than 20 minutes.
Her own record in the 5 000 m race (T11 category) was 19:17.06 and with the help of her guide, Khothatso Mokone, she improved it by almost 40 seconds. The new national record now stands at 18:37.23.
Coetzee says the evening before the race the winds were terrible, and she started to wonder what would happen during her race. “Even though the wind was a bit tough, overall it was a good race,” she says.
Overjoyed by exceptional time
She says that when she heard her time was a new record, she was completely overjoyed and could not believe it. “I was aiming to run just under 19 seconds but when I heard that my time was not only a personal best but also a new world record, I was over the moon.”
The Championships took place from 31 March to 4 April in Port Elizabeth. Coetzee and Mokone will be in action in a Grand Prix in Switzerland next month.