Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
26 September 2018 Photo Varsity Sports
Fifth successive hostel crown for Vishuis
Vishuis will have the opportunity to contest a fourth successive national hostel rugby title next year after winning theKovsie internal hostel rugby league on Friday


House Abraham Fischer, more affectionately known as Vishuis, will have the opportunity to contest a fourth successive national hostel rugby title next year. Vishuis will once again represent the University of the Free State in the Varsity Cup hostel tournament after claiming the Kovsie internal hostel rugby league on Friday 14 September 2018 for a fifth consecutive time. Vishuis triumphed by 27-20 over Legatum in the final. 

Vishuis left it till late and only sealed the match in the last couple of minutes thanks to a try by winger SJ Fourie, who followed up a nice box kick by his scrumhalf.

Vishuis and Legatum, formerly known as Heimat, both earned a victory over the other in the round-robin stage.

Legatum II won the K2 internal hostel league thanks to a 62-17 win in the final over Veritas I.

In the K3 final, Legatum II was too good for the Barbarians, who is a combined team made up of the smaller hostels. The score was 29-5.

In April this year, Vishuis won their third national title in a row with an emphatic victory of 55-29 in the final against Patria of the North-West University. The winning margin was the biggest ever in a final of the competition.

Vishuis is by far the most successful team in the history of the national competition, with an unparalleled six titles. Vishuis walked away with the crown in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2018.  

Apart from the six titles by Shimlas, Armentum (2009) and Heimat (2014) both earned the crown before, while Vishuis were also runners-up in 2015.

News Archive

Vice-Chancellor honoured with major awards
2013-05-02

02 May 2013

The University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to announce that Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, has been awarded a number of major awards recently.

The University of California in the United States awarded him the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. The award is made in recognition of persons who exemplify in their work the delivery of social justice, diplomacy and tolerance in the diverse local and global society.

“The committee was very impressed with the commitment that Prof Jansen has had to reconciliation and forgiveness as a way to build bridges and to find common ground. Prof Jansen is following in the steps of many of our greatest peace-time leaders and we support his efforts to bring understanding to all cultures,” said Mark Aldenderfer, chair of the awards committee and Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Art at the University of California.

Prof Jansen also received the 2013 Academia Award at the Sixth Annual Ubuntu Lecture and Dialogue Awards Ceremony of the Turquoise Harmony Institute on 4 April 2013 in Johannesburg. The Institute aims to foster relations among different faith and cultural traditions to contribute to the well-being of humanity.

According to the organisers, “outstanding individuals who made noteworthy contributions to dialogue, peace and harmony in the society,” are given recognition during the ceremony. The awards are made in a number of different categories. Prof Jansen was among the recipients who included Graca Machel and the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF). Previous winners of Turquoise Awards include Ahmed Kathrada, Chester Williams, Dr Frene Ginwala and Prof Russel Botman.

On 10 May 2013, Prof Jansen was also honoured by Kappa Delta Pi International Honour Society in Education. He was awarded membership of the Laureate Chapter of the society founded in 1911 which “is comprised of men and women who have made distinguished contributions to education, and is limited to 60 living persons”. Prof Jansen joins an exclusive membership of 293 which includes such luminaries as Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jean Piaget and George Washington Carver.

Also in the United States, Prof Jansen has been invited to be Messenger Lecturer for Fall 2013 at Cornell University. He will give three lectures and interact with the students and staff of Cornell at various functions.

“This is a significant honour and it will really allow members from across the university to get a deeper appreciation of the work you are doing at UFS and in South Africa more broadly,” said Prof Judith Byfield of Cornell’s Department of History and Director of Graduate Studies at the department’s Africana Studies and Research Centre.

On the local front, City Press published its inaugural 100 World Class South Africans on 28 April 2013. During a rigorous selection process, 100 of our country’s most extraordinary citizens who have achieved world-class status were chosen. Prof Jansen’s achievements procured him a place on this prestigious list in the category: Heroes and Mavericks.

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