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17 April 2019 | Story Mamosa Makaya
National Lotteries Commission
Front row from the left: Dr MA Madzivhandila (board member), Prof YN Gordhan (board member), Ms Charlotte Mampane (Commissioner), Prof D Coetzee (South Campus Principal), Ms Bish B Ramahlele (Director: Community Engagement) Back row from the left T Mandyu (Provincial Manager), Prof NA Nevhutanda (Chairman of the Board), Mr F Van Der Wat (Deputy Director: KovsieSport)
The University of the Free State (UFS) has over many years embarked on developmental projects to improve and upgrade its sports facilities, sports research, medical research, arts and cultural programmes and community focused programmes. These projects were made possible with the financial support of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) which has provided funding through grants to the UFS since 2006. The UFS office of Institutional Advancement (IA) hosted the NLC on the Bloemfontein Campus on 5 April 2019, where a presentation on the success of projects was made. The role of the IA office is to ensure that the university complies with reporting requirements set out in the grant agreements and that the university maintains good relations with the NLC over the long term.

Funding fortifies UFS projects
Feedback on the success and impact of various projects was presented, such as the visual arts project. This includes the public sculpture project funded with over R3 million in 2009, which brought about the creation of outdoor sculptures that can be seen on the university grounds produced by local and regional sculptors. Feedback was provided by Ms Angela de Jesus, Curator, UFS Arts Collection and Assistant Director: Johannes Stegmann Gallery.  

In 2010 the NLC funded the upgrading of the UFS swimming pool for more than R2 million. The pool was rebuilt to bring it up to Olympic standards, allowing UFS students to have a facility at which to train for international swimming competitions. Feedback on the project was provided by Mr Frans van der Wat, Deputy Director: KovsieSport. Other funded projects are the Khoisan early learning centre, which teaches young learners on the history and culture of the “first people” of South Africa, and the Arts in Schools Project, which were both funded in 2009 for more than R6 million combined. More funded projects include the upgrading of the Johannes Stegmann Gallery in 2017, research into swimming in the Free State, and equipment for the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADOCol), which is the only laboratory of its kind in Africa, which were funded between 2010 and 2012, totalling R4.8million.

Community development and engaged scholarship
After the change in the mandate of the Provincial Arts Council of the Free State (PACOFS) after 1996, many local dramatic arts professionals in the province were faced with dwindling work opportunities. The UFS, through the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts, stepped in to create arts programmes that would help develop and retain the skills of local performers and playwrights and an opportunity for them to be trained and directed by UFS and industry-based professional directors. 

Prof Nico Luwes, from the UFS Department of Drama and Theatre Arts, said: “I initiated the formation of the Free State Theatre Acts (FACTS) as a section 21 Company with committee members from UFS staff and local actors, with the aim of creating work for professional actors in the greater Bloemfontein area.” A combination of grants from the NLC and the UFS Department of Drama, between 2006 and 2010 resulted in 19 professional plays and four professional musicals, performed by Free State professional artists including community players from Heidedal, Botshabelo and drama students, using English, Afrikaans and Sesotho. These initiatives brought together students and artists from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, who worked together to perform at local and national arts festivals. Although the NLC will not be funding arts and culture projects at universities in the 2019-2020 financial year, the university is hopeful to be considered in the future.

The UFS and NLC have had a successful working relationship and the feedback session aimed to strengthen the ties between them. Members of the board of the NLC expressed pride at how the UFS has developed not only its own projects, but the Free State community as well. The team was treated to an art exhibition of the work of Cape Town-based artist Ieshaan Adams at the Johannes Stegmann gallery.

News Archive

Alumni inspired to keep flying the Kovsie flag high at reunion weekend festivities
2015-09-01

Dr Khotso Mokhele and Adv Roelf Meyer

The University of the Free State hosted alumni from all over the country on the Bloemfontein Campus during a weekend of exciting events, talks, and tours around the campus on 28 and 29 August 2015.

The celebratory events were kick-started with a leadership symposium hosted by Dr Marcus Ingram, Director: Institutional Advancement with Adv Roelf Meyer. The symposium was attended by current student leaders and the SRC Presidents Alumni Association. In his dialogue with the audience, Adv Meyer shared his experiences and personal growth in the process of bringing about democracy in the country with student leaders as change agents. “If you really want to contribute to change, it is not only an intellectual exercise; it is also a heart and soul thing,” he said.

The anchor event was the inaugural Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumnus Award Luncheon hosted by Chancellor, Dr Khotso Mokhele. Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, welcomed guests by highlighting the latest extraordinary achievements of UFS students and academic staff.

Keynote speaker of the day, Ms Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Executive Director of Inyathelo and a renowned politician, spoke of the role that universities have in preparing women for leadership roles and how they, in turn, can prepare society for female leadership.  She commended the UFS’s advancement efforts supported by the Kresge Foundation, which supports young people, to keep them in universities. “I am proud to say that the UFS’s efforts in advancement have achieved its goals.”

In his remarks, Dr Mokhele said “what draws a student back to his/her Alma Mater is the quality of the experience they had on campus.  This campus contributed to the transformation of this country through alumni such as Roelf Meyer and Kobie Coetsee.”  He said this initiative should create a lived experience for students on the university campus.  The Chancellor presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award to Adv Roelf Meyer, for his outstanding contributions to the human interests of South Africa, and his current work of facilitating peace processes around the world.

In accepting the award, Adv Meyer introduced Youth Zones, a project which he has been involved with for the past five years, empowering and supporting 40,000 youths in the Free State. In accepting the award, he said “I was a first-year student in 1960, my year group represented the most emphatic group of this university. There are many who came before and after us who well deserve this award, therefore, I accept it on behalf of all alumni.”

To wrap up the weekend’s festivities, former SRC President, Richard Chemaly, hosted the Faculty of Law alumni cocktail event at the CR Swart Auditorium.
Speaking at the event, Prof Caroline Nicholson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, said “A faculty cannot exist without its alumni, we need you to carry us.  Your continued support and collaboration is truly appreciated.”

Alumni and staff enjoyed further entertainment by well-known musical groups, Freshly-Ground and The Muses.

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