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26 December 2021 | Story Department of Communication and Marketing | Photo Hannes Pieterse
Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu receiving an honorary doctorate from the UFS in January 2011

The University of the Free State (UFS) mourns the passing of South African icon and Nobel peace prize laureate, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

The country has lost an exemplary leader who has made a huge contribution to peace, reconciliation, and justice in the world, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, says. “Archbishop Tutu inspired people around the world with his humility, compassion, and resilient spirit and we can all imitate his acts of kindness.”

The UFS recognised Archbishop Tutu for his outstanding contribution to South Africa and the world, awarding him an honorary doctorate in January 2011. He received a Doctor of Theology, recognising the contribution he has made in the field of theology through his teachings and the books he has written.

Archbishop Tutu visited the UFS more than once and launched the university’s International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice - now the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice - when he accepted his honorary doctorate on the Bloemfontein Campus.

In October 2013, Archbishop Tutu and his wife Leah visited the university to launch the Annual Intercontinental Leah Tutu Symposium on rape and violence against women in honour of Mrs Tutu, who has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and the sanctity of family life.

Over the years, his association with the university remained, with the annual Tutu-Jonker Prestige Lecture hosted by the Faculty of Theology and Religion.

“On behalf of the university community, I wish to express our sincere condolences to his family and friends,” says Prof Petersen.

News Archive

Community engagement must be a core function of universities
2009-05-21

 
 Members of the NatCEMF Steering Committee are, from the left: Mr Jerome Slamat, Senior Director: Community Interaction, Stellenbosch University, Ms Beatrix Bouwman, Manager: Community Engagement, North-West University, Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chief Director: Community Service, UFS and chairperson of the committee, Prof. Allan Femi Lana, Director: Institute for Rural Development and Community Engagement, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Prof. Seth Pollack, Fulbright Scholar, University of Western Cape (guest speaker at the meeting), Prof. Denver Hendricks, Director: Community Engagement, University of Pretoria, and Prof. Priscilla Daniels, Chairperson: Human Ecology and Research and CHESP Research Coordinator, University of the Western Cape.
Photo: Lacea Loader
 It is important that all tertiary institutions in South Africa should work together and commit themselves to advance the cause of community engagement in the country.

This was one of the main outcomes of the second meeting held by the National Community Engagement Manager’s Forum (NatCEMF) at the South Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein recently. The meeting was attended by 34 representatives of 16 higher education institutions in the country.

“I am astounded at the interest in this matter. The representatives are committed to make community engagement a core function of their institutions and we all agreed that we should get more involved in expanding this across all institutions. A need for a formal structure for us all to work together and have a more collective voice was also identified,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS and Chairperson of the NatCEMF Steering Committee.

“There is a growing need to expand and develop our engagement with communities – to share our experiences and best practices and to learn from each other. There are universities that are doing excellent work in this field and, by having a formal structure, we can do a lot more towards advancing community engagement,” said Rev Jaftha.

The meeting identified matters such as the coordination of higher education institutions’ involvement in community engagement, the facilitation of research about community engagement, promoting service learning as transformation, the establishment of a community engagement resource centre and the organisation of a national community engagement conference as some of its aims. A national steering committee was also elected.

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