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10 February 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Lunga Luthuli
Gateway Amigos
Volunteer Gateway Amigos, a University of the Free State initiative to assist first-entering students during Gateway First-year Orientation and the transition to life at the institution.

The University of the Free State (UFS) will be hosting welcoming ceremonies – which include the 2023 UFS Dream Walk event – for first-year students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses on 18 February 2023, and on the Qwaqwa Campus on 25 February 2023.  

The Dream Walk – also known as Kovsie Dream – is an annual event, with the first being hosted in 2022.  With the event, the UFS welcomes first-year students to the university community, placing an emphasis on their individual dreams and aspirations. The event is also an opportunity for new students to familiarise themselves with the university, facilities, available opportunities, and to make new friends. 

The UFS recognises the importance of helping students set and pursue their dreams, especially in their first year. During the event, students will have an opportunity to interact with university staff, as well as current students who will share their experiences of pursuing their dreams and overcoming obstacles. 

Students participating in the Dream Walk will have the chance to explore their potential, identify their passions, and by completing their dream cards, they will be able to set goals for their individual futures.

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, will officially welcome students to the UFS on both days – on the Bloemfontein Campus on 18 February 2023, and on the Qwaqwa Campus on 25 February 2023.  The welcoming messages on the two campuses will be followed by a Dream Walk.  Students participating in the Dream Walk will move along the same route that students follow on the day of graduation. 

The Division of Student Affairs believes that building a strong support network is crucial for students to succeed in their academic and professional lives. By connecting with staff and seniors, first-year students will gain valuable insight into their chosen courses and receive advice on how to achieve their academic goals.

Dr WP Wahl, Director: Student Life within the Division of Student Affairs, said: “The UFS is committed to providing its students with the support and resources they need to pursue their dreams. The Rector’s Welcoming, coupled with the Dream Walk, is an exciting opportunity for first-year students to start their university journey on the right foot and to set themselves up for success.”

For more information on the Welcoming, the Dream Walk event, and the programme, please click here

News Archive

UFS Faculty of Theology and Jonathan Edwards Centre at Yale University forge strategic partnership
2009-06-10

 
Prof. Francois Tolmie, Dean of the UFS’s Faculty of Theology.
Photo: Supplied


The Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS) will establish a Jonathan Edwards Centre for Southern Africa, affiliated with the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University in New Haven in the United States of America.

This strategic partnership exemplifies the vision of the Faculty of Theology to be an internationally renowned theological and training faculty.

The UFS Jonathan Edwards Centre will serve as a research, education and publication hub for the study of Edwards and evangelical history and develop links with the international academic community.

Prof. Francois Tolmie, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the UFS, said, “I welcome the plans to pay sustained critical attention to Edwards’s thought. Jonathan Edwards was an important American theologian, philosopher and more specifically America's greatest contributor to mission theology in Southern Africa.”

Dr Kenneth Minkema, Executive Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, adds: “The establishment of the Jonathan Edwards Center Southern Africa at the UFS in Bloemfontein is a significant expansion of Edwards scholarship and will serve widely both academia and the church.”

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), pastor, revivalist, Christian philosopher, missionary, and president of Princeton University, is widely regarded as North America’s greatest theologian. He is the subject of intense scholarly interest because of his significance as an historical figure and the profound legacy he left on America’s religious, political and intellectual landscapes.

In recent years, a rapidly growing interest in Edwards as theologian has brought the man and his writings onto the world stage, pressing beyond the popular and more parochial image of Edwards primarily as American preacher and American historic figure. Increasingly, his writings are being consulted by religious leaders, pastors, and churches around the world, spurred by a growing recognition of the fervency and universality of the Edwards message and the acumen with which he appraised religious experience.

This interest in Edwards globally has been fuelled in part by the work of the Jonathan Edwards Centre at Yale University, whose sole mission is to support inquiry into the life, writings, and legacy of Jonathan Edwards by providing resources that encourage critical appraisal of the historical importance and contemporary relevance of America’s premier theologian. The primary means to achieve this is with the The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online, a digital learning environment for research, education and publication that presents all of Edwards’s writings, along with helpful editorial materials that allow the reader to examine Edwards's thought in incredibly powerful, useful ways. The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online 2.0 is accessible through the Centre’s website at: www.edwards.yale.edu.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
10 June 2009

 

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