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03 January 2023 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Evert Kleynhans
Dr Dolf van Niekerk
Dr Dolf van Niekerk.

The University of the Free State (UFS) would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of South African author, Dr Dolf van Niekerk, on his passing.

Dr Van Niekerk, the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the UFS, passed away on 31 December 2022. The UFS awarded a Doctor of Letters to Dr Dolf van Niekerk during its April 2021 graduation ceremony. 
 
Dr Van Niekerk was a celebrated author who also achieved fame as a dramatist and radio presenter. An alumnus of the UFS, he received a BA degree from the university cum laude in 1949. He also played a role in academia and was an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria until his retirement in 1994. His work includes 27 books in philosophy, poetry, fiction, drama, and memoirs, for which he has received numerous awards. These include the Eugene Marais Prize, the MER Prize, and the Scheepers Award for Youth Literature.
 
“Dr van Niekerk is a Kovsie alumnus with a deep connection to the Free State. He played a significant role in the country’s literary history, and it was an honour for the university to award him with an honorary degree. A wordsmith of note, Dr van Niekerk’s contributions to South African literature, radio, and stage will live on," says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

News Archive

Tony Leon donates document collection to the UFS
2008-09-03

 

Mr Tony Leon, former leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), donated his private document collection after his retirement as leader of the opposition in Parliament, to the Archive for Contemporary Affairs at the University of the Free State (UFS). Two consignments have already been transferred during 2007 and 2008 from Mr Leon's office from Cape Town. He also indicated that he would donate the rest of his collection to the archive after his retirement as MP. At the donation ceremony, which took place in Bloemfontein were, from the left: Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector of the UFS, Ms Esta Jones, Deputy Director at the Archive for Contemporary Affairs, and Mr Leon. He also gave a signed copy of his book, "On the Contrary: Leading the Opposition in a Democratic South Africa", to the archive.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

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