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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

UFS represented at the 3rd IBSA academic seminar in Brazil
2008-09-26

 

Prof. ‘Mabokang Monnapula-Mapesela and Prof. Lucius Botes from the University of the Free State (UFS) recently presented academic papers in their respective fields during the 3rd India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) academic seminar held in Florianópolis, Brazil. They were part of 12 academics chosen to represent Higher Education institutions in South Africa, facilitated by the International Office and the Directorate Research Development.

Prof. Monnapula-Mapesela’s paper titled "Macro-politics of higher education in contexts of periphery: Policy dynamics at macro-, meso- and micro-levels" was under the theme of higher education and society, access and massification and deepening quality. "Service delivery protests in South Africa: a Challenge to human security and social cohesion" was the title of Prof Botes’s paper which was aligned to the theme social transformation and social cohesion.

IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa aimed at promoting South-South cooperation and exchange programmes.

Photo: Stephen Collett

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