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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

Kovsie netball coach learns from international specialist
2009-10-15

Ms Yvonne Willering and Vanes-Mari du Toit, a member of the UFS first netball team.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

Ms Burta de Kock from KovsieSport at the University of the Free State (UFS), and coach of the UFS’s first netball team recently learned from the well-known coach Ms Yvonne Willering from New-Zealand. Ms Willering is the recipient of various Coach-of-the-Year Awards. She is also known for her innovative methods and dynamic style. She made use of the top players of the university to demonstrate different techniques to the coaches who attended the training.

Ms De Kock was one of approximately 15 coaches from schools in the Free State and the Northern Cape who attended this international netball coaching course. The focus of the course was to teach coaches the principles of coaching. According to Dr Elsjé Jordaan from SportsMax, the coordinator of this course, our players in South Africa miss basic principles in their training, which is the reason why we do not perform optimally at international level.

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