Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

Sarah Shannon is ready to take on the world
2011-08-10

 

Sarah Shannon
Photo: Lize-Marie Smit

An intimate send-off party was recently held in Sarah Shannon’s honour by her support group. She is a student from our university and she is heading to present South Africa at the 2011 Pan Pacific Para-swimming Championships in Alberta, Canada from 10-14 August. Here she will be competing in the 50 m and 100 m free-style, and the 50 m and 100 m backstroke, respectively.

Sarah, a silver-medal winner at the Para-Olympic World Championships in Brazil 2009, has set high goals for herself. She has a Bachelors degree in Psychology, has completed her Postgraduate Certificate in Education modules, and she is a motivational speaker to boot. She is also scheduled to start her PGCE practical teaching at the Tswellang Special School in Bloemfontein at the beginning of September 2011. “I love helping people and making a difference, and I would like to work with children with special needs,” Sarah says.

Ms Arina Otto, Manager at our Sports Medicine Clinic says: “We believe in you, Sarah, but mostly we support you all the way.” Sarah is also supported by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is currently on their OPEX (Operation Excellence) Programme. OPEX sponsored her by ensuring she gets all the medical and scientific support as an athlete.

Sarah swims two hours a day and exercises for an hour on a daily basis.

“We are hoping she does well in Canada so she can be selected for the 2012 Para-Olympic Games,” says Ms Tanya Martin, Assistant Coach: SuperSport Seals Swimming Club. 
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept