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03 January 2023
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Photo Evert Kleynhans
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.
"Exile has left a deep imprint on today's ANC and Communist Party"
2011-09-26

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At the ANC Centenary Dialogue Seminar, were from left to right: Dr Mcebisi Ndletyana, moderator for the seminar, Prof. Colin Bundy and Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, head of our Centre for Africa Studies.
Photo: Dries Myburg
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Prof. Colin Bundy, a well-known scholar and historian, recently visited our Bloemfontein Campus to deliver a lecture as part of the ANC Centenary Dialogue Series hosted by the Centre for Africa Studies. Prof. Bundy, a former professor at the University of Oxford and former Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Witwatersrand, delivered his lecture to a packed CR Swart Senate Hall. Speaking on the topic of the ANC and the SACP in exile, 1960-1990, Prof. Bundy told the audience that exile has left a deep imprint on today’s ANC and Communist Party, profoundly shaping their leadership, practices and political cultures. The next seminar will be held on 12 October 2011.