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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

US Consul-General learns about transformation at the UFS
2011-11-11

 
A delegation from the US consulate came to learn more about our transformation initiatives and the Leadership for Change programme. From the left are: Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Director of International Academic Projects in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor; Mrs Dineo Gaofhiwe-Ingram, Assistant-Director: International Affairs; Mr Earl Miller, US Consul-General; and Mr Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs.

When others visit our university to learn more about our transformation initiatives, we certainly are on the right track.

Mr Earl Miller, Consul-General at the United States Consulate in Johannesburg, paid our university a visit as part of his orientation trip to the Free State.
 
Mr Miller, who was accompanied by two senior colleagues from his office, was interested to learn more about our university’s initiatives relating to transformation, the Leadership for Change programme and the work done at the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice.
 
He met with some of the students who had recently returned from the USA and Europe to reflect on their experiences on the programme and expressed his appreciation for the initiative, since it also afforded American students an opportunity to learn from their South African peers.

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