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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 introduces a unique new module for all first-year students
2012-01-15

As from 2012, thousands of first-year students at the University of the Free State (UFS) will be attending a newly designed core curriculum module called UFS 101.

UFS 101 has been specially developed as an exciting learning experience to create a new kind of Kovsie graduate that will stand out amongst other South African graduates.

“UFS 101 will teach students to look at local and global challenges from different perspectives and engage critically with the newest thinking nationally and internationally in fields such as nanotechnology, law and history, to name only a few. Students will also learn more about themselves and confront the boundaries in their thinking,” says Dr Mallory Du Plooy, the module coordinator.
This 16-credit module is also intended to promote social cohesion amongst students. The module is compulsory for all first-time entering mainstream students registered for a first degree or diploma.

UFS 101 is also unique in the sense that no other South African university offers a similar course on a scale this big.

This module, which will be attended by about 4 000 mainstream first-year students, will be presented in the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus. Classes will be interactive with lecturers by means of various audio and visual resources.

UFS 101 will be launched on Monday 27 February 2012.

More information about UFS 101 is available at www.ufs.ac.za  or can also be obtained by sending an e-mail to ufs101@ufs.ac.za .
 

Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Telephone: +27 (0) 51 401 2584
+27 (0) 83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 (0) 51 444 6393
Web: www.ufs.ac.za
 

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