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UFS sympathises with the passing of Dr Dolf van Niekerk

03 January 2023 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Evert Kleynhans

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

Five times unbeaten

2011-12-14

The UFS tennis team won the goldprize at this year's USSA-tournament.

For the fifth time in a row, the tennis team of the University of the Free State (UFS) won gold at the tennis championships of the University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournament. The tournament was held from Monday 5 December 2011 till Friday 9 December 2011 at the University of Stellenbosch, where 21 teams from 18 tertiary academic institutions participated.

After the USSA tournament, four Kovsie players were included in a training group to take part in training camps, tournaments and trials in preparation of the Confederation of University and College Sport Association (CUCSA) Games to be held in Namibia in 2012. These four students, namely Duke Monro, Christi Potgieter, Elizna Barnard and Este Portgieter, were also selected for the training group to the World Student Games (Universiade) in Russia in 2013.

In 2010, six of the players from the UFS were included in the South African team to the CUCSA Games in Botswana. This year the UFS produced three players to the Universiade in China.

The coach and team manager of the Kovsie team, Marnus Kleinhans and Janine de Kock, were also appointed coach and manager of the South African Student team to the CUCSA and World Student Games for the next two years.

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