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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

Head of Department receives prestigious scholarship

2012-02-01

Prof. Hennie van Coller

Professor Hennie van Coller, Outstanding Professor and Head of our Department Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, is the proud receiver of a EURIAS (European Institute for Advanced Studies) Scholarship. Prof. Van Coller is one of 17 candidates from all disciplines to be awarded the EURIAS Scholarship.

The scholarship includes a 10-month residency at one of the 14 institutions involved. Prof. Van Coller will be accommodated at the Flemish Academic Centre for Science and the Arts (VLAC) in Brussels.

Researchers from around the world were given the opportunity to apply for this prestige scholarship. It is awarded in the fields of the humanities and social sciences, as well as in other fields of science. Applicants had to submit an “innovative” research proposal, which demonstrates the ability to move further than disciplinary specialisation and also show an international alliance and quality of publications.

Van Coller is the editor of Perspektief en Profiel: ’n Afrikaanse Literatuurgeskiedenis. This literature study is used internationally and is currently being updated and reissued. He is also one of just a few contributors in Afrikaans literature to be instrumental in the new Cambridge South African Literary History edited by David Attwood and Derek Attridge.

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