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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.
First M-degrees in National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme
2005-09-16
The University of the Free State (UFS) yesterday became the first university in South Africa to award a masters degree in Physics to students who have completed the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP).
The aim of the programme is to train a new generation of astrophysics and space scientists that are comparable to the best in the world. The programme is presented in collaboration with six other universities in the country and national facilities such as the South African Astronomy Observatory (SAAO), the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) and the Hartebeeshoek Radio Observatory (HartRao).
Prof Peter Dunsby, lecturer at the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town and coordinator of the NASSP programme; Ms Elmé Breedt (from Pretoria) and Mnr Edward Jurua (from Uganda) who obtained the masters degree in Physics and completed the NASSP programme and Prof Pieter Meintjes, lecturer at the UFS Department of Physics and promoter of the two students.
The degrees were awarded during the UFS's spring graduation ceremony.