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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

Before I die …

2013-09-11

Cornelia Faasen, Director: Student Life at the wall.
11 September 2013
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The Bloemfontein Campus offers a new creative manner of expression through the Before I die Wall. Similar walls are found in over 30 countries across the globe, including Argentina, China, Italy, New Zealand and Denmark. Kovsies is the only university in South Africa with this fixture, one of merely three in the country.

The wall provides the opportunity to students to write down the things they would like to do before they die.Elsa Mostert, head of the Student Life and Leadership (SLL) volunteer’s office, says the presence of such a wall on campus contributes to the holistic, personal and professional development of students. “The wall addresses post-tertiary development needs. It serves the university by enabling students to rethink the priorities in their lives and to help them focus on their dreams.”

This wall is located at the student centre, Thakaneng Bridge, outside the bookshop.“Everyone is welcome to write on the wall. It will be wiped clean after every two weeks,” Mostert says.

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