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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 staff train geo-hydrologists in Sri Lanka
2007-02-11

Staff from the Institute for Ground Water Studies (IGWS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) presented a workshop on the evaluation and management of ground water resources to geo-hydrologists at the University of Peradeniya in Sri-Lanka. The South African Disaster Management Fund carried the costs of the UFS staff. 

 
 
During the visit were, from the left: Dr HA Dharmagunawardhane (workshop co-ordinator), M Danie Vermeulen (researcher at the IGS), Dr Ingrid Dennis (researcher at the IGS), Mr Tikiri Kobbekaduwa (Governor of the Central Province, Sri Lanka) Prof Gerrit van Tonder (head of the IGS), Mr Kalinga Pelpola (Programme Manager), Prof H Abeygunawardhane (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya), and Prof MAKL Dissanayake (Director: Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya).

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