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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.
UFS council awards honorary doctorates
2007-03-22
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The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) has decided to confer honorary doctorates on architect Prof. Barend Johannes Britz and author Mr Khotso Pieter David Maphalla.
Prof. Bannie Britz is being honoured for his contribution to architecture and Mr Maphalla for his contribution to the development of the Sesotho language and culture.
Prof. Britz worked as an architectural assistant abroad as well as in South Africa between 1961 and 1964, before establishing his own practice in 1968. He obtained a master’s degree in Urban Design in 1991 and was awarded the Prize of the City of Johannesburg for the best urban design dissertation.
He was appointed as Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at the UFS in 1992. Prof. Britz is a member of several professional associations and has received 17 merit awards as well as a gold medal of excellence from the Institute of SA Architects.
Mr Maphalla is a prolific Sesotho author and has contributed significantly to the development of the Sesotho language and culture through his poetry, novels, dramas and short stories.
Most of his books have been prescribed for secondary schools throughout the country. His collected works are still used as reference works for literary studies by African Languages Departments at most South African universities.
Mr Maphalla played a significant role in the establishment of the South African National Sesotho Authors’ Association and has been the recipient of numerous awards for his sterling work. These include the M-net Book Prize in 1996 and a Lifetime Achiever Award in 2005 from the National Department of Arts and Culture, the first and only Sesotho author to have received this award thus far.
Media release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@mail.ufs.ac.za
19 March 2007
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Prof. Bannie Britz
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Mr. Khotso Pieter David Maphalla
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