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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.
New online journal repository launched during research week
2016-08-03
Open Access core team.The annual research week marked the official launch of KovsieJournals published on KovsieScholar, the UFS output repository. Library and information Services and the office of the Vice Rector: Research, Prof Corli Witthuhn, hosted the week-long events of 26-29 July 2016 on the Bloemfontein Campus.
KovsieScholar is the UFS’s research repository that collects, preserves, and distributes open access digital material. It is an important tool for preserving the university’s legacy, facilitating digital preservation and scholarly communication. It aims to increase the university’s global visibility, the impact and profiles of its researchers, and contribute to the preservation and sharing of knowledge. Currently, it holds journals published since 2010.
The main launch event of 27 July was opened at the Equitas Building’s Senate Hall by Mr Charlie Molepo, Deputy-Director: LIS Research and Scholarly Communications, who also presented the project background. Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector said it is a great initiative that will allow anyone to have access to UFS research outputs anywhere in the world, something he is glad to see happening during his term.
A roundtable discussion brought together more than ten senior professors and heads of department to explore topics such as Open Access and its benefits and pitfalls, centralisation of institutional research output, and the future publishing platform of KovsieJournals, amongst others. Research Week will end with training for Open Access and Centre for Teaching and Learning’s core teams.