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14 October 2025
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Story Lacea Loader
In the interest of the safety of the staff and students at the University of the Free State (UFS), the Executive Management assessed the current situation on the three campuses and made the following resolutions:
1. The Qwaqwa Campus is closed with immediate effect, and students are requested to leave the campus within the next 24 hours.
2. The Executive Management Committee extends an invitation to the Student Representative Councils (SRCs) of all three campuses to further engagement.
3. On the Bloemfontein and South Campuses, all lectures are suspended until further notice; however, only limited movement will be allowed on campus from 19:00 in the evening until 07:00 in the morning.
Dr Dirk Strydom named 2015 Free State Agriculturist of the Year
2015-11-30

Dr Dirk Strydom, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State, was chosen as the 2015 Free State Agriculturist of the Year by the Agricultural Writers Central Region. Photo: Sonia Small |
Dr Dirk Strydom, a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) at the University of the Free State (UFS), was presented with the title of 2015 Free State Agriculturist of the Year.
Dr Strydom, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, received the award on 23 October 2015 from the Agricultural Writers Central Region, the professional association promoting the image and standards of agricultural journalism in South Africa.
“A driven and ambitious young academic,” is how Dr Strydom is described.
According to the Agricultural Writers, Dr Strydom is blessed with the rare skill of bringing to his engagement with the agricultural community at large the same excitement and focus with which he approaches his students and his research.
“Strydom has perfected the art of disseminating complicated theory, and the intricacies of the South African Futures Exchange to the agricultural community.”
Dr Strydom epitomises the new generation of young scholars emerging from the PSP. This new breed of academic is very aware of the need to translate published scholarly discourse into practical usefulness for the broader public.
Hence Dr Strydom’s emphasis on the duty of the scholar to share vital innovation, intricate research, and its applications, not only with students but with the community at large.
The award is recognition for Dr Strydom’s work by the agricultural community.
He was also the recent recipient of an award from the Brahman breeders for his “outstanding scientific contribution” to their industry.