University of the Free State

The University of the Free State (UFS), legally Universiteit van die Vrystaat and in Sesotho Yunivesithi ya Freistata, is a public multi-campus research university seated in Bloemfontein, the judicial capital of South Africa and the capital of the Free State province.自由邦大学（University of the Free State，简称 UFS，南非荷兰语作 Universiteit van die Vrystaat，塞索托语作 Yunivesithi ya Freistata）是南非一所公立多校区研究型大学，主校区位于南非司法首都、自由邦省首府布隆方丹。

It began in 1904 as the Grey University College with six humanities students, became an independent Afrikaans-medium university in 1950 as the University of the Orange Free State, took its present name in 2001 and absorbed the Qwaqwa campus of the University of the North in 2003.该校 1904 年以格雷大学学院之名创办，首届仅六名文科学生，1950 年成为独立的南非荷兰语大学并改名奥兰治自由邦大学，2001 年改用现名，2003 年并入北方大学夸夸校区。

Its 2026 institutional profile records 38,438 students, seven faculties, three campuses, 4,731 staff, 250 NRF-rated researchers and 88 active patents, while the 2027 QS World University Rankings place it in the 1001-1200 band.该校 2026 年机构概况记载学生 38438 人、七个学院、三个校区、教职工 4731 人、250 名南非国家研究基金会评级研究员与 88 项有效专利；2027 年 QS 世界大学排名将其列入第 1001-1200 位区间。

History

• Grey College, the school from which the university grew, was founded in Bloemfontein on 13 October 1855 by Sir George Grey, then governor of the Cape Colony, and by the 1890s it was preparing pupils for intermediate BA examinations of the University of the Cape of Good Hope.大学所自脱胎的格雷学校由时任开普殖民地总督乔治·格雷爵士于 1855 年 10 月 13 日在布隆方丹创办，到 1890 年代已开始为学生备考好望角大学的文学士中级考试。
• Free State president Marthinus Theunis Steyn used his 1896 inauguration to call for a university that would teach in Dutch rather than English, and the Orange Free State Volksraad's later support turned a long-standing local wish into an institutional project.自由邦总统马蒂努斯·特尼斯·斯泰恩在 1896 年就职演说中呼吁创办一所以荷兰语而非英语授课的大学，奥兰治自由邦议会的后续支持使这一地方夙愿变成建制计划。
• On 28 January 1904 six students enrolled quietly for a BA degree in a two-room building, with Dr Johannes Brill, rector of Grey College for 34 years, serving simultaneously as the first rector of the new Grey University College and degrees still awarded by the University of the Cape of Good Hope.1904 年 1 月 28 日，六名学生在一座两间房的建筑里悄然注册文学士课程，执掌格雷学校 34 年的约翰内斯·布里尔博士同时出任新格雷大学学院首任校长，学位仍由好望角大学授予。
• The first Senate was constituted in 1906, the cornerstone of the Main Building was laid on 19 December 1907 by Abraham Fischer, Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony, and staff and students moved into the completed building and the House Abraham Fischer men's residence in mid-1909.首届校务委员会于 1906 年组成，主楼奠基石由奥兰治河殖民地总理亚伯拉罕·菲舍尔于 1907 年 12 月 19 日安放，1909 年中期师生迁入落成的主楼与亚伯拉罕·菲舍尔男生宿舍。
• Dutch was first taught as a subject in 1911, separate Faculties of Science and Arts were created in 1918, and D. F. Malherbe was appointed the first professor of Afrikaans in the same year as the college shifted to bilingual English-Afrikaans instruction.1911 年首次开设荷兰语课程，1918 年单独设立理学院与文学院，同年 D. F. 马勒布获聘首位南非荷兰语教授，学院亦转向英语与南非荷兰语双语授课。
• The President Steyn women's residence opened in 1919, and in 1920 the Reverend J. D. Kestell became the second rector and rescued the college financially by touring Free State schools and soliciting funds from churches and banks.斯泰恩总统女生宿舍于 1919 年启用，1920 年 J. D. 凯斯泰尔牧师出任第二任校长，他巡访自由邦各地学校并向教会与银行募款，使学院财政转危为安。
• The Reitz dining hall was built in 1923 and the first Rag festival was staged that year, inaugurating a student charity tradition that still structures the campus calendar.雷茨餐厅于 1923 年建成，同年举办首届「Rag」狂欢募捐节，开启了至今仍塑造校园年历的学生慈善传统。
• D. F. Malherbe returned as fourth rector in 1929 and gave the college a Christian Afrikaans character, and by 1930 the institution was teaching 22 departments with an increasingly Afrikaans-speaking staff and student body.D. F. 马勒布于 1929 年回任第四任校长，赋予学院基督教南非荷兰语特质；到 1930 年该校已开设 22 个系，教职员与学生的南非荷兰语色彩日益明显。
• The college was renamed the University College of the Orange Free State in 1935, a change whose Afrikaans form gave students the nickname Kovsies that they still carry.学院于 1935 年更名为奥兰治自由邦大学学院，其南非荷兰语名称的缩略形式衍生出「Kovsies」这一沿用至今的学生绰号。
• The Faculty of Commerce was added in 1938, the student newspaper IRAWA was launched in 1944, and the Faculties of Law, Education and Social Sciences were established in 1945 as the institution moved towards full university breadth.1938 年增设商学院，1944 年创刊学生报纸《IRAWA》，1945 年又设法学、教育与社会科学院，学校由此走向完整的大学学科布局。
• Dual-medium instruction was phased out in 1948 in favour of Afrikaans only, a decision that hardened the institution's linguistic identity on the eve of apartheid rule.1948 年双轨授课被取消，改为纯南非荷兰语教学，这一决定在种族隔离制度确立前夕强化了学校的语言身份。
• The trusteeship of the University of South Africa ended in 1949 when the college received a university charter, and in 1950 it became the University of the Orange Free State and awarded its first honorary doctorate, a DLitt to the architect G. L. P. Moerdyk.1949 年南非大学的托管结束，学院获得大学特许状；1950 年改称奥兰治自由邦大学，并向建筑师 G. L. P. 莫尔迪克颁授首个荣誉文学博士学位。
• A library building completed in 1953 later became the Johannes Brill Building, the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences was created in 1954 and the Faculty of Agriculture followed in 1958, broadening the institution beyond the humanities and sciences.1953 年落成的图书馆建筑后来改称约翰内斯·布里尔楼，1954 年设立经济与行政科学学院，1958 年再设农学院，使学校走出人文与理科的窄域。
• The Odeion and West Block were completed in 1966, and by 1967 the university enrolled 4,440 students, a doubling of scale within two decades that required new lecture halls, residences and roads.奥德翁音乐厅与西楼于 1966 年落成，到 1967 年在校生达 4440 人，二十年间规模翻倍，迫使学校新建讲堂、宿舍与道路。
• A system of parallel-medium tuition in Afrikaans and English was adopted in 1993, and the university was fully de-segregated in 1996, ending the whites-only admissions that had defined its first four decades as an independent university.学校于 1993 年采用南非荷兰语与英语并行的双轨授课制，1996 年完成彻底去种族隔离，终结了其作为独立大学前四十年只收白人的招生政策。
• A new university statute adopted in 1999 opened a sustained growth period, and the renamed University of the Free State in 2001 was intended to reflect the institution's regional rather than republican identity.1999 年通过的新校章开启了持续扩张期，2001 年改称自由邦大学，意在让校名反映其区域身份而非旧共和国的政治称谓。
• In 2003 the Qwaqwa campus, until then part of the University of the North, was transferred to the UFS, giving the university a permanent presence in the eastern Free State and a mandate for rural and mountain research.2003 年，原属北方大学的夸夸校区划归自由邦大学，使学校在自由邦东部获得常设存在，并承担乡村与山地研究使命。
• The university marked its centenary in 2004, then faced national controversy in February 2008 when a video made by four white Reitz residence students mocked five black workers, prompting the council to close the residence and the education department to investigate racism on campus.学校 2004 年庆祝百年校庆，2008 年 2 月却因四名雷茨宿舍白人学生拍摄嘲弄五名黑人工人的视频而陷入全国争议，校务委员会关闭该宿舍，教育主管部门亦介入调查校园种族主义。
• Jonathan Jansen was appointed vice-chancellor in 2010 as the first black leader of the UFS, and in the same year the university received the World Universities Forum Award for Best Practice in Higher Education for its integration work.乔纳森·詹森于 2010 年出任校长，成为自由邦大学首位黑人领导者；同年，学校因推动族群融合获世界大学论坛高等教育最佳实践奖。
• English became the primary medium of instruction in 2016, AfriForum and Solidarity challenged the policy, and the Constitutional Court upheld the university's language model in 2017, settling a dispute that had run since the 1990s.2016 年英语成为主要授课语言，南非公民权利组织 AfriForum 与工会 Solidarity 提起诉讼，宪法法院于 2017 年支持校方语言政策，为这场自 1990 年代延续的争议定案。
• Hester C. Klopper was appointed vice-chancellor and principal on 1 February 2025 and installed on 9 June 2025 as the 15th holder of the office and the first woman to lead the university in its 121-year history, with Vision 130 preparing the 2034 anniversary.海斯特·C. 克洛珀于 2025 年 2 月 1 日获任命为校长，同年 6 月 9 日就职，成为该校第 15 任校长及 121 年校史首位女性校长，并以「愿景 130」筹备 2034 年建校 130 周年。

Academics

• The university is organised into seven faculties, namely Economic and Management Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, the Humanities, Law, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and Theology and Religion, and all seven teach on the Bloemfontein Campus.学校设七个学院，即经济与管理科学、教育、健康科学、人文、法学、自然与农业科学、神学与宗教，七院均在布隆方丹校区开课。
• The Qwaqwa Campus concentrates on the Humanities, Education, Economic and Management Sciences and Natural and Agricultural Sciences, with postgraduate teaching delivered through regional research centres rather than through a full duplicate of the Bloemfontein offering.夸夸校区以人文、教育、经济与管理科学、自然与农业科学为主，研究生教学依托区域研究中心，而非完整复制布隆方丹校区的全部学科。
• Enrolment stood at 38,438 students in the 2026 institutional profile, including 3,797 international students, and the university produced 9,487 graduates in 2025.2026 年机构概况显示在校生 38438 人，其中国际学生 3797 人；2025 年学校培养毕业生 9487 人。
• The university employed 4,731 staff in 2026, and its 2024 annual review recorded 535 academic staff holding doctorates, a figure it treats as the base of its research-led strategy.2026 年全校教职工 4731 人；2024 年年度回顾记载 535 名学术人员拥有博士学位，学校将此视为研究导向战略的基础。
• Research capacity is concentrated in 250 NRF-rated researchers, 161 postdoctoral fellows and 494 research fellows, a concentration that supports both postgraduate supervision and large collaborative grants.科研力量集中于 250 名南非国家研究基金会评级研究员、161 名博士后与 494 名研究员，这一配置同时支撑研究生指导与大型合作项目。
• The university held 88 active patents in 2026 and reported 2.5 per cent of students studying by distance, reflecting an innovation and commercialisation agenda that sits alongside its teaching mission.2026 年学校持有 88 项有效专利，远程学习学生占 2.5%，显示其除教学使命之外还推进创新与商业化议程。
• The UFS Business School sits within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and offers MBA and executive programmes, while Open Distance Learning extends selected qualifications to students who cannot attend residential classes.自由邦大学商学院隶属于经济与管理科学学院，开设 MBA 与高管课程；开放远程学习则为无法到校上课的学生提供部分学位项目。
• The Afromontane Research Unit on the Qwaqwa Campus is a named research platform for mountain ecology and sustainable development in the Maluti-Drakensberg region, and it anchors the campus's regional research identity.夸夸校区的非洲山地研究单元是研究马洛蒂-德拉肯斯堡山区生态与可持续发展的具名平台，也是该校区区域研究身份的支点。
• The Institute for Groundwater Studies is one of the university's oldest specialised research units, advising government and industry on aquifer assessment and water security in a province that depends heavily on groundwater.地下水研究所是该校历史最久的专门研究单位之一，为政府与企业提供含水层评估与水资源安全咨询，而自由邦省高度依赖地下水。
• The Centre for Development Support and the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre, known as DiMTEC, apply social science and disaster risk expertise to municipal planning and to the training of provincial emergency managers.发展支持中心与灾害管理培训教育中心（DiMTEC）把社会科学与灾害风险知识用于市政规划，并培训省级应急管理人员。
• The Sasol Library on the Bloemfontein Campus is the main general collection, while the Frik Scott Medical Library serves the Faculty of Health Sciences and is named after a former professor of surgery at the university.布隆方丹校区的萨索尔图书馆是主要综合馆藏，弗里克·斯科特医学图书馆则服务健康科学学院，馆名取自该校一位前外科学教授。
• Health sciences teaching is tied to the Bloemfontein academic hospital complex, where medical and allied health students complete clinical rotations in a province with a widely dispersed rural population.健康科学教学与布隆方丹学术医院建筑群紧密相连，医学与相关健康专业学生在此完成临床轮转，而该省人口高度分散于乡村地区。
• The Faculty of Education teaches the BEd Foundation Phase programme on the South Campus, a site designed around blended learning and the training of teachers for the first school years.教育学院在南校区开设基础教育阶段教育学士项目，该校区围绕混合式学习与小学低年级师资培养而设计。
• UFS language policy pairs English-medium instruction with the development of Sesotho, isiZulu, Afrikaans and South African Sign Language as academic languages, and its translanguaging tutorials let students process material in one language and produce work in another.该校语言政策以英语授课为主，同时发展塞索托语、祖鲁语、南非荷兰语与南非手语为学术语言；其「跨语际」辅导允许学生用一种语言理解材料、用另一种语言完成作业。
• In 2024 the university avoided more than R14 million in publishing costs through transformative agreements with journal publishers, money redirected into its research support budget.2024 年，学校通过与期刊出版商签订转换性协议节省逾 1400 万兰特出版费用，这笔资金被转用于科研支持预算。
• Teaching and research are linked through the principle of engaged scholarship, under which faculty projects in law, education, agriculture and health are designed with community partners and assessed for public benefit as well as academic output.教学与研究通过「参与式学术」原则相连，法学、教育、农业与健康领域的教师项目与社区伙伴共同设计，除学术产出外还评估其公共效益。

Campus

• The Bloemfontein Campus at 205 Nelson Mandela Drive in Park West lies on Die Bult, about 3.5 kilometres west of the city centre and at an altitude of 1,424 metres, a site chosen in 1904 for its open veld and clean air.布隆方丹主校区位于帕克韦斯特纳尔逊·曼德拉大道 205 号，坐落在「Die Bult」高地上，距市中心约 3.5 公里，海拔 1424 米，1904 年因开阔草原与洁净空气而选定。
• The 1909 Main Building and the 1966 Odeion frame the historic core, while the campus is deliberately walkable, with parks, lawns, outdoor sculpture and braille-guided routes for blind students.1909 年主楼与 1966 年奥德翁音乐厅构成历史核心区，校园刻意保持步行尺度，配有公园、草坪、户外雕塑以及为盲人学生设置的盲文导引路线。
• The South Campus on OR Tambo Street occupies a farm portion of about 57.7 hectares, accommodates up to 4,000 students and houses an auditorium, a library and the university's blended-learning centre.南校区位于奥兰多·坦博街，占地约 57.7 公顷的农场地块，可容纳 4000 名学生，设有礼堂、图书馆与学校混合式学习中心。
• The Qwaqwa Campus on Kestell Road in Phuthaditjhaba sits among the sandstone mountains of the eastern Free State and draws most of its students from the eastern Free State and western KwaZulu-Natal.夸夸校区位于普塔迪贾巴的凯斯泰尔路，地处自由邦东部砂岩山地之间，学生主要来自自由邦东部与夸祖鲁-纳塔尔西部。
• The Sasol Library and the Frik Scott Medical Library are the two named library buildings, and together they hold the general, medical and archival collections that support seven faculties across three sites.萨索尔图书馆与弗里克·斯科特医学图书馆是两座具名馆舍，共同承载支撑三个校区七个学院的综合、医学与档案馆藏。
• The Reitz residence, whose dining hall dates from 1923, was closed by the university council after the 2008 video scandal, and the episode turned a residential building into a national reference point for campus racism.雷茨宿舍的餐厅建于 1923 年，2008 年视频丑闻后由校务委员会关闭，这一事件使一栋宿舍楼成为南非校园种族主义的全国性参照点。
• Named residences trace the campus's social history, from the House Abraham Fischer men's residence of 1909 and the President Steyn women's residence of 1919 to the D. F. Malherbe Hostel of 1962 and the Emily Hobhouse Hostel of 1963.具名宿舍串起校园社会史，从 1909 年亚伯拉罕·菲舍尔男生宿舍、1919 年斯泰恩总统女生宿舍，到 1962 年 D. F. 马勒布宿舍与 1963 年艾米莉·霍布豪斯宿舍。
• Sports facilities cater for more than 20 codes, and the campus also hosts a student centre, a theatre, a careers centre and the KovsieFM radio studio, making the Bloemfontein site a full residential campus rather than a teaching-only precinct.体育设施覆盖 20 多个项目，校园还设有学生中心、剧场、就业指导中心与 KovsieFM 电台演播室，使布隆方丹校区成为完整的住宿型校园而非单纯教学区。

Reputation

• The 2027 QS World University Rankings place the University of the Free State in the 1001-1200 band, a tied interval rather than a single position, and the same band is shared by several South African and international peers.2027 年 QS 世界大学排名将自由邦大学列入第 1001-1200 位区间，这是并列区间而非单一名次，多所南非与国际同类高校同处该段。
• The 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings place the UFS in the 1201-1400 band, a weaker showing than its 2023 placement in the 801-1000 band.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将该校列入第 1201-1400 位区间，较其 2023 年的 801-1000 位区间有所回落。
• The 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities ranking places the university at 1,049th in the world, one of four major global tables in which it appears.2026-2027 年《美国新闻与世界报道》全球最佳大学排名将该校列世界第 1049 位，这是其登上的四个主要全球榜单之一。
• The 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by ShanghaiRanking, places the UFS in the 901-1000 band, its strongest band among the four major rankings.上海软科发布的 2026 年世界大学学术排名将该校列入第 901-1000 位区间，这是其在四大主榜中的最好区间。
• Times Higher Education's 2026 world ranking made the UFS ninth in Africa, and the 2026 QS table made it ninth in Sub-Saharan Africa, giving it a consistent top-ten continental position.泰晤士高等教育 2026 年世界排名将该校列为非洲第九，2026 年 QS 榜单则将其列为撒哈拉以南非洲第九，使其保持稳定的非洲前十位置。
• OpenAlex indexes 40,308 works and 968,805 citations attributable to the university, a publication base built largely in agriculture, health sciences, education and the natural sciences.OpenAlex 收录归属该校的 40308 项成果与 968805 次引用，其发表基础主要建立在农业、健康科学、教育与自然科学领域。
• The university's 2026 profile records 250 NRF-rated researchers and 88 active patents, quantitative markers that place it among South Africa's mid-sized research-intensive universities rather than a teaching-only institution.该校 2026 年概况记载 250 名国家研究基金会评级研究员与 88 项有效专利，这些量化指标使其居于南非中型研究密集型大学之列，而非单纯教学机构。
• Its reputation for student success rests on institutional throughput data, with the university reporting one of the country's highest success rates and 9,487 graduates in 2025 from a student body of 38,438.其「学生成功率」声誉建立在院校通过率数据上：学校称自身成功率居全国前列，2025 年在 38438 名学生中培养出 9487 名毕业生。
• In 2010 the World Universities Forum awarded the UFS its Best Practice in Higher Education award, citing the racial integration and harmonisation of the student community after the Reitz crisis.2010 年世界大学论坛向自由邦大学颁发高等教育最佳实践奖，理由正是雷茨危机后该校推动学生社群种族融合与和解的实践。

Student life

• The university motto is In Deo Sapientiae Lux, meaning In God is the light of wisdom, adopted in 1952 to replace the 1947 motto Per Fidem ad Sapientiam, or Through faith to wisdom.该校校训为「In Deo Sapientiae Lux」，意为「智慧之光在上帝之中」，1952 年启用，取代 1947 年的「Per Fidem ad Sapientiam」（凭信仰走向智慧）。
• The crest was simplified in 2011 and the traditional orange, white and blue were altered in the late 1990s when orange gave way to cherry red, so the present colours are cherry red, white and blue.校徽于 2011 年简化；传统橙、白、蓝三色在 1990 年代末调整，橙色让位于樱桃红，故现行校色为樱桃红、白与蓝。
• Students call themselves Kovsies, a nickname derived from the Afrikaans name of the University College of the Orange Free State, and the term now covers alumni, sports teams and the campus radio station.学生自称「Kovsies」，该绰号源自奥兰治自由邦大学学院的南非荷兰语校名，如今也指校友、运动队与校园电台。
• The Rag festival, first staged in 1923, remains a student charity tradition in which residences build floats and raise money for local welfare organisations before the winter examinations.首届「Rag」节于 1923 年举办，至今仍是学生慈善传统：各宿舍制作花车并在冬季考试前为当地福利机构募款。
• IRawa, launched in 1944, is the student newspaper, and KovsieFM is the campus radio station, giving students two named media outlets that have operated across the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.《IRAWA》于 1944 年创刊，是学生报纸；KovsieFM 为校园电台，两个具名学生媒体跨越种族隔离与后隔离时代持续运作。
• Residence life is organised around named houses such as Abraham Fischer, President Steyn, D. F. Malherbe and Emily Hobhouse, each with its own traditions, and the system remains the main route into student leadership.宿舍生活围绕亚伯拉罕·菲舍尔、斯泰恩总统、D. F. 马勒布与艾米莉·霍布豪斯等具名宿舍展开，各舍自有传统，这一体系仍是学生进入领导岗位的主要路径。
• The Shimlas, the university's rugby team, compete in the Varsity Cup, and the sports programme covers more than 20 codes from athletics and netball to rugby and cricket, with facilities shared by students and local clubs.该校橄榄球队「Shimlas」参加校际 Varsity Cup 赛事，体育项目覆盖田径、无板篮球、橄榄球、板球等 20 多个门类，设施与本地俱乐部共用。
• Bloemfontein, known as the City of Roses and the judicial capital, places students within reach of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the 250-hectare Franklin Game Reserve and a city centre that mixes government, courts and retail.布隆方丹号称「玫瑰之城」并为司法首都，学生因此近接最高上诉法院、占地 250 公顷的富兰克林野生动物保护区，以及兼具政府、法院与商业的市中心。
• Since 2025 the university has promoted translanguaging tutorials and a multilingual conference hosted on the Bloemfontein Campus, arguing that academic literacy in Sesotho and isiZulu is compatible with English-medium degrees.2025 年以来，学校推广跨语际辅导并在布隆方丹校区主办多语制会议，主张以塞索托语与祖鲁语培养学术读写能力与英语学位并不冲突。

Notable people

• Sir George Grey founded Grey College in 1855, the school that became the university's parent institution, and his name survives in the Grey University College title used from 1904 to 1935.乔治·格雷爵士于 1855 年创办格雷学校，即大学的前身机构，其名字保留在 1904 至 1935 年使用的「格雷大学学院」校名中。
• Dr Johannes Brill, rector of Grey College for 34 years, became the first rector of Grey University College in 1904 and is treated by the university as both founder and first academic head.约翰内斯·布里尔博士执掌格雷学校 34 年，1904 年出任格雷大学学院首任校长，学校将其视为创办人与首位学术负责人。
• Abraham Fischer, Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony, laid the Main Building cornerstone in 1907 and gave his name to the first men's residence, tying the university's foundation to Orange Free State political leadership.奥兰治河殖民地总理亚伯拉罕·菲舍尔于 1907 年安放主楼奠基石，首座男生宿舍亦以其命名，使大学创建与奥兰治自由邦政治领导层紧密相连。
• C. R. Swart, a UFS alumnus, served as the first State President of the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to 1967, and his statue on campus became a flashpoint during the FeesMustFall protests of 2015-2016.校友 C. R. 斯瓦特于 1961 至 1967 年出任南非共和国首任总统，其校园雕像在 2015-2016 年「学费必须降」运动中成为争议焦点。
• P. W. Botha, another alumnus, was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and executive State President from 1984 to 1989, a career that placed a UFS graduate at the centre of late apartheid government.另一位校友 P. W. 博塔于 1978 至 1984 年任南非总理，1984 至 1989 年任拥有实权的总统，使一名自由邦大学毕业生处于种族隔离末期政府的核心。
• Bram Fischer, grandson of Abraham Fischer, practised law in Johannesburg and defended Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid figures, and he received the Lenin Peace Prize in 1967 while serving a life sentence.亚伯拉罕·菲舍尔之孙布拉姆·菲舍尔在约翰内斯堡执业，曾为纳尔逊·曼德拉等反种族隔离人物辩护，1967 年在服无期徒刑期间获列宁和平奖。
• Antjie Krog graduated with a BA Honours in English from the University of the Orange Free State in 1973 and won the Hertzog Prize for poetry in 1990 and again in 2017, while her book on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Country of My Skull, won the Alan Paton Award.安蒂·克罗格 1973 年获奥兰治自由邦大学英语文学荣誉学士，1990 年与 2017 年两度获赫佐格诗歌奖，其记述真相与和解委员会的《我的头骨之国》另获艾伦·佩顿奖。
• Karel Schoeman took a BA in languages at the University of the Free State in 1959 and won the Hertzog Prize for prose in 1970, 1986 and 1995, and the university awarded him an honorary DLitt in 2004.卡雷尔·斯库曼 1959 年在自由邦大学获语言文学学士，1970、1986、1995 年三度获赫佐格散文奖，2004 年获母校荣誉文学博士。
• Wayde van Niekerk, a UFS alumnus, won the 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics in a world record of 43.03 seconds, a mark that still stands and that made him the first African to hold the event's world record.校友韦德·范尼凯克在 2016 年里约奥运会 400 米决赛以 43.03 秒夺冠并刷新世界纪录，该纪录保持至今，他也成为首位保持该项目世界纪录的非洲人。
• Rassie Erasmus, a former Springbok player and UFS alumnus, coached South Africa to the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and 2023 and was named World Rugby Coach of the Year in 2019.前跳羚队球员、校友拉西·伊拉斯谟率南非队夺得 2019 与 2023 年橄榄球世界杯冠军，并于 2019 年获世界橄榄球年度最佳教练。
• Rolene Strauss, a UFS medical student, was crowned Miss World in 2014, and Winkie Direko, another alumna, served as Premier of the Free State from 1999 to 2004.该校医学生罗琳·斯特劳斯于 2014 年获世界小姐桂冠；另一位校友温基·迪雷科于 1999 至 2004 年任自由邦省省长。
• Jonathan Jansen became the university's first black vice-chancellor in 2010, and Hester Klopper succeeded him in the office's line of incumbents in 2025 as the first woman to hold it.乔纳森·詹森于 2010 年成为该校首位黑人校长，海斯特·克洛珀则于 2025 年接续这一序列，成为首位女性校长。