MONROVIA – Amid the contentious issue of whether or not a non-Liberian citizen can manage the University of Liberia as president, Dr. Elwood Dunn, a revered Liberian educator and historian said focus should be put on the performance of who is appointed to serve as President of the University rather than his or her nationality.
Dr. Dunn spoke to Journalist Varflay Kamara of ELBC, Liberia Broadcasting System, through a prerecorded interview for the Super Morning Show.
In his response, the veteran educator said arguments about nationality for holding of the position of presidency at the University are valid but the country stands to benefit more if the individual appointed delivers on his or her mandate.
His comment came following the preferment of Dr. Lilay Marpayan, an American educator who is also a psychologist to steer the affairs of UL as its next President. Recently, the Executive Mansion released a statement of President Joseph Nyumaah Boakai’s appointment of Mrs. Marpayan to replace Dr. Julius Sarwolo Nelson, former President of the University.
The appointment of the American-trained scholar came following a rigorous search by a special committee that made the recommendation of the wife of former Liberian journalist, Seeboe Marpayan.
“I personally have looked at the training and the experience of the newly appointed President. I think President Boakai has made a good choice. I think she needs to be given an opportunity to come in and do whatever she can to address what I consider the crisis at the University of Liberia,” Dunn opined.
He continued: “About citizenship: I don’t see why not. This is not the first a non-Liberia is about to head the University of Liberia. Most of your listeners will recall that the University of Liberia, formerly Liberia College in 1950s had Presidents who were not Liberians. The first two Presidents were African-American men: J Marx Bunn and Dr. Clement King before we had the first Liberian President, Dr. Rochefort Weeks in 1957, I think.”
Dunn noted, however, that both arguments, “in favor of” and “not in favor of” are healthy debates that should not be looked at issues of conflict intended to bring animosity but rather showcasing how far the country has come with its people thinking about ownership and wanting the best.
“I think they are normal arguments on both sides. But we have to also think about what has transpired in Liberia and where the University of Liberia stands at the moment,” he emphasized.
According to the retired Liberian educator is currently in the United States where he has also been teaching at universities for over 30 years, there is precedence and what is important is to go back in history, especially at the time when the University of Liberia was called Liberia College, and one would see a long strings of presidents who were not Liberians. “That raised no issue at that time.”
He acknowledged that Liberia is no longer short of educated and qualified men and women to provide leadership for their country in respective given areas but selection of who becomes head of management of the University and all other public institutions solely depends on search, vetting and consideration, mainly by the President of the Republic (now-Joseph Nyumah Boakai).
The UL has come a long way with lots of challenges, including inadequate logistics, disenchantment from both instructional staff and the students. Students, for one significant case, have dominated the learning environment with politics which in most instance ended up being toxic and unhealthy for normal learning activities.
The Student Unification Party (SUP), a traditional student political party operating on the campuses of the University of Liberia has always agitated for a series of issues, ranging from better learning facilities to the making available of buses to transport students and modernization of the institution.
“Given her qualification, not only as an academic but also her training as a Psychologist and what looks to me as her management skills may the University forward,” Dr. Dunn told his interviewer of Dr. Marpayan.
He added that Marpayan would possibly lead the UL from the context of a post-war country that has transitioned from one political administration to another in recent time and yearning for a transformation that would change the narrative of the ugly past.
The charter establishing the University of Liberia contains no barrier to nationality for who becomes President.
When quizzed about whether it would be a good idea for the new President to ban student politics in order to bring sanity to the University, Dunn said that would not be advisable but directing the interests of students in worthwhile initiatives they cherish might provide relief.
“I will say that students, like other Liberians have Constitutional rights to free speech, free assembly, etc. We cannot deny students and others those rights. We are a democratic society.
What I think is that we can engage students seeking to channel their energies, their interests in directions that are comfortable as it is done with students who operate on campuses around the world.”
Dunn advised that Dr. Marpayan would make great impact if she considers extra-curricular programs that attract students attention and help provide them exposure, especially on exchange programs with students from other countries in the sub-region and elsewhere around the world.
He expressed hope that if such effort is considered and implemented properly, students will not have to bother themselves with national politics until they graduate, understand issues properly before venturing into them.
Meanwhile, Dr. Moses Zinnah, a lecturer in the Agricultural Department at the UL extended congratulation to Dr. Marpayan as she comes in to take over the affairs of the University. Zinnah was among applicants who sought to become President but like all others, was not preferred.
He expressed gratitude that Marpayan accepted to serve the UL and wished her well in her new role. Zinnah said in his letter of congratulation to the incoming President of the University that he was one of the two finalists recommended to President Boakai to have become the 16th president but now that she was preferred, he is ready to work with her and support all efforts that will move the University forward.
“In my letter of application I indicated that I had the requisite knowledge, skills, and experience to lead the UL. Furthermore, I highlighted my working knowledge as Vice President of Academic Affairs at the UL and professional synergies built from decades of collaboration across several institutions of higher learning in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and the United States,” he said, adding that he welcomes the preferment of Marpayan and will support her administration.
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