A
high-powered delegation of the University of Sierra Leone (USL) Tuesday 19
April paid a courtesy call on President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma at State House in
Freetown.
Accompanied by Vice President
Ambassador Dr Victor Bockarie Foh, the group, mostly administrative staff,
comprising constituent colleges of Fourah Bay College (FBC), Institute of
Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and College of Medicine and Allied
Health Sciences (COMAHS) described the purpose of the visit as showing
appreciation of the efforts of President Koroma in supporting the university at
all times.
Welcoming
the delegation, President Koroma thanked them for running the affairs of the
university and ensuring that even when the country was undergoing difficult
moments the staff was still able to uphold the standards expected of the
university. “I know we have challenges here and there but it is our capacity to
address those challenges that makes the difference,” he said.
The president also thanked the
University for the Initiative in establishing directorates which gave rise to
the Award Banquet Committee and the recently published comprehensive register
of students from 1827 to 2012. He promised to restore the Banquet to its past
glory and asked his vice president to work closely with the university
administration to ensure outstanding issues are quickly addressed.
Being an alumnus of the
University of Sierra Leone, President Koroma presented an envelope to the
administration as a gesture towards the proposed banquet.
The Director of the Alumni and
International Relations Directorate Mrs. Bernadette Cole disclosed that the
University Banquet was introduced in 1992 to recognize excellence among
students in their chosen fields of study as well as hard working staff of the
University. She said the banquet was formerly hosted on the grounds of State
House until after the war when late President Dr Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah as
Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone lost interest in hosting the event
which was later taken over by the Vice Chancellor.
Madam Cole informed President
Koroma about the efforts of the Alumni and International Relations Directorate
in assisting the FBC administration to publish the first volume of the Record
of Alumni of FBC from 1827 when Samuel Adjai Crowther from Nigeria registered
as first student, to 2012 as well as assisting the administration to develop a
film dubbed “Fourah Bay College, the Athens of West Africa – its history, the
good old days, the current challenges and the call for restoration”. She said
their next project is the compilation of the addresses of alumni world-wide to
enable the University to relate with them in a meaningful way, while unveiling
the various programmes that have been lined up to celebrate the 190th
anniversary of the college in February.
In his vote of thanks, Professor
Ekundayo J.D. Thompson, Vice Chancellor/Principal of the University of Sierra
Leone profoundly thanked the president for his continuous support to the USL
and cordially invited him to the October graduation where, he said, honorary
Doctorate Degrees will be conferred on the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone
and former Chief Justice of Sierra Leone Haja Umu Tejan Jalloh respectively..
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