ANOTHER Nigerian professor, Charles Egbu, has made history by his appointment as the first black vice chancellor of Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, an Ivy League institution in England.
According to leadstrinity.ac.uk, Professor Egbu will return to Leeds, a city in which he studied and taught for many years, on November 1, 2020 to take over from Professor Margaret House who will step down after seven years as vice chancellor.
Reacting to his appointment, Egbu said: “I am honoured to be joining Leeds Trinity; a university whose values and ethos around widening participation, offering a personalised approach and encouraging all students to achieve their best align with my own.
“The university has an impressive track record in learning, teaching and employability, and I am looking forward to building on the strong foundations established under the leadership of Professor House.”
Professor Egbu was previously Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Experience at the University of East London where he was responsible for student experience, student success, student retention, quality assurance and enhancement, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and the students’ union.
He was previously dean of the School of Built Environment and Architecture at the London South Bank University and head of the School of Built Environment at the University of Salford.
He also held academic posts at the University College London, Glasgow Caledonian University and Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan).
Jamie Hanley, the chair-designate of the board of governors at Leeds Trinity University, said: “Professor Egbu brings with him a wealth of experience and extensive knowledge of the higher education sector. His energy and vision stood out throughout a very competitive recruitment process.”
The Federal University of Technology, Akure, has also congratulated Professor Egbu, who it says is its collaborative associate, on his elevation.
In an electronic letter signed by the vice chancellor, Professor Joseph Fuwape, FUTA said Egbu’s appointment as the first black vice chancellor of one of UK’s leading universities is a “well-deserved elevation for a Nigerian in the diaspora who engendered a thriving collaboration with FUTA”.
Fuwape said Professor Egbu’s contribution as the guest lecturer at the 8th Annual Lecture of FUTA’s School of Environmental Technology on 4th May, 2015 where he addressed the topic: ‘Construction and Project Management in a Changing World’ would remain indelible, especially as the university and major stakeholders in the Nigerian building industry benefited from his experience and scholarly presentation.
He said as the dean, School of the Built Environment and Architecture, London South Bank University, Egbu had also spearheaded a three-day International Conference on 21st Century Human Habitat jointly organized by London South Bank University, De Montfort University Leicester and FUTA in Akure in 2016.
The FUTA vice chancellor said Egbu’s groundbreaking attainment is bound to rub off on “not just the image of our compatriots living in the UK but our dear nation, Nigeria, and rekindle the hope of many Nigerians in the diaspora and give a sense of pride to black people globally.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian writer, poet and spoken word artist, Ms Wana Udobang, has been selected by the United States Department of State to participate in the 54th International Writing Programme, Fall Residency, at the University of Iowa.
She will join 29 other accomplished writers from across the globe in what is regarded as the world’s oldest and largest multinational writing residency.
For 11 weeks, Ms Udobang and other participants will give readings and lectures that share their work and cultures, collaborate with artists from other genres and art forms, and travel to interact with audiences and literary communities across the US.
Participants at the residency programme are expected to give readings and lectures that share their work and cultures, collaborate with artists from other genres and art forms, and travel to interact with audiences and literary communities across the United States.
The programme is expected to run from February 28 to May 3, 2021.
Thirty-five notable Nigerian writers have participated in the residency till date, including Elechi Amadi (1973), Cyprian Ekwensi (1974), Ola Rotimi (1980), Femi Osofisan (1986), Niyi Osundare (1988), Festus Iyayi (1990), Lola Shoneyin (1999), Obari Gomba (2016), and Tade Ipadeola (2019).
The residency will provide the writers inter-cultural opportunity to build relationships with fellow writers and translators, as well as to take part in the social and academic live of the University of Iowa and the larger American literary scene.
The United States Consul-General, Claire Pierangelo, has congratulated the Nigerian writer on her acceptance to participate in the residency programme.
According to her, the goal of the IWP Fall Residency is to provide outstanding writers with a platform for cultural exchange and collaboration.
“This is an extremely competitive programme and we are proud to have you represent Nigeria. Your accomplishments as a poet and writer are well-known and we hope this is an opportunity for you to take time to focus on your writing, connect with well-established writers from around the globe, learn more about the United States, and contribute to literature courses both at the University of Iowa and across the country,” Pierangelo said.
Ms Udobang, also known as Wana Wana, is also a journalist, filmmaker and TV personality. Her work has appeared on the British Broadcasting Corporation, Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, and The Guardian.
She graduated with a first-class degree in Journalism from the University for the Creative Arts, England. After graduation, she worked for the BBC World Service as a freelance features producer.
On her return to Lagos, Nigeria, she worked at 92.3 Inspiration FM in Lagos, Nigeria, for six years as a radio presenter and producer.
Her fiction and poetry have been published in Brittle Paper and other places online and in print. She is an alumnus of the Farafina Creative Writers Workshop held annually by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
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