Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
On Wednesday, February 17, 2021, the University of Liberia recognized outstanding accomplishments mainly centred on publications done by the University Professors and instructors while celebrating the 101st commencement. Among the 31 honorees, included Assistant Professor J. Alexander Nuetah, Ph.D. who is a China alumni having graduated from the China Agricultural University in Beijing and also a Dongfang Scholar at Peking University in Beijing. Alexander is a fluent speaker of Mandarin.
The president of the University of Liberia, Rev. Dr. Julius Sarwolo S. Nelson, pledged that he will instill the culture of research among the University of Liberia lectures as well as students. This is the first time in the history of the University of Liberia since the civil war that such prestigious ceremony of honoring research and publication has been conducted. The University President reminded that every upward movement has its material and psychological reward, “When you go to the faculty promotion exercise, the ‘Publish or Perish,’ when you go through that exercise and you are promoted, there are incentives that come with this promotion.” The President announced a Research Grant Fund Platform to the tune of US$50,000 as the starting point to cultivate research at the University of Liberia. Lecturers who do not publish were challenged to make a try since their work will be producing knowledge that is much needed by the University community and the society in a wider context.
In an interview, Assistant Professor Alexander Nuetah, told Africa-China Review that the event was exciting although it is an academic requirement. “It was exciting but I think it is normal and a requirement for University lecturers and Professors to publish papers. I only hope that it encourages more lecturers to engage more into research.” Alexander Nuetah’s research publications; include a topic; Has, China’s Investment Pattern in Pattern in Sub-Saharan Africa Been Driven by Natural Resource Quest? This is a topic that is widely discussed by western media and think tanks, claiming that China is driven by the quest for resources, yet the same western countries are responsible for the depletion of African resources since slave trade and colonialism.
J. Alexander Nuetah (in a blue shirt bending) consulting with Dongfang scholars in a lecture room at Peking University- 2019. (Photo: Gerald Mbanda)
The list of the distinguished honorees at the University of Liberia included 15 Ph.D holders, one LLM Degree holder and 15 holders of M.Sc. Degree. The university has more than 800 faculty members, who are full-time and adjunct faculty.
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