The administration of the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Dominican University, Ibadan, Nigeria, Professor Jacinta Opara, will move on a faster progression of producing quality graduates who will stand at par with world-class standards.
Prof. Opara who was recently appointed and inaugurated on 1st July 2024 as the second substantive and first female Vice Chancellor of the prestigious institution following a stringent recruitment exercise in line with the global practices of headhunting for strategic positions in higher educational institutions, assumes office with a wealth of experience able to amplify the good records of the varsity.
Speaking to CEOAFRICA at the recently held inaugural ceremony for the new VC, the Admission Officer of the University, Mrs Titilayo Abijo boasted that the new administration has set the ground running to progress the training and building of graduates with good grades that will be felt in the areas of development and innovation in the country, and world at large.
Abijan called on individuals who have graduated with good grades in their West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) examinations to register for their undergraduate programmes in the school, assuring that the new administration will help to increase students’ enrollment and bring more good things to the school.
In her inaugural speech titled “Our Future is Bright; the Sky is our Limit”, the VC promised to ensure the provision of quality education and academic excellence in the institution, stating her plans to build on the vision of the school, which is to provide quality education. She assured her readiness to build a generation of leaders who will take the governance of Nigeria and the global community, promising that her administration will train leaders who will work and serve the common good of the nation and the world at large.
The first female VC of the institution disclosed that her goals will be achieved through the provision of a good working environment necessary to motivate both lecturers and students as well as create an opportunity to grow and improve talents. According to her, there will be creation of internal motivation among staff and students of the university to allow them work with integrity, discipline and godliness without pretense.
Being a leading international environmental scholar, scientist, educator, health researcher, consultant and development activist with the combined power of management and human rights, Opara promised to use her experience and connections both locally and internationally to move the institution to the next level. She highlighted her plans to ensure collaboration with international organizations to ensure the university becomes a center of excellence, stressing on expanding the academic programmes of the institution to accommodate more courses that will attract students both locally and internationally.
Dominican University was formerly Dominican Institute in Ibadan, becoming an affiliate of the University of Ibadan in 1993 for the award of bachelor’s degree in philosophy. In 2006, the Dominican Order in Nigeria applied for a university license to transform the Dominican Institute into a University. The application was approved in November 2016, marking the birth of the first university of the Order of Preachers on the African continent. In a letter dated June 10, 2020, addressed to the Vice Chancellor, the National Universities Commission (NUC) informed of the successful acquirement of a full statutory license to function as a university.
With her experience in the higher institution of learning both locally and internationally, Opara’s five-year tenure will move the University to a next level of academic excellence and development.
Carrying a pack of records of achievements, Opara is a Fellow of the African Sexuality Leadership Development funded by Ford Foundation and a Delegate/Resource Person/Consultant of the 2008 UN World Women ́s Day of the Women International League on Peace and Freedom(WILPF),Geneva-Switzerland; United Nations PANAFCON Summit on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlement, Addis Ababa-Ethiopia; 2004 UN World Habitat Day(UNHABITAT), Nairobi-Kenya; UNU-EHS Project on Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability, Bonn-Germany; UNU-WIDER Project on Country Role Models, Helsinki-Finland and the 2008 Women`s World in Madrid-Spain. She has over 150 publications and speaks English and Spanish.
She has received several awards, fellowships and grants including the Erasmus Mundus of the European Commission, Brussels Belgium and the prestigious IATEL Award for Academic Excellence in 2015. She maintains consulting status with several local and international agencies in the areas of environment, health, gender, human rights, peace and security, sexuality, education, human capacity building and community development.
