It has been an eventful week at the American University of Nigeria (AUN). It all began with an introductory meeting for new faculty on Monday 7th December 2020.
Madame President, Dr. Dawn Dekle formally welcomed new faculty. The Provost and Vice President Academic Affairs, Professor Atahir Yusuf, hosted the special orientation session at the library auditorium.
True to her enthralling narrative style, Madame President shared some verses by American poet, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, “We were made for these times” to highlight how everyone has a purpose and specific role to play in the university community.
“AUN exists for a reason, we leverage our geographic location in northeast Nigeria to help re-build Northeast Nigeria. We also have COVID as an additional challenge now, we are all wearing face masks, we are all social distancing, we are doing everything we can. And I just want to say I’m proud of you, we welcome you, we are in this together and I hope some of my light will connect with your light as we take the rest of this Fall semester forward”
The president’s metaphor about light from Ms. Estes verses, alludes to how people can feed off each other’s energies to calm worries and ignite positive action. Provost Atahir Yusuf carried on from Dr. Dekle, sharing his thoughts about AUN’s particular methods and actions.
“I warmly welcome you to AUN in the same spirit as Madame President… we are ready to give you the atmosphere to achieve your full potential. One thing that is paramount for us is the way we relate with each other and to students also. We train students from the perspective of the American liberal arts education and the foundation of that is to produce students who are broad-minded and have a broad scope in the way they look at things, they are analytical and they are invited to speak up.”
Referring to the new faculty as the future of the university, Provost Yusuf urged them to embrace a broad-minded approach to knowledge and interactions with students. Next on the roll call of speakers was the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Professor Chris Mbah. He encouraged new faculty to ensure that they are role models for students. He advised them to see one another as friends, comrades, and mentors; because a regime of decorum, appreciation, and respect is expected. He encouraged them to embody two important personae: an actor and a factor. As an actor, one should present himself in a way that will make students emulate him. The factor implies a person's discipline in school. The development of one's factors, said Prof. Mbah, should never end it should continue throughout a person's life.
The Dean of AUN’s flagship school, the School of Information Technology &Computing, Dean Olumide Longe, spoke from his personal experiences.
“when you find yourself in a new environment, mentorship becomes germane to your success.”
He encouraged his new colleagues to be global in their quests because “we are in a global environment. Experience is not always the best teacher. One does not have to repeat the mistakes of others. Hence, one has to be flexible enough to get acquainted with those who are more experienced in any system.” He also pointed out the need to project the university positively, as well as add value to the university system.
The Dean of the School of Law, Prof. Peter Ocheme, described AUN as a highly competitive place, a testing furnace and a learning community. He, therefore, urged the new faculty to focus more on the reason why they have come to AUN instead of what they can gain from the system.
Registrar, Dr. Andrew Okoli spoke on the relationship between students and faculty. He advised the new faculty to discharge their duties with great devotion and to treat the students with respect.
“AUN students are different from the students of other Nigerian universities, he said; they are trained to express their views at any point in time.”
Assistant Vice President for Safety & Security, Dr. Lionel Rawlins assured the audience that the security department will make sure everyone is safe whether on or off-campus. For that level of security to be achieved,
“AUN has a professionally trained, young, educated group of people who are securing the university. One-third of the staff in the Security Department have masters degrees, bachelors, HND, or OND.”
There is no easy access to the campus. He also revealed that specialists at the CCTV control room are always watching everything. This helps the Security Department monitor every activity around the campus. Again, this department has a great working relationship with the police, the military, the civil defense, and other security bodies in the country.
As the meeting came to an end, the Vice President for University Relations, Dr. Abubakar Abba Tahir had the final words. He gave a brief introduction to University Relations functions and urged new faculty to redirect any inquiry from outside AUN to the division.
A new faculty member at the Department of English Literature and Language Studies, Dr. Babatunde Bakare, expressed happiness and satisfaction with the university for organizing the program. The event, according to him, will give new faculty a better understanding of the AUN system. He described his experience so far at AUN as “fantastic”.
Reported by Esther Ofeli