On Monday, August 29, the Interim President of the University, Professor Attahir Yusuf, charged new students to take full advantage of the extensive resources available to them to become the best they can be.
Professor Attahir further advised the students to learn to communicate and enjoy their newfound freedom with responsibility, warning that AUN has zero tolerance for anti-social behavior and vices, including sexual harassment, bullying, cultism, examination cheating, theft, or violence.
While welcoming the newest members of the AUN Learning Community, their families, and friends to the Fall 2022 Convocation and Pledge Ceremony, Professor Attahir advised the first-year students to work closely with their Professors and academics advisers to choose the programs that suit their ambition.
The e-library, the Writing Center, the Math Resource Center, Academic Advising Unit, the Honor Society Tutoring program, the Student Government Association, and the Student Affairs Department are available to support and mentor them, Professor Attahir said, urging them to step out and seek help where and when they need it.
President Attahir described their new academic home, the American University of Nigeria, as a community of intellectuals and change makers committed to a better society. "Here at AUN, every individual is valued, and every individual is also supported and encouraged to be the best they can be. We also demand the very best from our students and strive for them to achieve excellent academic and extra-curricular accomplishments in this community".
He encouraged them to "set up and accumulate the intellectual, emotional, and cultural assets available at AUN for a lifetime support."
He advised the new students to embrace diversity, accept and adapt to the differences in cultures and individualities, rise to the challenge, and reach out to make new friends among their classmates, stressing the potential social capital inherent in developing and maintaining campus friendships and networks.
"I am thrilled to welcome all of you to AUN. I am excited to see how each of you is going to grow in wisdom, might, and zeal and how you choose to seek meaning and happiness, both here in this University and wherever life takes you".
The President reminded the new students that they were entering college at one of the most exciting and challenging times in human history, a time when the world is becoming more global, more diverse, more urban, more interconnected, and with machines transforming the way humanity works, thinks and relates with one another.
This University's goal, Professor Attahir assured the students and their parents, is to guide them to thrive and lead in this rapidly changing world and give them an education that will transform their worldview to adapt and become success stories.
"We accepted you from many applications received. Over the next years, you will learn things you thought you already knew, you will have many experiences that will stick with you for the rest of your lives. You will begin relationships, understand many new things". He also enjoined them to find the time to enjoy the AUN campus atmosphere and to discover other interests outside academic work.
The President also welcomed new and returning faculty members and appreciated the AUN faculty for their hard work, dedication, and sacrifice in preparing and planning for the incoming academic session.