Academic Programs

• August 2004 - 2005

• November 2005 - August 2007

• September 2007 - December 2011

Office of the President

"The University of Liberia is Liberia's and one of West Africa's oldest institutions of higher learning, founded in 1862. Our mission, to advance new ideas and promote enduring knowledge, has kept the University young. We strive to create an academic environment in which outstanding students and scholars from around the world are continually challenged and inspired to do their best possible work. I am pleased to welcome you to the University of Liberia. I hope you will find your stay both enlightening and enjoyable."

Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh, Ph.D.,
Office of the President, University of Liberia

P.O. Box 9020, Monrovia, Liberia

Email: alconteh@ul.edu.lr

Dr. Conteh's Home Page: http://hometown.aol.com/drconteh/myhomepage/index.html

Goals & Objectives

Global Objectives of the University in the Medium and Long-terms

• Generate strategic plans for the five undergraduate colleges, three professional schools, three graduate programs and all the administrative and support departments of the University to guide its way forward through the 21st Century;

• Create a framework for devising new academic programs, centers and institutes in response to the post-war challenges in Liberia;

• Reexamine the Long Range Plan of the University by comparing it with realities of
  the transitional period with the view of updating it to an implementable program for the relocation of the University to its Fendall Campus by the Year 2011;

• Review the current resource support and input arrangements by identifying sources and means of supporting the University through workable mechanisms;

• Review the current framework of the administration of the Graduate Programs by reassessing their structures and relationship to the existing colleges with the goal of organizing a new, graduate administrative structure;

• Review the Charter of the University and recommend changes in the purview of the postwar needs of the country;

• Review the current scope of regional and international cooperation in order to recommend new institutional arrangements, in the context of current, global trends and needs of the University.

Immediate Objectives and Activities (August, 2004 - October, 2005)

To refurbish and secure the physical plant, furnish and equip the academic programs of the University so as to facilitate the resumption of classes for more than 10,000 students in the 5 colleges, 3 graduate programs and 3 professional schools by October 1, 2004. The following key activities will be implemented:

1. Commence the renovation of the Main, Medical and Fendall Campuses.

2. Start a series of sensitization workshops, and programs to assist with the rehabilitation of the faculty, staff and students.

3. Start supplying water and electricity to all vital areas of the University including the Medical College, by procuring and installing generators, working with the LEC, LWSC and other accomplished NGOs in these sectors.

4. Renovate classrooms, restrooms, cafeteria, and related facilities and space to accommodate more than 10,000 students nationwide and from refugee centers outside the country;

5. Procure and replace essential equipment, machinery, furniture, computers, laboratory supplies and consumable chemicals, photocopiers, office equipment and supplies, student armchairs, chalkboards.

6. Rebuild the University's main library, and procure its main reference books , including up to date textbooks in fields reflecting the constituent curricula of the university: social sciences and humanities, medicine, law, dental medicine, science and technology, teachers education, business and public administration, agriculture and forestry, regional planning, international studies, and educational administration

7. Provide adequate working facilities for the faculty, and pay salary arrears, and a comprehensive health insurance plan;

8. Start a feasible and sustainable transportation system for deans, faculty , staff, and students;

9. Commence the voluntary repatriation of University faculty and staff who are still abroad with the assistance of the UNHCR and the LRRRC.

10. Provide facilities to strengthen post-war teaching and research activities at the University;

11. Enhance security on all campuses of the university.

12. Publication of the University Catalogue

13. Work with the Joint Council and Senate sessions to formulate an accelerated education plan to remove the high student retention rates occasioned by the civil war.

In order to attain adequately the above objectives and activities, the costs of the resource requirements of the University will be prepared in August and September 2004.

Medium-term Objectives (November, 2005 - August, 2007)

1. 1. Continue the renovation of buildings on its Main, Medical and Fendall campuses.

2. Start Relocating to the Fendall Campus;

3. Continue the replacement of equipment, machinery, furniture, computers, laboratory supplies and consumable chemicals, photocopiers, office equipment and supplies, student armchairs, chalkboards and books.

4. Secure assistance for information technology, particularly computers with CD-ROMS capable of setting up a Local Area Network amongst the university's constituent administrative units, colleges and professional schools;

5. Launch the University's IT and Internet Program and service;

6. Strengthen the transport system including utility vehicles for operation, student, faculty and official uses;

7. Reopen the University Book Store;

8. Extend the social rehabilitation , conflict resolution, and long-term readjustment programs; program to the public through workshops, seminars, symposia.

9. Start reorganizing existing programs (based on internal and external evaluations), and setting up relevant centers and institutes.

Long-term Objectives (September 2007 - December, 2011

1. Complete relocation to the Fendall Campus;

2. Secure a stable supply of consumable chemicals and equipment for its laboratories in chemistry, physics, biology and engineering (e.g., civil, mechanical, electrical) and a Poly Laboratory for its School of Medicine;

3. Secure the recruitment and tenure of eminent scholars in the fields of education, medicine, agriculture, conflict transformation, engineering, the basic and life sciences, geology, environment, among other fields urgently needed for national reconstruction. This network of scholars, whose curriculum vita shall be made available to the University for scrutiny and selection, shall assist with the preparation of feasibility studies in their areas of expertise, according to terms of reference jointly determined between their institutions and the University of Liberia, and serve as visiting lecturers and professors in their fields of expertise.

4. Negotiate with universities abroad for the establishment of a multidisciplinary life sciences and science and technology curricula at the University of Liberia;

5. Secure scholarships and internships for newly University of Liberia-trained Medical doctors for further specialization, at the Master's level, in the basic sciences, including parasitology, immunology, and tropical medicine among others;

6. Finalize administrative, faculty and student exchanges between the University of Liberia and a consortium of Africa, U.S. and European Universities in mutually agreed fields of interest.