The newly inaugurated Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Calabar, Prof. Kyrian Ayiba Ojong has assured the staff of the Faculty of Arts that his priority is to work towards taking the Faculty to an enviable height.

The new Dean gave the assurance when delivering his acceptance speech at a brief ceremony held at the Faculty of Arts Hall during the 4th extraordinary Academic Board meeting from where he was elected unopposed and subsequently inaugurated as the Dean of the Faculty.

 

He said despite the successes recorded by previous Deans of the Faculty, there is still work to be done to reach the height he envisages for the Faculty, adding that, under his watch, the faculty will experience a new lease of life while taking it’s  rightful position among the comity of faculties in the institution.

To this end, Prof. Ojong, who is of the Department of Philosophy, pledged to ensure that the Faculty has an iconic building that befits its status as one of the pioneer faculties in the university and as enshrined in the master plan of the University, noting that, with the support of TETFUND and the faculty's alumni, the faculty building project conceived will be actualized.

While calling for the formation of research groups in the faculty through interaction and collaboration of members to attract Grant support, the substantive Dean urged staff of the Faculty to always pay attention to their health, stressing that health is wealth.

According to him, his administration will partner with University Health Services and the radiography department to ensure that staff in the Faculty undergo periodic body checks, even when attending Academic Board meetings.

 

The Dean while thanking the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Florence Obi for her unalloyed support to the faculty, expressed his warm appreciation to all staff of the Faculty for allowing him to serve.

Prof. Ojong used the occasion to sue for support to enable him to achieve his desired goals for the Faculty, maintaining that, repositioning the Faculty needs the collective efforts of all members of faculty.

In her remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Florence Obi, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Eno Grace Nta, thanked the Faculty for always conducting themselves in an orderly manner, especially during elections.

 

She said though the elections have yielded the needed results, it is always good to have colleagues compete for positions, suggesting that it brings about new ideas and energy into the electoral process, while making the contestants live up to the game and not be relaxed and at ease especially when they are mostly unopposed.

While calling on the Faculty staff to support the new Dean for effective administration, she charged Prof. Ojong to live up to the mandate accorded him by staff in the faculty, even as she urged him to build on the gains of his predecessors.

The Vice-Chancellor also said as a faculty, there is a need to think outside the box on how best the faculty can be moved forward, adding that, a deliberate plan to reach out to the Faculty alumni should be encouraged for more visible infrastructural development in the university via the faculty.

She commended the outgone Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Stella Ekpe for striving to leave a mark in the faculty saying that all that she achieved during her term was worth taking note of.

In her valedictory speech, the outgone Dean, Prof. Stella Ekpe said her appointment as Dean of the faculty with effect from the 10th of December, 2021 to complete the tenure of Prof. Stella Ajah Effah-Attoe has witnessed some level of progress.

Highlighting some of these achievements, Prof. Ekpe said she was able to achieve some feats which include maintenance and Repairs in the faculty complex and thorough industrial cleaning of the complex, installation of Solar powered security lights, provision of Furniture/Fittings and general Aesthetics.

Others include the provision of a Faculty Website, Faculty Handbook, and Faculty Borehole among many others.

Prof. Ekpe thanked the Vice-Chancellor for finding her worthy to pilot the affairs of the faculty, appreciating all staff of the faculty for making her tenure fruitful and peaceful, even as she wished the new Dean of the faculty a fruitful tenure.

Also, present at the event were the Sub Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Patrick Ene Okon,  the Faculty Officer, Barr. Emmanuel Ndiok, Heads of Departments and professors, as well as other staff  in the faculty