From Excellence to Distinction: The University of Lagos on World's Intellectual Map

Chapter 5 - CONVOCATION SPEECHES

Chapter 5 CONVOCATION SPEECHES 2001 Convocation Ceremony 21st and 22nd February, 2001 It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 35th Convocation Ceremony of our university presided over by no less an achiever than Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, FFPA, OFR, our most amiable ProChancellor . To a record of distinguished legal career, he has been adding an equally distinguished record of fatherly guidance for the great University of Lagos. I must openly express my own personal appreciation for his warmth, wise counsel and ever unflagging interest in the well- being of our institution. Our Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council is a highly talented organiser and administrator with a fine insight into the multifarious problems of higher education, especially the University of Lagos. His unique chairmanship style usually makes our Council meetings lively, yet thorough. The members of the council are equally successfully established men of integrity, probity and class. These gentlemen have distinguished themselves in Commerce, University Education, Public Service and the Professions. This university is indeed extremely fortunate to have these gentlemen on board. Our collective mission is to ensure that this university is reengineered to ensure that it is a World Class University in terms 55 56 From Excellence to Distinction: The UNILAG on World’s Intellectual Map of quality of teaching, impactful research and development activities as well as relevance to the community. The main business of the day is the conferment of first degrees upon graduands and the award of prizes in the Faculties of Arts, Education, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Science, Social Science and the Distance Learning Institute. The distribution of our graduands for today is as follows: Faculty of Arts. A total of 216 graduands made up of 72 for B.A. (English); 15 for B.A. (European Languages); 31 for B.A. (History); 64 for B.A. (Philosophy); and 34 for B.A. (African Studies). Faculty of Education: A total of 208 graduands made up of 32 for B.Sc. (Adult Education); 39 for B.A. (Guidance and Counselling); 16 for B.A. (Educational Administration); 35 for B.Sc. (Physical and Health Education); and 88 for B.A./B.Sc. (Curriculum Studies). Faculty of Engineering: A total of 208 graduands made up of 53 for B.Sc. (Chemical Engineering); 35 for B.Sc. (Civil Engineering); 33 for B.Sc. (Mechanical Engineering); 18 for B.Sc. (Metallurgical and Material Engineering); and 22 for B.Sc. (Surveying and Geoinformatics). Faculty of Environmental Sciences: A total of 99 graduands made up of 39 for BES/B.Arch; 41 for B.Sc. (Estate Management); and 19 for B.Sc. (Building). Faculty of Science: A total of 353 graduands made up of 28 for B.Sc. (Biochemistry); 68 for B.Sc. (Botany and Microbiology); 65 for B.Sc. (Chemistry); 71 for B.Sc. (Computer Sciences); 17 for B.Sc. (Physics); 56 for B.Sc. (Zoology, Marine Biology and Fisheries) and 19 for B.Sc. (Maths/Statistics). Convocation Speeches 57 Faculty of Social Science: A total of 446 graduands made up of 81 for B.Sc. (Sociology); 100 for B.Sc. (Mass Comm); 106 for B.Sc. (Economics); 98 for B.Sc. (Political Sciences); 15 for B.Sc. (Psychology) and 46 for B.Sc. (Geography). Distance Learning Institute: A total of 544 graduands. In all we shall be conferring degrees upon 1,873 graduates with 10 obtaining First class honours. On behalf of the University, I wish to congratulate all our graduands and prize winners on their achievements in our degree programmes. Our most respected Pro-Chancellor, every institution owes an obligation to constantly reassess itself against the goals and missions set for it. This simple but profound observation has prompted us to select a single Convocation address this year titled “REFOCUSING ON THE UNIVERSITY IDEALS”. The University as an institution since the medieval times has remained constant in its goal - the research for TRUTH. This mission over time has found expression in diverse activities such as learning, research, community service, etc. Each generation has a way of selecting and sometimes transforming the mission of the University and re-focus on these ideals that fulfill the vision of the founding fathers. The objects of the University of Lagos are: (1) to encourage the advancement of learning and to hold out to all persons without distinction of race, creed, sex or political convictions, the opportunity of acquiring an education; (2) to provide courses of instruction and other...