Prof. Kayode Oyebode Adebowale, the 13th indigenous Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, took over the mantle of leadership today, Monday, November 1, 2021.
After a 13-month extended succession problem, he was appointed by the University's Council on October 14, 2021, following the tenure expiration of the 12th Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olayinka.
To avoid a leadership vacuum, Prof. Adebola Babatunde Ekanola, who had previously served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), was named Acting Vice-Chancellor on December 1, 2020, for a six-month term, which was later extended pending the settlement of the leadership situation.
Following the expiration of the tenure of Nde Joshua Waklek's governing council, the federal government appointed a new Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. The VC appointment process was renewed by the Chief Oyegun-led Council, which eventually resulted in Prof. Adebowale's success and emergence.
Prof. Adebowale was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) prior to his appointment.
The Professor of Chemistry, however, will join the pantheon of the luckiest and finest brains who have ever ruled Nigeria's premier university with his appointment as the 13th indigenous VC.
Professor Kenneth Mellanby, 1948-1953, Mr. J.T. Saunders, 1953-1956, and Dr. J.H. Parry, 1956-1960, were the three non-Nigerian Principals of the University, which began as the University College, Ibadan (UCI) in affiliation with the University of London.
From 1960 to 1967, Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike served as Ibadan's first Nigerian Principal and Vice-Chancellor. Professor T. Adeoye Lambo, who served as Vice-Chancellor until 1971, followed Prof. Dike when he left in 1967 as a result of the Nigerian Civil War.
Before the late Professor Horatio Oritsejolomi Thomas was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 1972, the late Professor G. M. Edington, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Pathology at the Medical School, served as Vice-Chancellor for a brief period.
Prof. Tekena N. Tamuno succeeded Prof. H.O. Thomas in December 1975. Prof. Tamuno was the first Ibadan alumnus to hold the position of Vice-Chancellor. He served as Vice-Chancellor until November 30, 1979, when the late Prof. Samuel O. Olayide of the Department of Agricultural Economics was appointed, a position he held until November 30, 1983.
Professor L. Ayo Banjo, who had served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor from December 1981 to November 1983 and as Acting Vice-Chancellor from November 1983 to November 1984, was named substantive Vice-Chancellor on December 1, 1984, when Olayide's term expired.
Professor Ayo Banjo holds the distinction of being the University's first and only Vice-Chancellor to serve for two terms, from December 1984 to November 1991.
From December 1, 1991, to November 30, 1995, Prof. A.B.O.O. Oyediran, a former two-time Head of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the College of Medicine and a former member of Council, served as Vice-Chancellor. From December 1, 1995, to March 24, 1996, Professor O. A. Ojengbede, then Provost of the College of Medicine, served as Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Omoniyi Adewoye of the Department of History, who was appointed Vice-Chancellor on March 25, 1996, served until March 25, 2000. Prof. Olufunso O. Olorunsogo, the then Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), was appointed Acting Vice-Chancellor from March 26 to September 24, 2000, during the interregnum after Prof. Adewoye's term.
From September 25, 2000 to September 5, 2005, Prof. Ayodele O. Falase, a former Provost of the College of Medicine and Head of the Department of Medicine on two previous occasions, served as Vice-Chancellor.
Prof. Olufemi Bamiro took over as his successor from 2005 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole of the College of Medicine was in charge. Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka of the Department of Geology, who served as VC from 2015 to 2020, took over.
Prof. Adebowale's five-year single tenure will begin on November 1, 2021, and will end in October 2026, as expected.
Prof. Adebowale was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, on January 11, 1962. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1984, his master's degree in industrial chemistry in 1986, and his doctorate in 1991.
The new Vice-Chancellor started his academic career at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, as a Lecturer Grade II in October 1991. (FUTA). He returned to the University of Iowa in 1999 as a Senior Lecturer before being elevated to Professor in October 2006. He worked as a postdoc in Germany and Italy. Dean, Faculty of Science, 2009-2011; Director, Vice-Special Chancellor's Duties Office, 2015-2017; and two-term Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), 2018-2019.
He is a member of the Science Association of Nigeria, the Chemical Society of Nigeria, the Polymer Institute of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Academy of Science, among other learned organisations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), the African Academy of Science (Kenya), and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute (Austria) (Germany). He graduated from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Senior Executive Course (SEC) 39, Kuru, Jos, with a master's degree. He has three children and is happily married.
Meanwhile, by 10 a.m. on Monday, November 1, 2021, all heads of various departments and directors of centers, as well as other senior University officials, were at the inauguration service at the Chapel of the Resurrection, UI.
No comments:
Post a Comment