About Uniport
| History of the University |
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The University of Port Harcourt was established by the Federal Military Government in 1975 as a University College. Its establishment was the culmination of a long and sustained demand for a university in Port Harcourt prior to and following the report of the Asbhy Commission of 1960 which recommended the establishment of an Institute of Technology here. While the Government's action in deciding to establish a university institution in Port Harcourt was welcome, there was some anxiety that the new institution was not granted ab initio an autonomous and full-fleged University status. Although from its inception, the University College had an autonomous administration with full representation in the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principal of Nigerian Universities and University Colleges, it was feared that placing the new institution under the tutelage of one of the older Universities would hamper its academic growth. The anxiety was the more underlined by the fact that for no obvious academic or economic reasons some of the new institutions established at the same time were granted full University status while others were designated University Colleges. It was therefore most gratifying that the Federal Military Governement early in 1977 decided to correct the anomaly in the status of the new institution by granting full university status to the University College and to the other Univeristy Colleges with effect from 1st October, 1977. Following the establishment of the University College of Port Harcourt in early 1975, the Federal Military Governement announced in september of the same year the appointment of a distinguished Nigerian scholar, Professor Donald E. U. Ekong, as the Institution's first Principal. He physically moved into Port Harcourt in Febuary 1976. Professor Ekong, with the support and co-operation of the Rivers State Government immediately set up a Laison Office at Aba Road, and started negotiations for the acquisition of land for the permanent site of the institution as well as temporary academic and residential accomodation. He forth with embarked on staff recruitment and by October 1976, sixty academic appointments had been made, including six professors and an arts director. The University started its first academic session in October 1977 with degree programmes offered in the following schools:
From the 1982/83 session, the University changed from the School to the Faculty System. At present, the University has ten faculties namely:
The University also runs the following:
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