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436th Senate Meeting :Senate Re-Elects Fawehinmi, Approves New Departments, Programmes By Obinna Nwodim

Senate of the University of Port Harcourt at its 436th Meeting on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 held inside the Senate Chambers re-elected Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi of the Department of Human Anatomy as Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Academic matters for a final two-year tenure.

Professor Fawehinmi was unanimously re-elected with a total of 189 votes after the other nominee, Professor Adedapo Aiyeloja, declined his nomination on the floor of Senate shortly before the vote. Chairman of Senate, Professor Ndowa Lale had announced the expiration of the first tenure of Professor Fawehinmi on March 26, 2018, necessitating the election of a new Deputy Vice-Chancellor to fill the resulting vacancy.

In a historic move, Senate also approved the renaming and establishment of new Departments in the Faculty of Law. Consequently, the current Department of Private law was renamed Department of Private and Property Law, while new Departments of Jurisprudence and International Law and Commercial and Industrial Law were introduced in the Faculty. The approvals were given following a presentation on the issue by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Regina Ogali.

Similarly, Senate approved the establishment of two new Departments in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences. They are: Departments of Ophthalmology and Department of Otorhilarynology. The two new Departments were approved after a presentation by the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Professor Christie Mato. Senate subsequently directed the College to submit the cost implications for establishing the new Departments.

Following the disruption of the 2017/2018 academic calendar occasioned by the three-month strike action embarked upon by the Non-teaching staff, Senate approved the proposed revised academic calendar for the 2017/2018 session. Under the new calendar, Second Semester Lectures will commence from Monday, May 7, to Friday, July 27, 2018, while Students' Union Week/Cultural Activities and Students' Union Election will hold between Monday, July 30 and Saturday, August 4, 2018.

Second Semester Revision will hold between Monday, August 6 and Friday, August 10, 2018, while examinations will hold from Monday, August 13 to Friday, August 31, 2018. Under the revised calendar, the 2018 Sandwich programme is expected to commence from Monday, July 2 to Saturday, September 22, 2018.

In order to ensure that students graduated as at when due, Senate also approved sanctions against staff who contribute to graduate students overstaying their residency periods on each programme. Under the new rule, failure to diligently supervise students or any observed nonchalant attitude by Lecturers towards project supervision would attract appropriate sanctions to be enforced by the Senate through relevant organs of the University. Also, failure to submit results to the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee five weeks after each Semester Examinations would correspondingly attract sanction.

Senate approved the immediate rustication of one Izuagie Efe Martins (U2014/2574295) for the 2017/2018 academic

 

session after being found culpable in a case of incitement to protest. Senate also approved the rustication of one Sunday Promise Gambo (U2016/5015055) for the 2017/2018 academic session for engaging in an act that occasioned bodily harm at the O. B. Lulu-Briggs Health Centre in line with the Matriculation Pledge he signed to be of good conduct as a student of the University of Port Harcourt.

The apex academic regulatory body also recommended that the University Management should further investigate Nurses Patience Njoku and Fanny Godswill Unyene, for their alleged roles in the incident. Management is to take appropriate action in line with the provisions of the University of Port Harcourt Act. Senate also proposed that Close Circuit Television (CCTV) be installed at strategic locations in the University, considering the crucial role that was played by a CCTV footage in helping the Investigation Committee to unravel the role played by each person during the incident.

Senate also elected the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Professor Christie Mato and Professor Samuel Oluwuo of the Faculty of Education, as its representatives on the Selection Board for the appointment of a new Bursar for the University. This development follows the expiration of the tenure of Mr. Vitalis Aliezi who bowed out on February 7, 2018.

It also considered and approved the Report of the 22nd (Supplementary) and 23rd Report of the Certificate Verification Committee from November 17 to December 18, 2017 and January 29 to March 16, 2018, respectively, as presented by its Chairman, Professor Cyril Nwankwo.

The Vice-Chancellor announced the constitution of a Visitation Panel to the Faculty of Education. The Panel which is charged with the responsibility of ascertaining why results were not computed and presented in the Faculty when the process ought to have been completed in line with Senate directive. The Panel will be chaired by Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Professor Anthonia Okerengwo. The Panel is expected to submit its report at the Senate Meeting of May 2018.

Senate also approved various categories of results from the Faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, Science, School of Science Laboratory Technology (SSLT), Faculties of Engineering, Management Sciences, Agriculture, Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, as well as the School of Graduate Studies. It also ratified results that were executively approved by the Vice-Chancellor in line with Senate guidelines on such matters.

Professor Lale had earlier announced new appointments as follows: Professor Michael Horsfall Jr., Dean SSLT; Professor Tamunobelema Orunaboka, Dean, Faculty of Education; Professor Arthur Chuemere, Dean, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences; Professor Ogbonna Okorie, Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Professor Monday Godwin-Egein; Dean, Faculty of Agriculture; Professor Gideon Abu, Director, Local Affiliations Unit, as well as Dr. Roland Uhumwangho, Acting Director, Intellectual Property Technology Transfer Office (IPPTO). The Vice-Chancellor also announced the untimely death of a member of Senate, Professor Chima O. C. Oko of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering.

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