Newly-appointed first female Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Regina Ogali who assumed office on Monday, April 24, 2017, has disclosed that her office would be totally committed to assisting the Vice-Chancellor to realise his vision and mission of taking the University to higher grounds.
“Just like other well-meaning staff, my utmost desire is to help the Vice-Chancellor to achieve his laudable vision of transforming the University into an attractive brand and one of the best in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. This is a collective task to which I am fully committed on a daily basis. There is competition amongst universities and we must work very hard to place our University on the global map,” the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor declared. 
Speaking during an exclusive interview with UniPort News Correspondents in her office on Thursday, May 18, 2017, Professor Ogali, who until her latest elevation, was the Dean of School of Graduate Studies (SGS), promised to bring her wealth of experience to bear on her new position. The new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) restated that she did not see her assignment in the strict sense of representing women in the University as some people may wish to interpret her appointment.
“To the best of my knowledge, appointments or elections should not be based on gender, but on demonstrated capacity to deliver to the best of one’s abilities. My duty is to assist the Vice-Chancellor to realise his vision for the University and that is a full-time job for anybody in my current position, irrespective of gender. Our collective task is to transform the University of Port Harcourt into an attractive brand and one of the best anywhere. This is a call to duty and not necessarily a goal scored for women in this University. One does not need to be a male or female to accomplish an important assignment, provided one has the capacity to do so.
“I have always looked at it as one of those assignments that one has to carry out and if one is placed in any position, one should accomplish the task to the best of one’s abilities and not necessarily pandering to gender. Of course, I do understand that women in this University would feel a sense of collective achievement because one of their own is privileged to occupy this exalted position. I, however, prefer to see my onerous assignment as a call to duty and not a female quota,” Professor Ogali told our Correspondents.
On her achievements as the immediate past Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Professor Ogali, who was a member of the immediate past Governing Council of the University, noted that the Management of the School implemented the ‘overstay policy’ during her tenure to ensure that the programme operated on a strict timeline.
She also revealed that the admission process was streamlined to ensure that lectures commenced on schedule, adding that the admission process was fully computerised to make it less cumbersome for graduate students. Professor Ogali also stated that Theses and Dissertations were properly scrutinised for possible cases of plagiarism and other regulatory procedures in line with global best practice, urging the new Management to consolidate on the achievements recorded under her watch.
On the perceived notion that she was usually not open to compromises, the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor noted that she always operated on the basis of principles, which she said were non-negotiable in the line of duty. Professor Ogali noted that her training as a Chemist may be playing a significant role in what some people may erroneously perceive as her rigid approach to issues.
“Being a Chemist may have something to do with it. If you don’t stick to the rules as a Chemist, you may burn yourself and cause damage in the laboratory. The same thing is applicable in real life situations. One’s upbringing is also important in engaging with others on and off-duty. You must be principled in life, otherwise, you lose your identity,” the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor remarked, noting that she was motivated to study Chemistry as a discipline because of her interest in the Sciences and the inspiration of her Chemistry teacher back in her Secondary School days.
“In Chemistry, you mix things and get results. I opted for Chemistry because I am very passionate about the discipline and still love it. Teaching is my primary assignment here and I hope to keep in touch with my students, because they would always help keep me on my toes,” she stressed.