By Dipo Olowookere
A Nigerian scholar, Mr Peter Nwosu, will on Friday, September 27, 2024, be inaugurated as the president of the State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego.
Mr Nwosu, who officially commenced his tenure on August 15, 2023, is the first president of colour and immigrant to take the helm of the institution founded by Mr Edward Austin Sheldon in 1861.
A statement from the institution said the official inauguration would take place in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena and Convocation Hall – named for the president immediately preceding Nwosu.
Activities from the programme will also be streamed live on the university’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/sunyoswegovideo, the notice made available to Business Post stated.
The Nigerian, who started his academic journey with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu, a state from the South Eastern region of Nigeria, will be the 11th president of the 163-year legacy of the institution now known as State University of New York at Oswego in the United States.
The inauguration will be the centrepiece for a week of activities that celebrate the strengths of the campus – including Founder’s Weekend, Green and Gold Day, the Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit, the Return to Oz Reunion of Color – as well as launching a new tradition in an annual Sheldon Lecture on Leadership and Service. More information is available on the week’s schedule.
The ceremony will include a special guest speaker and his educational mentor, Donald Taylor, an emeritus professor from California State University, Sacramento; student musical performances and readings; and more.
The organisers said while classes are not cancelled for this event, faculty members were encouraged to bring their students to this historic event.
“The last time we inaugurated a new president was Deborah F. Stanley in September 1996, so we know this is going to be a very special occasion that will welcome our students, our faculty, our staff, our alumni, many other institutions, and the family and friends of Dr Nwosu,” the vice president for University Advancement and inauguration committee co-chair, Ms Mary Canale, said.
“President Nwosu has already greatly impressed us with his vision, his insight and his ability to connect with students, alumni and the great Laker community,” she added.
Also, the other co-chair and associate professor and chair of the Technology Department, Mr Rich Bush, said, “While celebrating Dr Nwosu’s inauguration is the centrepiece, it’s a week when everything SUNY Oswego has to offer will truly shine.”
“Every day of the week has its theme reflecting and celebrating the many outstanding features of SUNY Oswego, from our students to our alumni and from our academic excellence to our service to the community,” he added.
Mr Nwosu joined SUNY Oswego from the City University of New York Herbert H. Lehman College in the Bronx, where he was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and student success.
He is an American Council on Education fellow, Fulbright scholar, professor of communication studies, and author of more than 100 scholarly writings, including three books.