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March
2, 2004 issue
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ABTI-American
University of Nigeria takes shape
by Kenny Lucas
The actual site in northeast Nigeria is still a mix of desert and
farmland, but AU’s efforts to help build a world-class university
in Africa are rapidly taking shape. Last week officials of the Nigerian
government and of the new university, ABTI-American University of
Nigeria, traveled to Washington to meet with AU faculty, staff, and
administrators in order to begin filling in the academic and administrative
structure of the university, which is scheduled to welcome its first
class in the fall of 2005.
“AU has embarked on a genuinely unprecedented initiative of helping
to establish the premier private university in sub-Saharan Africa,”
AU’s vice president of international affairs, Robert Pastor,
said.
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Vice president
of international affairs Robert Pastor led an AU delegation
on a site visit last spring to meet with Nigerian vice president
Atiku Abubakar and ABTI officials.
Photo courtesy
of Robert Pastor |
In the past year
AU signed a five-year renewable partnership agreement, effective Jan.
1, 2004, with ABTI by which the university pledged to advise in the
establishment of ABTI’s academic and administrative infrastructure.
Since that time many facets of ABTI’s makeup, including vice
presidential roles and the composition of a Board of Trustees have
been outlined. Last week, Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar met
with AU President Benjamin Ladner and Pastor to discuss the next steps
in the creation of ABTI, and ABTI-American University coordinator
Felix Obadan met with AU officials in order to familiarize himself
with the daily operations of American University.
“We wanted to help Mr. Obadan learn how American University is
organized and functions,” Pastor said. “But we also wanted
AU administrators and staff to understand what a blank slate Yola,
Nigeria, is and how they need to adapt some of their projects and
programs to fit that landscape.”
Pastor and Obadan also met with members of 19 task forces, which Pastor
created, to begin the structuring of ABTI. The task forces, composed
predominantly of AU faculty and staff, have such objectives as faculty
recruitment, development of structure of academic programs, and planning
and installing information technology systems. One task force is charged
with developing a Washington office on AU’s campus to serve as
an administrative liaison between the two universities.
“We’re hiring staff to run the Washington office,”
Pastor said. “And we will begin recruiting the university’s
senior management team including a president, vice presidents, and
deans.”
During the week, Pastor also held a networking meeting involving a
Nigerian graduate student, several adjunct professors, and some returned
Peace Corps volunteers who have expressed a desire to be involved
in the partnership. The meeting reflected the mix of individuals and
expertise that Pastor envisions comprising the partnership. In addition
to possible semesters abroad and shared teaching experiences, Pastor
and SIS professor Peter Lewis have held discussions with Vice President
Abubakar concerning a possible collaboration between AU’s Center
for Democracy and Election Management and the Independent National
Election Commission of Nigeria. “We see this not just as a possible
model for what we will do elsewhere, but an avenue into a wide range
of initiatives in Nigeria and Africa,” Pastor said.
Those initiatives aren’t restricted solely to AU-run organizations.
Pastor said he hopes to get businesses and foundations involved in
the partnership to lend expertise on curriculum, jobs, and technology.
“We see the possibility of developing a good number of additional
networks that will help both of our institutions,” he said. “If
we can get people interested in contributing to ABTI, they might very
well contribute to AU as well.”
The university is planned to open in September 2005 with a class of
400 students. Infra-structure is already being installed on the 480
acre site near Yola. Other details, such as the order of development
of the university’s schools, have been decided upon, and the
dream of helping establish the premier African university is fast
becoming a reality.
“If we can get our faculty and students involved in developing
this, we’ve got ourselves a real partnership,” Pastor said.
“If ABTI proves to be the premier university in Africa, American
University’s star will rise as well.”
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