A former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi, has emerged the first female Vice-Chancellor of the university.
The Chairman of the Governing Council of the university, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, disclosed on Friday that Obi emerged the 11th VC of the institution over 12 other contenders, who were also eminently qualified.
She said the Council was guided by the guidelines of the Federal Ministry of Education on the screening of VCs, noting that the screening exercise was transparent, free and fair.
The new VC, according to her, had contested for the same position in 2015 but lost.
Obi thanked God for his favour and promised to run an inclusive administration.
She is expected to assume office on December 1, 2020.
Florence Obi is a mother of four and grandmother of six from Bansan – Osokom, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State. With sheer grit and tenacity, she overcame all hurdles to sustain a successful academic voyage.
The journey began from St. Bridget Primary School, Ogep-Osokom in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, through St. Thomas’s Teacher Training College, Ogoja, Cross River State, to the University of Jos, Plateau State, and from Jordan Hill College, Glasgow-Scotland to the University of Calabar, where her academic pursuit finally landed her a PhD in Psychology of Education.
She began her academic career as an Assistant Lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of Calabar, in March 1990. Two years after her appointment (1992), she won a six months postgraduate scholarship to Jordan-Hill College of Education, Glasgow, Scotland, under the World University Service (WUS), World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), in a keenly contested interview for staff of the Institute of Education.
On her return from the United Kingdom, she was placed in charge of the WWF/NCF funded Schools and Community Education programmes. She subsequently facilitated the development of the degree programme in Environmental Education of the University, which had since resulted in the establishment of a full-fledged and flourishing Department of Environmental Education.
Professor Obi rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Special Needs Education in 2007.
