UI Governing Council Holds 4-Day Strategic Retreat to Chart New Path for Institutional Excellence

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, His Excellency, Chief Adebisi A. Akande, CFR, a former Governor of Osun State, acknowledged that the Retreat was necessary to create an enabling environment for members of Council to brainstorm on measurable benchmarks for the achievement of the priorities of the Council. 

He also stated that the Retreat would enable the Council to articulate procedures essential to good governance and management for institutional excellence. 

Chief Akande said that the Retreat would help Council to identify challenges of University administration and explore novel strategies of meeting these needs given the Council's pivotal role in the management of the university.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, mni, FAS, fspsp, delivered an address on the State of the University: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities. 

He stated that since assuming office on 01 November 2021, the administration has focused on stabilising governance, strengthening academic quality, reforming service delivery, and renewing critical infrastructure while positioning the University of Ibadan for sustainable growth and global relevance. 

Professor Adebowale said there had been strengthened academic quality, programme accreditation, and programme expansion, recruitment of new staff, strengthened governance, global visibility, and institutional stability.

The keynote address at the Retreat was delivered by Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Olufemi A. Bamiro, FAS. His presentation was entitled "Enhancing the Quality of Institutional Leadership and Governance of Nigerian Universities Towards Sustainable Management and Optimal Performance." 

Professor Bamiro while providing an insight into the different notions of what institutions are for, submitted that Nigerian institutions are expected to transform into socio-economic development agents through the development and deployment of their teaching, training, research, and innovation capacities to 

move the country from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy 

The former Vice-Chancellor said that for UI to achieve its mission of strengthening leadership, strategy and service delivery, it will have to leverage its faculties to engage in multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary research to identify and tackle development oriented research problems of relevance to its immediate community and beyond.

Other papers presented at the Retreat were:

● University Academic Culture and Tradition, Foundations, Values, and the Future of UI by Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

● Council-Management Relations: Managing Boundaries for Synergy by Chief Mojisola Ladipo, mni, D. Litt. (Honoris Causa)

● The Roles of the Governing Council in the Financial Sustainability of Universities by Mr Olusola Ilesanmi, former Bursar of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

● Understanding the Procurement Act and Processes: Key Government Financial Regulations, Its Implications for the Function of the University Council by Professor James Akanmu, Director, Centre for Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards, University of Lagos.

Participants at the 4-day Retreat broke out into action planning sessions where specific action plans to address key priorities were discussed.