Amos C. Sawyer College Bestows Honor on  E.U. Ambassador at Monday’s Discourse

Her Excellency Madam None Deprez, European Union Ambassador and Head of Delegation to Liberia spoke at Monday’s Intellectual Discourse organized by the Department of Political Science and the Office of the Dean, Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Liberia.

Ambassador Deprez spoke on the topic: Regional Integration Contributions to Peace and Development, the European Experience for Africa.

She used the occasion to discuss economic integration, peace, security and development.

She used the discourse to caution Liberians against fake new dissemination and stressed the need to protect democracy.

Ambassador Deprez’s presentation was followed by comments, questions and answers. She received lots of commendations from the faculty, staffs and students owing to her detailed presentation on the subject.

The Discourse was well attended by faculty, students, staffs and the leadership of the College. The Vice President for Institutional Development, Contracts and Investment, Prof. Weade Kobbah-Boley proxied for UL President, Prof. Dr Julius Julukon Sarwolo Nelson, Jr.

On behalf of the chairpersons, coordinators, faculty and staffs, the Dean of Amos C Sawyer College, Prof. Dr. Josephus M. Gray presented Certificate of Appreciation to Ambassador Deprez. The inscription on the Certificate of Appreciation reads: We are truly grateful for your service.

At the Monday’s discourse, Dr. Gray delivered the welcome remarks and shared details of the College including data of distinguished Faculty, curricula of  College, New programs including the introduction of Liberian Constitution, Liberian government and politics, Criminology, Fine and Performing Arts, Chinese Language and Culture, and the proposed MA programs in Sociology, Social Work, and Communication and Professional Writing as well as Minor program in Psychology.

According to Dr. Gray, the college confers BA and BSW degrees in 13 disciplines including English, French, Demography, Geography, Sociology, Criminology, History, Political Science, Communication and Media Studies, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Fine and Performing Arts, and Chinese Language and Culture. Its has 286 faculty members of which 21 hold doctorate degree in various disciplines. Off the 286 faculty members, 56 faculty  are females.

He further revealed that the Amos C. Sawyer College besides the degree program,  offers certificate and diploma programs in five disciplines including Statistics, Chinese Language, Performing Arts, Geo-information Services (GIS) and Public Relation and Journalism.

Speaking further, Dr. Gray lauded Ambassador Deprez  for the visit at the college to hold academic interaction with the students and faculty. He used the event to  inform the senior E.U.  diplomat about the brief history of the college.

According Prof. Gray, the history of the college dated far back in 1862, adding that  the college is the fourth oldest tertiary institution in Africa, second in West Africa and first to be established in the Republic of Liberia in 1862, immediately 15 years after the independence of Liberia in 1847.

The college formerly Liberia College is now Amos C. Sawyer College…named in honored of a Liberian astute statesman and former President of Liberia, Prof. Dr Amos Claudius Sawyer who served as Dean of the College and Professor of Political Science.

The Acting Chairman of the Department of Political Science, Assistant Professor Roosevelt Tule gave the overview of the Monday’s discourse and discussed the critical role of Department of Political Science in the country.

Others who spoke at the Monday’s discourse including Prof. Dr. D. Elliott Wreh-Wilson, Professor of Philosophy and President Emeritus of William V.S. Tubman University and the Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, Assistant Professor J. Kerkula Foeday.

The President of the Political Science Student Association also spoke at the colorful Intellectual Discourse which was moderated by Assistant Prof Abraham Fofana, Faculty of the Department of Political Science while the invocation was delivered by Rev. Ben Cooper, Instructor of the Department of Political Science.

After the official program, the European Union  Ambassador was taken on a guided tours by the Dean and faculty of Sawyer College. Departments visited  include  Political Science, Physical Education, English and Language Studies, College Research Annex,   Secretariat and the official office of the Dean.

The Head of Delegation of the European Union to Liberia, Ambassador Nona Deprez, presented her credentials on 9th October 2023.

Ambassador Nona Deprez currently serves as the Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Liberia.

She brings with her a wealth of experience, having previously held the position of EU Ambassador to Nepal and worked as the Head of Unit for the Partnership Instrument within the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments at the European Commission.

With a background in Business and European affairs, Ambassador Deprez has over two decades of international experience, with a primary focus on (development) cooperation.

Her career has taken her to various countries, including Benin and Nepal.

Ambassador Nona has also held the role of Deputy Head of Unit for election observation missions and the EU Visitors Programme within the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments of the European Commission. Fluent in French, Dutch, and English, she holds a Master of Science in European Studies from the London School of Economics and a master’s in business engineering from the Solvay Business School at the Free University of Brussels.