History was made on March 7, 2024, when the Board of Trustees of the Dominican University Ibadan (DUI), approved the appointment of Prof Jacinta Opara as its first female Vice Chancellor.
The symbolic history wasn’t limited to the first university of the Order of Preachers on the African continent, but Opara, a health researcher and scholar , joins the list of female VCs in Nigeria. The new VC, an alumnus of the University of Ibadan will be steering the affairs of DUI for a term of 5-year.
Who is Jacinta Opara?
Born in Port Harcourt in 1976, Jacinta Agbarachi Opara began her teaching career in 1997 as a member of the National Youth Service Corps at College of the Immaculate Conception(CIC), Enugu, where she taught Biology.
She later joined Nigerian Gender Action Network as a Program Officer and later at Afro-Euro Centre for Development Studies, Accra, Ghana, as a Research Fellow.
Academic exploit
Opara attended both the premier university (University of Ibadan) and University of Nigeria, Nsukka and would later cap it with postgraduate degrees from other prestigious institutions within and outside Nigeria, including University of Port Harcourt; Rivers State University of Science and Technology; University of Granada; Central University of Nicaragua; Akerhsus University (now Oslo Metropolitan University), Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia(UCAM) and University of Chalco-Mexico.
Some of the institutions she has added sterling value to the academic field include: Avance International University(AIU), Uganda; University of Maiduguri as the Director, Environment and Health Research Group; Federal University, Kashere; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University(KOMU); Sule Lamido University(SLU); Nasarawa State University(NSUK) and Ahmadu Bello University(ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State.
Her presence was remarkable when she was a Visiting Professor at Kigali Independent University, Rwanda; Metropolitan International University; Mount Kenya University; Laikipia University; University of The Gambia; Nexus International University; Commonwealth University; National University of Science and Technology(NUST), Bulawayo-Zimbabwe among others.
Her dedication to teaching, research and strong passion for educational development extends beyond the African continent.
She served as Visiting Scholar of Gender, Peace and Security at IISJ (Universidad de Basque Country-UPV/EHU), Gipuzkoa, Spain; serves on the Board/Governing Council of Metropolitan International University, Mediterranean Center for Social and Educational Research, Rome, Italy; and at Athens Institute of Education and Research, Greece, where she worked with other academics and researchers from more than 100 countries across the world.
So, when she was promoted to full Professor in 2016 at Kampala International University(KIU), other scholars in Asia, Africa, and Europe knew it was a well-deserved promotion.
Publications
Apart from the commendable projects she had worked on and coordinated, including the Publication Project of Nigeria´s 50 Years Anniversary, Prof. Opara’s numerous works and research have featured on several global journals while her works have received more than 700 citations on Google Scholar at the time of publication.
She is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Health and Environmental Studies; African Journal of Women Studies and Research; International Journal of Scientific Research in Education; Metropolitan Journal of Science and Technology and serves on the editorial board of over 40 international journals.
Honours/Membership
With more than 20 awards, fellowships and grants including the Erasmus Mundus of the European Commission, Brussels-Belgium, the prestigious IATEL Award for Academic Excellence in 2015 and 2024 Distinguished Leadership Achievement Award, she is also a Fellow of the following bodies:
- Institute of Management Consultants;
- African Scientific Institute;
- Board of Quality Standards;
- The Institute of Chartered Professionals;
- West African Postgraduate College of Environmental Health
- Chartered Institute of Administration.
Membership
- Member, African Universities’ Research Group on Health and Environment
- Member, IUCN Commission on Environmental Law(CEL);
- Member, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria(TRCN);
- Member, Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World(OWSD);
- Member, International Association for Scientific Knowledge(IASK);
- Member, African Network on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements (ANEW);
- Member, International Action Network on Small Arms(IANSA) and
- International Association for the Study of the Commons(IASC).
Emergence as the VC, Dominican University Ibadan
With diverse experience in management, academic excellence, superb human relation flavoured with global connection both in research and human development, her exceptional qualities caught the attention of the Joint Governing Council, Senate, Search/Selection Team of the institution, leading to her appointment as the second substantive Vice Chancellor of Dominican University Ibadan.
A statement by Chief Anthony Idigbe-led Board of Trustees says Opara will be in charge of the institution for a term of 5-year.
“Her appointment is expected to usher in an era of innovation and academic eminence. We wish her the best as she makes a sustainable impact on the University and the broader academic community.”
Anthony Idigbe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)
Outside classrooms, the new detribalized Dominican University VC’s commitment to community services and development know no bounds.
Formerly known as Dominican Institute, Dominican University Ibadan (DUI) is the first university of the Order of Preachers on the African continent.
Welcome Prof Opara to the League of Female Vice Chancellors in Nigeria.
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