By Otto Abut
The University of Juba welcomed a new vice chancellor, Prof. Robert Deng Mayom, and bid farewell to the outbound vice chancellor, Prof. John Apurot Akec.
Outgoing Vice Chancellor, Professor John Akech Apurot hands over office to the new Vice Chancellor, Professor Robert Mayom in a decent farewell ceremony organized by the University of Juba on Friday 15th March 2024.
The new Vice chancellor came in together with his two deputies, Prof Justo Wani, deputy for Administration and Finance, and Prof. Isaac Cleto Rial, deputy for Academic affairs respectively.
Prof John Akech in his remarks encouraged the incoming Vice Chancellor, Professor Robert Deng, to be a multidisciplinary manager.
“Don’t be a hedgehog, be a fox. The hedgehog knows one big thing. The fox knows many small things.” Prof told the new Vice chancellor in the words of Isaiah Berlin an English Philosopher of the 20th century.
Akech later announced that the new Vice chancellor offered him to be the Project Director of Mayardit Academy for Space Sciences, a project which he started in 2022 and in his statement, he wholeheartedly accepted the assignment and promised to get the space project off the ground.
“Pleased to announce that during the handover ceremonies on Friday our incoming Vice Chancellor, Professor Robert Deng Kuoirot offered to assign me as the Project Director of Mayardit Academy for Space Sciences, a challenge that I accepted with great pride and gratitude. I will do my very best to get our space project off the ground.”
However, Prof Taban Lolyong who was among the senators slammed Professor Akech for not improving the academic standard of the University of Juba but gave him the flowers for developing the infrastructure, which in his words, he said “it looks like a learning institution compared to the old one.”
The New vice Chancellor and his team jointly promised to work as a team to deliver services to the University within their term of tenure.
Prof Mayaom in his speech, told the deans of studies at the University of Juba to start delivering to the learning standard of the University.
He ordered the deans who allegedly did not produce the results of their students for the last 7 months to make sure that the results were in within the next seven days.