Dear New Students,

 

With joy in my heart, I welcome you to an extraordinary Fall 2020 semester. The year 2020 has been exceptional in so many ways. For our learning community, it has been a year of resilience because, despite the pandemic and accompanying uncertainty, we stood firm. We adapted to new modes of interaction and let go of cherished physical gatherings. We are proud of the fact that since opening in 2005, AUN has never suspended operations or had to disrupt a semester. Our technological prowess was at full strength when we transitioned from a residential campus to hybrid-online modes of instruction. 

 

Out and about on campus, you will notice the elephant in the room: COVID-19 directives. We must all wear face masks to protect our community. Hand sanitizing stations have been placed strategically across campus. There is a COVID-19 task-force always watching. So be careful to avoid breaking the rules.

 

Our family is growing. I am excited to meet our first-year students, the classes of 2021 (Masters) 2024 (Undergrads) and 2025 (Engineering and Law Students). As you join this elite scholarly community, you will find eager helpers all around campus. I remember my own first days as an undergraduate in the United States, learning a curriculum not so different from AUN’s. Here at AUN, we pride ourselves on our American style education just as we give credence to our Nigerian traditions. I must single out the School of Law (SOL). Our learned colleagues, as they say, characterize the delicate balance between our American, Nigerian, and even British educational influences. SOL Students learn all three law traditions. This copious curriculum might be the reason for their precocious leaps and bounds from moot court to the realms of global judicature.

 

Development, entrepreneurship, and innovation, these are three words close to our hearts. They form the basis of our belief and guiding principle for academic excellence, integrity, and service.  As a university, we believe in providing solutions to real problems in society. Our host community will testify that our experiments have often been conducted in local markets, schools, and town halls. We do not just theorize in the air-conditioned comforts of our classrooms. We roll up our sleeves and do the work. New students, you will soon experience the thrills of serving in the community and the rewards of giving without any expectation of receiving in return.

 

To my dear students, parents, faculty, and staff, I welcome you all to the semester of endless possibilities. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. That is why this pandemic era will be our opportunity to gain new knowledge, devise new solutions, and reimagine our future together. Welcome to Fall 2020.

 

Go Stallions!

 

Dawn Dekle, PhD

Vice-Chancellor / President