By Saint Ekpali
The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Bartholomew Okolo, will join an expert panel at the third Jacksonites Professional Development Series (JPDS) seminar, on March 23 at 3 p.m. GMT+1 through the Zoom platform.
The seminar titled: “Fundraising for Educational Institutions,” will examine the principles, strategies, and tactics for planning and executing effective strategic communication campaigns to raise funds for educational institutions in Nigeria.
The seminar series is organized by the Jacksonites Worldwide Forum, an alumni association and professional development network of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The Jacksonites Professional Development Series Steering Committee Chairman, Prof. Chinedu Mba of Algonquin College, Ottawa, Canada, said that the focus of the seminar is to provide relevant stakeholders in Nigeria’s higher education the opportunity to learn effective and efficient fundraising methods to address funding gaps faced by Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
“It is no secret that higher education in Nigeria is underfunded and this unfortunate state is threatening its survival. Now, the government appears to have forbidden the use of 26% funding formula for education recommended by the UNESCO. Otherwise, how does it explain the non-implementation”, Mba queried, adding that “the domino effect of this failure is that Nigerian tertiary institutions are unable to provide effective teaching, research and development (R & D), as well as critical wide-ranging services to their students and respective stakeholders”.
Mba cited poor funding as one of the reasons given for the recent one-month warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
But to provide a good-natured atmosphere for effective teaching, Mba said “Nigerian tertiary institutions require funds for capital and recurrent needs that would include but not limited to having the right lecturer to student ratio, research and development funding and provision of critical infrastructural amenities”.
She stressed that these facilities are important because “learning environments affect the type and quality of teaching as well as academic achievement of students.
The target audience for the free event includes administrators in the education sector, alumni groups, fundraising volunteers and coordinators, and other public personalities.
Other speakers at the event are Prof. Charles Okigbo, professor emeritus of Strategic Communication Analytics at North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA; Mr. John Klocke, CFRE, Advancement Director/Planned and Major Gifts at St. John Paul II Catholic Schools, Fargo, North Dakota ; Betsy Birmingham, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada , and Prof. Ladi Sandra Adamu, professor of Broadcasting at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary General to the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities will serve as the event respondent.
The first lecture in the series was held in July 2021 and was delivered by Dr. Nduka Otiono, an associate professor at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, while the second was in November 2021 and was delivered by Obi Emekekwue, former director and Global Head of Communications and Events Management at Afreximbank, with the title: Crisis Survival in Today’s Viral World: The Communications Conundrum.
Participants at the second seminar included Dr Marcel Mbamalu, editor-in-chief and publisher of Prime Business Africa; Barrister Kingsley Osadolor, renowned media expert, as well as lecturers and students of the Mass Communication Department of the UNN.
Registration for the March 23rd seminar opens up on February 23rd. All inquiries can be directed to jacksonitiespdseries@gmail.com.
