NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia, Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, has called for a major cultural and academic transformation at the University of Liberia, urging faculty and students to replace militancy and confrontation with mentorship, critical thinking, and research-driven leadership.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
Speaking as guest speaker during the inaugural program of the University of Liberia Faculty Association leadership, Dr. Yarkpawolo delivered a speech themed: “From Militancy to Mentorship:
The Faculty Association as a Vehicle of Change, Critical Thinking, and Research at the University of Liberia.”
UL as a National Trust
Dr. Yarkpawolo described the University of Liberia as Liberia’s “flagship public university” and a “national inheritance and moral trust,” stressing that the institution must help the country think critically, govern responsibly, conduct research, and solve national problems through evidence and innovation.
He said the Faculty Association must move beyond only negotiating salaries and benefits for lecturers and become a driving force for institutional transformation.
“Faculty welfare matters, but welfare is only one side of the mission. The other side is transformation,” he stated.
Mentorship Over Militancy
The EPA Executive Director emphasized that ULFA should defend academic standards, promote research, mentor student leadership, and encourage evidence-based advocacy rather than disruptive activism.
“Protest has a legitimate place in democracy, but becomes dangerous when it abandons reason or treats militancy as a substitute for knowledge,” he warned.
“A university must not kill activism; it must educate activism.”
Lessons From EPA
Drawing from his experience at the EPA, Dr. Yarkpawolo said institutional change is possible when leadership focuses on accountability, teamwork, discipline, and professionalism.
According to him, the EPA has decentralized operations to all 15 counties, strengthened environmental law enforcement, and improved scientific and research capacity.
He highlighted the establishment of a climate change laboratory at the University of Liberia with support from Canada, as well as mini climate laboratories at Tubman University, Grand Gedeh Community College, Nimba University, and Bong County University.
He also disclosed that the EPA recently secured a 100,000-Euro Elemental Analyzer through the International Atomic Energy Agency to support scientific research and student training.
National Problems Need Research
Dr. Yarkpawolo argued that Liberia’s growing challenges, including climate change, coastal erosion, illegal mining, youth unemployment, and food insecurity, should become research opportunities for the University of Liberia.
“Every national problem is a research question waiting for the University of Liberia to answer,” he declared.
He praised UL President Dr. Layli Maparyan for presenting an ambitious five-year strategic vision for the institution.
However, he stressed that faculty members must become active partners in reform efforts.
“ULFA must position itself not as an opposition to reform, but as a co-author of reform,” he said.
Reforming Student Activism
Addressing student activism, Dr. Yarkpawolo acknowledged that some protests in UL’s history were legitimate but noted that others crossed into violence and disruption.
“The best protest is a well-researched position paper; the best revolution is a generation trained to think,” he declared.
He proposed the establishment of a Faculty Mentorship Program for student leaders to train them in constitutional advocacy, negotiation, policy writing, and evidence-based leadership.
He also called for annual research conferences focused on national issues such as climate change, mining governance, agriculture, public health, artificial intelligence, and youth unemployment.
Call for More Funding
The EPA Executive Director also urged the Government of Liberia to significantly increase funding for the University of Liberia.
Comparing UL to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied, he noted that the American university operates with a budget of about US$5 billion while UL functions with roughly US$40 million.
“I therefore call on the Government of Liberia to increase UL’s budget to at least 100 million United States dollars,” he urged.
Dr. Yarkpawolo then challenged the newly elected ULFA leadership to build a legacy centered on scholarship, mentorship, discipline, and nation-building.
“Let research replace rumor. Let debate replace disorder. Let evidence replace emotion. Let critical thinking replace blind militancy,” he concluded.
He added that the University of Liberia must once again become “a lighthouse of reason, research, citizenship, and national redemption.”
