The gale of reforms sweeping Lagos State University (LASU) has received official recognition with the conferment of national productivity award on the vice chancellor of the institution, Professor Yemi Olatunji-Bello.
She was listed among the 35 recipients (individual category) for 2021 approved by the immediate-past President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement signed by the Director General/CEO of the National Productivity Centre, Dr. Nasir Raji-Mustapha.
A total of 36 awardees were approved for year 2022.
The National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award is statutorily empowered to recognise individuals, corporate institutions and MDAs identified as having made significant contributions to the nation yearly.
A total of seven companies were shortlisted for the award in 2021 and the same number were approved for 2022.
Since Professor Olatunji-Bello’s assumption of office in 2021, LASU has recorded significant milestone. Within three months in office, the university was able to secure accreditations for 31 programmes (both academic and professional) from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and relevant professional bodies. A feat unprecedented for any sitting vice chancellor in history.
Within the first year, LASU under Professor Olatunji-Bello also secured approval from the university’s Governing Council and Senate to establish and run the three faculties and a school. They include the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences; Faculty of Pharmacy; Faculty of Environmental Sciences and School of Library, Archival and Information Science which is the first in West Africa and second in Africa.
Currently, the Faculties and School are at various stages of take-off, with pioneer Acting Deans appointed to midwife the commencement of studies.
Professor Olatunji-Bello’s Midas touch has also rubbed off on the university’s satellite campus at Epe with the establishment of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences to incorporate Civil Engineering and Industrial and Systems Engineering.
In 2022, LASU attracted seven new international students from Ghana to the Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative STEM Education (ACEITSE).
