MONROVIA – Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, has been appointed to serve on the board of the Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation.
Following his appointment, Dr. Josephus M. Gray said he was honored and dignified to serve on the Board of the Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation terming the appointment an important and meaningful contribution to the achievement of the Foundation’s goals and objectives and promised to justify the confidence reposed in him to serve with honor and bring value to the new policy-driven role.
“I am humbled and honored by the confidence reposed in me for my preferment as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation headquartered in the United States of America,” Dr. Gray noted.
Below is Dr. Gray’s response…
I am humbled and honored by the confidence reposed in me for my preferment as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation headquartered in the United States of America.
I was selected from among about 1,500 faculty members and professors at the University of Liberia by the Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation to serve on the Board to represent the University of Liberia.
As Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, it is an honor and dignity to serve on such an important Board to make meaningful contributions for the achievement of the Foundation’s goals and objectives and promised to justify the confidence reposed in me to serve with honor and bring value to the new policy-driven role.
This preferment brings to two the Boards that I have been appointed to render invaluable services. You may recall in January 2022, the Visitor of the University of Liberia and President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah appointed us as Co-Chair, Board of Trustees, Grand Kru Technical College in Barclayville, Grand Kru County.
Two female graduates Miss Danielle Wornee, 20-year-old of the Department of Social Work and Miss Juma Patricia Sando, 20-year-old, of the Department of Geography who were outstanding and outperformed their colleagues of 214 graduates during the Sawyer College Undergraduate Final Thesis Oral Defense and Presentation in March 2023 have been awarded a master’s degree scholarship by the Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation through Mrs. Thelma E. Duncan Sawyer, Chair of the foundation.
Miss Sando will be pursuing her master’s degree studies in Environmental Management at the UL Graduate Program in Environmental Science and Climate Change. While Miss. Wornee will pursue her master’s degree studies in Public Health at the UL Graduate Program in Public Health. Besides, the two ladies, several other faculty members and staffs of the College are pursuing their master’s studies and studies programs in Georgia, USA; Tilburg, Netherlands; Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria; Bo, Sierra Leone; Beijing, China and New Delhi, India, respectfully.
About the Amos c. Sawyer Educational Foundation
The Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation was established by his wife his children, sister Agnes, cousins, including Dew Tuan Wleh Mayson, social family, and friends of Professor Amos C. Sawyer, former President of the Interim Government of National Unity of Liberia, and Dean/Professor at the University of Liberia in order to continue the work of Professor Amos C. Sawyer in the field of education. As a teacher, Professor Sawyer committed a lifetime to teaching and improving education services. This Foundation is intended to honor his memory by supporting education programs and improving the quality of education at the Sawyer College at the University of Liberia, as well as improving the lives of young girls in several schools in Liberia.
Prof. Amos C. Sawyer believed in education as a means of solving society’s complex problems, particularly by addressing the causes of poverty. He promoted critical thinking and encouraged people to apply sound intellectual insight and imagination to social problems. When he said, “The challenges of finding a way to the future have to be grounded in serious reflection, serious thoughts, and serious analysis,” he was making the convincing argument to young people to seek education and apply knowledge as they aspire to a brighter future.
Therefore, to support his philosophy of using mass literacy and education as a way out of poverty, his wife, children, cousins, sister, and social family and friends have established this Foundation with the goal of contributing to the literacy and educational advancement of the Liberian people. The Foundation intends to pursue this goal by supporting the building of productive and intellectually engaging learning environments in Liberia and by supporting students and teachers in the pursuit and delivery of quality education
Motto
“Education for development through hard work concomitantly improves lives. This is in line with Professor Sawyer’s philosophy that sound education is needed to understand society’s problems and to find solutions to solve them. The Foundation shall therefore support education as a means for promoting development in Liberia
Vision Statement
The vision of the Foundation is an educated and civically active citizenry in Liberia. This was what Professor Sawyer worked to achieve throughout his life. As a teacher, he taught in schools, and as an activist, he promoted a culture of progressive civic engagement.
Objective
The main objective of the Foundation is to support education in Liberia and improve learning conditions for Liberian students. Toward this end, the Foundation shall: Provide material and technical support to educational institutions in Liberia, especially the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Science and Humanities, with the aim of improving the learning environment and building the capacity of instructors and administrators. Provide financial aid and scholarship to deserving students, especially young girls, with the aim of bridging the wide gender gap in education attainment in Liberia
