– As College Sets on New Trajectory
The Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Liberia, Associate Professor Dr. Josephus M. Gray has disclosed that the ACS College sets on new trajectory of research driven college where thesis and research works are given priority. He expressed appreciation to the Chairpersons, faculty and staffs of the College for their notable professional standards, strong commitment to academic quality and excellence in teaching, research, and service.
“I’m really thankful that our students have expressed their gratitude for our new assessment methods of Essay based examinations and the reintroduction of thesis defense and presentation across the Amos C. Sawyer College,” Dr. Gray said. The Dean of the Amos Sawyer College made remarks recently when he dedicated a project worth 50,000 Liberian Dollars. The project was undertaken by the Social Work Students’ Association at the University of Liberia.
The L$50,000 used to undertake the project was donated to the Social Work Students’ Association by Dr. Josephus M. Gray as his support to compliment the students’ projects and initiatives at the Amos C. Sawyer College. It can be recalled that Dr. Gray donated additional L$50,000 to the Disabled Students’ Association at the University of Liberia to support their project.
Dr. Gray praised the Social Work Students’ Association for using the money wisely for its intended purpose to purchase Brooms, Dust Pans, Trash Cans and other essential tools which were distributed to all the Academic Departments and Offices in the Amos C. Sawyer College and Students Affairs. According to Dr. Gray, the Associations of Social Work and Disabled Student are good examples of exemplified Student leadership at the University of Liberia.
Meanwhile, 15 Teaching Assistants and Staffs from Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Liberia who have departed the country in 2022 for advanced studies abroad in various academic disciplines have returned home after successful completion of Master’s studies in Population Studies, Modern History, Social Work and English and Literature, while 12 others are still away pursuing advanced studies in India, Nigeria and the Netherlands, respectively.
Twelve of the fifteen faculty members earned Master of Arts (MA) degree in Population Studies from the Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana Legon. While three others earned Master of Arts degree in Modern History, English and Literature and Social Work from Sharda University School of Humanities and Social Sciences in New Delhi, India.
They are: Victor Senyon, Department of History; Lisa W. Edwards, Department of English and Language Studies and Mohammed Kanneh, Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Others are: Luther P. Whian, Kiafa Ballah, Kessellie Jallah, Ballah Yengbeh, Emmanuel T. Porpeh, Robert W. Kargba, Elsie Yah Paye, Bennie B. D. Wesseh, G.V. Weah, J.L.W. Padmore, T.W. Boimah and D.D. Gildersleeves, all from the Department of Demography, Amos C. Sawyer College. The master’s program in Population Studies was achieved through World Bank sponsorship at the University of Ghana Legon.
According to Dr. Gray, the Dean and the Academic Team of the ACS College are deeply appreciate the numerous support of the former President of UL Prof. Dr. Julius Julukon Sarwolo Nelson towards the ACS College while at the same time, the College expressed gratitude to Vice Presidents for Institution Development and Fiscal and Finance, Associate Prof. Weady Kobbah-Boley and Mr. Isaac Garnett for support towards faculty and staffs advancement to earn quality education abroad. He also praised the three Chairpersons of the Departments of Demography, Prol. Alfred Twalla; Dr. Kula Thomas-Williams, and Dr. Samuel Kortee, of the Departments of English and history for the support towards their faculty advancement.
Associate Prof. Dr. Josephus M. Gray, who was appointed in January 2020 as Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Liberia, has a rich history of leadership within the university, including serving as President of UL Student Press Club, Part-time Faculty, Instructor, Assistant Professor and now Associate Professor. He continues to make immense contributions to UL’s academic community as an Associate Professor of International Relations, IBB Graduate Program of International Studies. He is a native born Liberian, hails from the Southeastern Village of Kayken, Barclayville District in Grand Kru County, Republic of Liberia.
At the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, he taught research methods courses in several departments including the Departments of Political Science, Communication and Media Studies, Social Science and English and Language Studies, as well as teaching, research, publication and capacity building.
His extensive leadership roles have included Dean of the ACS College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chairman, Council of Deans, University of Liberia, Co-chairman of the Grand Kru Technical College and Member of the Professor Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation; Sharda University in India Ambassador to Liberia and Sharda University Coordinator for West Africa and Member of the International Confucian Association. The Board of Trustees of Grand Kru Technical College appointed him as Acting President of the College in January 2024.
At the public sector level, Dr. Gray has held positions such as Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia, Assistant Foreign Minister for Public Affairs and Diplomacy; Political Counselor, Embassy of Liberia in Paris, France, and Minister Counsellor and Charge D’ Affairs, Liberia Permanent Mission to the Swiss Federation and the United Nations in Geneva and other International Organizations. At other levels, he earned diplomas and certificates in foreign policy Studies, international relations, diplomacy, print journalism, development communication, research methodology, and leadership from Paris, France; Genera, Switzerland; Beijing, China; Washington, D.C., USA; Cape Town, South Africa; Rabat, Morocco; Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal and Monrovia, Liberia.
He has achieved the highest level of academic mastery in his chosen academic field including a Ph.D. (distinction) in International Relations and Diplomacy from the HELP-CEDS Graduate School in Paris, Republic of France. The theme of his 580-page doctoral dissertation “The Effect of Diplomacy” was successfully defended for two hours in the presence of four academics jury of an astute French professors: (1)Prof. Dr. Faund NOHRA, Associate Professor at Paris Dscartes University; Prof. Dr. Souha AKIKI, President of Paris Graduate School/ Innovative Knowledge Institute;, Dr. Prof. Michael STRAUSS, Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures and Human Rights and Dr. Prof. Michael LEBEDEV, Senior Diploma at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Mr. Yatay Tuoway, former Vice President of Liberian Association in France and resident of Paris was extended invitation by the university to attend the dissertation defense exercise.
Dr. Gray further holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Bachelor’s Degree in Communication (Print Journalism) from the University of Liberia. He has wildly written and published over 300 per-reviewed articles in local and international journals and three books. His recent book characterizes the existing relationships among Liberia, China and the United States of America as “triangular, and is on sale in 160 countries across the world.
The book is reproduced in several languages including French, Italian, Chinese, and Spanish. His Master’s Thesis: “The Consequences of the Liberian Civil War was supervised Sarr Abdulai Vandi, former Director, IBB Graduate School while his BA Mass Communication Undergraduate’s Thesis: The Impact of Print Media on Democracy in Liberia is thesis supervised by Prof. Joe W. Mulbah, former Chair, Department of Mass Communication.
Dr. Gray holds advanced certificate in Modern Journalism (2006), ICFJ, Washington, D.C. USA; Diploma in Modern Diplomacy, (2008), Chinese Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China; Certificate in Practical Research (2017), Bibliotheque International Library, Paris, France and Certificate Program: Digital Journalism (2006) World Newspaper Editors Forum. Cape Town, South Africa. In the area of pre-reviewed publications, Dr. Gray has authored: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Impact of ELearning at the University of Liberia; Analysis of the Similarities and Disparities: the tale of Liberian Press and Global Media practices; Analysis of the Impact and Intricacies of Liberian Foreign policy and international Relations over the last 75 years;
Comparison and Contrast of China and Liberia’s Contemporary Global Status: Analysis of CPC’s Scientific Theories Democratic Governance and National Development in Post-war Liberia; The Effect of Diplomacy: Liberia, US, China’s Triangular Relations. Others include: The Consequences of the Unforgotten Liberian Civil War; The Tale of Violence against Liberian Media: The Curse of bad Governance and Rampant corruption in Africa and China and African Countries independent Exploration of Development Path While his books include: Liberia’s Emerging Democracy: published in Paris, France 2012 and
Effect of Diplomacy, published 2021 by Amazon, Washington State, USA. While his contributions to book chapters include: The New Dimension: Beijing Influence in Liberia and Analysis of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its Impact on Liberia’s infrastructure development.
He holds membership in reputable professional journals such as: International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Sciences (IJROSS), International Research Journal of Public and Environmental Health and Academia.edu located on 580 California St, Suite 400, San Francisco, USA.
He is a member of the Africa-China Think Tanks Forum, Beijing, People’s Republic pf China and Council member of the International Confucian Institute, headquarters in Beijing, China. Dr. Gray also supervised about 44 graduates of IBB Graduate Program of International Studies theses from 2018-2021. Also, supervised three graduates from the graduate Program in Education thesis in 2019-2020 academic year as well as two BA thesis from African Methodist University and United Methodist University in 2020-2021 academic year.
