MONROVIA – Two of the 214 graduates from the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Liberia, Miss. Danielle T. Wornee, age 20, of the Department of Social Work, and Miss Juma Patricia Sando, age 20, of the Department of Geography have been awarded two fully-funded master’s degree scholarships for their high academic performance in thesis oral defense and presentation, and academic excellence at Amos C. Sawyer College.
Miss Wornee and Miss Sando were awarded the graduate studies scholarships by the Chair of the Amos C. Sawyer Foundation who is also Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Administration, Mrs. Thelma E. Duncan Sawyer.
Honorable Sawyer awarded the two brilliant ladies the master’s degree scholarship during the College’s Annual Academic Excellence Recognition and Honoring Program held Tuesday, 6 June 2023 in the Executive Lounge, Academic Complex Ground Floor, UL Fendall Campus.
Miss Wornee in the academic contest came top of the class in the thesis while Miss Sando academically was selected as a run-up (second best performed) to Miss Wornee, followed by Mr. D. Wilson Zawu of the Department of English, as the third best-performed graduate.
Miss. Wornee research focuses on: A Need for Social Services in Orphanages in Liberia: A Case Study of the St. Benetta Orphanage Home on Pipeline, Lower Johnsonville, Liberia. While Miss Sando research focus is: An Evaluation of Public Attitude and Behavior towards Waste Management in Red-Light, Gogbarchop Market.
So far, 64 graduates from across six academic departments including History, Geography, English and Language Studies, Political Science, Communication and Media Studies and Social Work participated in the three weeks standard final thesis oral defense and presentation.
While the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Department of Demography failed to allow their candidates to participate in the academic exercise, even though it is part of the College’s curricula approved by the UL Faculty Senate.
Members of the Thesis Panelists are: Assistant Prof. Alexander O. Teaway, Chair; Mrs. Roseline Tomah-Weah, Co-chair; Prof. Dr. D. Elliott Wreh-Wilson, Prof. Dr Nathaniel Gbessagee, Cllr. Mark Bedor-Wla Freeman, Mr. Roosevelt Tule, Mr. Abraham Fofana, Mr. Ernest Winderburk and Rev. Leviticus O. Kollie. The Dean of the College, Prof. Dr Josephus M. Gray served as Ex-officio to the Committee.
The undergraduate thesis covered five chapters including Chapter One which discusses the backgrounds of the study, problem statement, purpose and objectives, research questions, significance of the study, limitations and delimitation.
Chapter Two is about the Literature reviews relating to the research problem. While Chapter Three focuses on the research methodology, design, population and targeted population of the study, research instruments, sample size and sampling techniques used, data collection procedures and data analysis.
The two last chapters, Four and Five discussed the data presentation, analysis, research findings, summary, conclusions, and recommendations.
Meanwhile, thesis defense and presentation have been dormant across the College for about 15 years, but the academic exercises were reactivated during the 2020-2021 academic school year in line with best academic practices based on the philosophical version of the institution’s faculty-student centered President, Prof Dr. Julius Julukon Sarwolo Nelson, Jr.
The college is now research-driven and seeks to advance new knowledge, explore issues and find answers to questions that contribute to the improvement of society.
The Dean of the College, Dr. Gray, with support from the institution is establishing a research annex in the college to aid faculty in their research. Prospective graduates would also be allowed to take advantage of the Research Annex to undertake their thesis and other research works.
