EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Education & Business Conference 2012 Liberia “Issues in Tertiary Education, The Global Bridge Connecting Education, Business and Community” was launched in support of the University Consortium for Liberia (UCL), an initiative developed by Cynthia Blandford Nash, The Liberian Honorary Consul General in Atlanta, Georgia.  UCL was established with the mission to “lift Liberia by coordinating diverse academic efforts for increased impact.” The UCL initiative was launched in June 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA in collaboration with the Liberian Embassy in Washington, D.C. with a particular focus on the University of Liberia and other tertiary institutions in the country.

Read the Impact Report Executive Summary_Web version here.

In furtherance of this effort, the Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, in March 2012, co-hosted the Liberian Business Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, in collaboration with the Liberian Consulate and Global Strategies for Good at Clark Atlanta  University (CAU, where more than 300 business attended and where there was a Call for Action from the Vice President that “Liberia is Open for Business.”  On July 2, 2012, the President of the University of Liberia and the President of the Association of Liberian Universities (ALU), Dr. Emmet Dennis, co-hosted the UCL meeting with the Liberian Consulate and Dr. Carlton Brown, CAU President, identifying key needs of tertiary education in Liberia. These needs included How to Manage Resources at the University Level; Challenges of Tertiary Education; Entrepreneurship in the Liberian Context; Leadership Development and Ethics; Models of STEM Education; How to Transition into Four Year Colleges/Universities and Real Work  Experiences; Student and Faculty Exchanges and Study Abroad and Workforce Development in the New Liberia.  In addition to CAU, other UCL member institutions participating at this meeting included Emory University, the University of Georgia, the Carter Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Technical School and others.

Together we agreed that a conference would be held in Monrovia October 1-3, 2012, to help address the challenges of  tertiary education in Liberia in collaboration with the Association of Liberian Universities (ALU).  Dr. Carlton Brown, incoming chair for UCL, took the challenge to bring his key faculty to Liberia to include the Dean of the School of Business  Administration, Professor of Engineering, Professor of Chemistry and the Director of Faculty and Student Exchange to help provide leadership, support and solutions.   The Liberian Consulate, CAU, Global Strategies for Good, LLC, CAU and the ALU began the planning process for the Republic of Liberia’s first Education and Business Conference.

A view from the Liberian Coast.

The 2-day Education and Business conference impacted more than 300 students, faculty, staff, government, civic and community who attended the conference held at Monrovia City Hall and where more than 40 speakers participated.  Thousand of dollars were generated in the local Liberian economy to support hotels, transportation, and facilities providing income for consultants, caterers, drivers & student interns.  A few educational scholarships were also provided to students.

Dr. Carlton Brown, CAU President, facilitating “How to Manage Resources” at the Conference.

The U.S. Delegation totaled twenty-one of which four were Liberians from the Diaspora who provided conference  leadership and support. Five in the delegation opened up small business entities in the country including Security, Mining, IT Solutions, Travel and Tourism and E-Commerce. The sheer intellectual capital provided by 8 College and University Presidents and more than 20 Deans and faculty was immeasurable. Three Liberian student interns from UL and A.M.E.  University provided hands-on support to the U.S. delegation. The Liberian business and industry participation totaled 7 including Firestone, Sami Darby, Delta Air Lines, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the National Oil Company, the Liberian Petroleum Refining Company and the Liberian Telecommunications Company.  An outcome of the conference will be a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CAU and UL to further outline the way forward in terms of faculty and student exchange, joint research and fundraising efforts, on-line courses, book donations, to name a few.

Note, that in addition to the conference, site-visits and private discussions took place between CAU, the U.S. Delegation and the faculty and staff at the UL and Fendel Campuses to conduct a general needs assessment and to build relationships.  Reports and recommendations are also included in the detailed Impact Report, that will only be made available to key stakeholders for review and further consideration.

Group meeting with Liberian and American leadership.

For further information, please contact Cynthia Blandford Nash at 404-590-1855

or e-mail her at cnash@globalstrategiesforgood.com

Cynthia Blandford Nash

Honorary Consul General Republic of Liberia

President/CEO, Global Strategies for Good , LLC|

Cynthia Blandford Nash
Honorary Consul General

As Honorary Consul General Republic of Liberia and President and CEO of Global Strategies for Good, LLC, it gives me great pleasure to provide you with the “Issues in Tertiary Education in Liberia” 2012, The Global Bridge Connecting Education, Business and Community Conference, Impact Report Executive Summary for your review and consideration.

We have attempted to provide you with a high-level review of the impact of the 2012 conference and a summary of the major discussion points of the panelists.  We also shared highlights of the various meetings and site-visits held at the University of Liberia and Fendel Campuses and provided some recommendations and suggestions for next steps, including fundraising strategies, the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding between UL and CAU, and the launching of a 1-2 week student exchange program between the UL and CAU student government associations next year, to name a few.

We recognize that there is much work left to be done.  However, we are committed to moving this work forward with Clark Atlanta University, the Association of Liberian Universities (ALU) , business stakeholders and the community to help further the discussions on improving tertiary education in Liberia.  We are particularly interested in furthering our discussions with the business community to better understand the skills needed to help put people to work and to help improve the quality of life for Liberians.

A special thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Joseph N. Boakai, Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, and his staff, Chief of Staff, Steve Stevquoah, George Saah, Public Relations; Dr. Carlton Brown, President, Clark Atlanta University (incoming University Consortium for Liberia Chair); Dr. Emmet Dennis, President, the Association of Liberian Universities and the University of Liberia; Dr. Walter Wiles, UL’s Vice President Institutional Advancement and Dr. Siaam Naami, ALU’s Secretary General; Dr. Albert Coleman, Ministry of Education, and UL’s Michelle Stubblefield, for their vision and support of this important work.  To Henry Taylor, CAU’s Vice President for Institutional Advancement and University Relations and Katrina Strickland, Executive Director, Global Leadership Academy for their tireless efforts and in coordinating CAU’s faculty involvement and to the outstanding contributions of the CAU faculty including Dr. Charles Moses, Dean, School of Business Administration, Dr. Olu Olatidoye, Professor, Engineering and Computer Science, Dr. Eric Mintz, Professor of Chemistry and Dr. Paul Brown, Director of Global Education, Study Abroad and Student Exchange.

Finally, to my Chief of Staff, Maryalice O. Moses and Ardella Y. Blandford, Special Assistant for their commitment and excellent work and to our speakers, volunteers and interns for taking the time and effort to make their contributions to this important conversation.  A special thanks to Wilfred T. Harris, Advance Team Lead, Wellington VanPelt, Moderator, U.K. Jones, Photography/Videography, Darren Wilkins, IT Support and Press Coordinator Joseph Reeves, Chairman of the Liberian Association of Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA) for their leadership and support.  Appreciation to our student Interns Saki Golafale,  UL Class of 2011 Chemistry, Melvinia Jallah, A.M.E. University Business Major and Brezhnev Passewe, UL Sociology for providing excellent service and assistance to our U.S. Delegation.

Of course this work could not be done without our sponsors including GSG, the Liberian Consulate, the Liberian Government, Delta Air Lines, CAU, UL, ALU, the Mayor of Monrovia, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter, Link2Link and J.Lane Media.

I look forward to the future and in working with you!

Honorary Consul General

Republic of Liberia

Consulate | Atlanta, Georgia

Below are images from the 2012 Liberia Education and Business Mission Trip. The trip which was organized by the Liberian Consulate – State of Georgia, brought together leaders in government, education and business from around the world to meet in Monrovia, Liberia to discuss success strategies for Liberia’s growing Education and Business sectors.