Monrovia — The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, has called on the University of Liberia Faculty Association to champion a new era of mentorship, research, critical thinking, and institutional transformation at the University of Liberia.
Dr. Yarkpawolo made the statement when he served as guest speaker at the inaugural program of the new leadership of the University of Liberia Faculty Association held at the auditorium of the University of Liberia under the theme, "From Militancy to Mentorship: The Faculty Association as a Vehicle of Change, Critical Thinking, and Research at the University of Liberia."
Delivering his keynote address, Dr. Yarkpawolo described the University of Liberia as Liberia's flagship public university and a national inheritance that must remain central to national development, democratic governance, innovation, and evidence based problem solving.
He emphasized that while the Faculty Association must continue advocating for improved salaries, benefits, and working conditions for lecturers, the association must also rise beyond welfare issues to become a force for academic excellence, scholarship, discipline, and national transformation.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
According to him, the future of Liberia depends heavily on whether the university produces graduates equipped with critical thinking skills, research capacity, ethical leadership, and the ability to solve national challenges through knowledge and innovation.
Dr. Yarkpawolo further used the occasion to reflect on reforms underway at the EPA, noting that his administration inherited an institution challenged by low morale, weak coordination, and internal divisions, but has since transformed the agency into a more united, accountable, science driven, and professional institution. He disclosed that the EPA has decentralized operations across all 15 counties of Liberia, strengthened environmental law enforcement, improved staff confidence, and enhanced scientific research and laboratory capacity.
He also revealed that the EPA recently secured a 100,000 Euro Elemental Analyzer through a competitive process at the International Atomic Energy Agency, while also supporting environmental science programs and climate change laboratories at the University of Liberia, Tubman University, Grand Gedeh Community College, Nimba University, and Bong County University.
"Institutions do not change because people shout louder. They change when leaders listen, set standards, build teams, and make accountability normal. At the EPA, we have moved from suspicion to teamwork, from fear to confidence, and from low morale to shared purpose," Dr. Yarkpawolo declared.
Speaking on student activism and campus culture, Dr. Yarkpawolo cautioned against violent militancy and disruption on university campuses, stressing that activism must be guided by research, ethics, evidence, and responsible leadership.
He proposed the establishment of a Faculty Mentorship Program for student leaders to help train students in constitutional advocacy, nonviolent communication, policy engagement, and evidence based activism.
He noted that universities should educate activism instead of suppressing it, adding that intellectual engagement and disciplined inquiry remain the best tools for democratic progress and national stability.
"The best protest is a well-researched position paper. The best revolution is a generation trained to think. Protest has a legitimate place in democracy, but it becomes dangerous when it abandons reason or treats militancy as a substitute for knowledge," he stated.
The EPA Executive Director also challenged lecturers and administrators of the University of Liberia to prioritize research, innovation, and academic discipline. He urged faculty members to strengthen mentorship, improve classroom standards, support undergraduate and graduate research conferences, and build partnerships between the university and national institutions.
According to him, Liberia's growing challenges, including climate change, coastal erosion, illegal mining, youth unemployment, food insecurity, public health risks, and technological disruption, require research based solutions driven by universities and intellectual institutions.
Dr. Yarkpawolo praised the leadership of Dr. Layli Maparyan for advancing an ambitious five-year strategic vision aimed at improving academics, infrastructure, student success, and institutional rankings at the university.
He, however, stressed that no reform agenda can succeed without the active involvement and commitment of faculty members, whom he described as the intellectual heart of the university and custodians of national development.
"To the students, I say your voice matters, but it becomes stronger when informed. Your anger may attract attention, but your evidence will command respect. Become scholar activists and research driven leaders," Dr. Yarkpawolo emphasized.
In another major recommendation, the EPA boss called on the Government of Liberia to significantly increase funding for the University of Liberia. Drawing comparisons with the University of Wisconsin Madison in the United States, where he studied, Dr. Yarkpawolo noted that while the American university operates with a budget of about five billion United States dollars, the University of Liberia continues to function with a much smaller allocation of approximately forty million dollars.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He therefore urged the Liberian Government to increase the university's budget to at least one hundred million United States dollars in order to strengthen research, infrastructure, laboratories, faculty development, and global competitiveness.
Dr. Yarkpawolo encouraged the new leadership of the University of Liberia Faculty Association to be remembered not only for demanding benefits and defending faculty welfare, but also for transforming the culture of the university, uplifting students, advancing scholarship, and promoting national service.
He called on faculty members to replace rumor with research, disorder with debate, emotion with evidence, and blind militancy with critical thinking as part of efforts to reposition the University of Liberia as a lighthouse of reason, innovation, citizenship, and national redemption.
