Professor Jacinta Opara has joined the league of female Vice Chancellors in Nigeria, following her appointment as the second substantive Vice-Chancellor of Dominican University Ibadan (DUI), Nigeria.

In an official statement by the Chairman, the Board of Trustees of DUI, Chief Anthony Idigbe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the institution’s Board at its meeting on Wednesday, March 7, 2024, considered the submission of the Joint Governing Council, Senate, Search/Selection Team and approved the appointment of Prof Opara as Vice Chancellor of the institution for a term of 5-year.

Her emergence as the VC is no doubt a commitment to sound research and her exploration in the academic field.

Opara, 48, has touched lives in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe through her scholarly papers, works both in theory and practical.

Here is the story of a woman, whose academic journey has been an inspiration to her students and her peers, even before her elevation to the rank of professor in 2016.

A humble beginning

Born in 1976 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Opara is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, before proceeding for postgraduate degrees at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, University of Granada, Central University of Nicaragua, Akershus University (now Oslo Metropolitan University), Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia(UCAM) and University of Chalco-Mexico.

And rose through the ranks and was promoted to full Professor in 2016 at Kampala International University (KIU).

Before her postgraduate studies, she started in 1997 as a Biology teacher at the College of the Immaculate Conception(CIC), Enugu under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

She later worked as a Program Officer at the Nigerian Gender Action Network and as a Research Fellow at the Afro-Euro Centre for Development Studies, Accra, Ghana.

Appointments

She has held appointments at several private and public universities, including Avance International University (AIU); University of Maiduguri; Federal University, Kashere; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University (KOMU); Sule Lamido University (SLU); Nasarawa State University(NSUK) and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State.

The leading African environmental scholar is the President, African Association for Teaching and Learning and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute of Policy Management Development.

As a visiting scholar

She has served as Visiting Scholar of Gender, Peace and Security at IISJ (Universidad de Basque Country-UPV/EHU), Gipuzkoa, Spain; Visiting Professor at Kigali Independent University; Metropolitan International University; Mount Kenya University; Laikipia University; University of The Gambia; Nexus International University; Commonwealth University; Athens Institute of Education and Research; National University of Science and Technology(NUST), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe among others.

Research without border

Her love for teaching and research has taken her beyond the Nigerian soil. Apart from being the founding Co-Executive Director, the Center for Environment and Community Development, Prof. Opara also serves on the Board/Governing Council of: Metropolitan International University, Mediterranean Center for Social and Educational Research, Rome, Italy; African Institute of Management, Technology and Development Studies, Kigali-Rwanda; Association of Women Educationists; African Society for Scientific Research; and Development Africa Consortium among others.

She has more than 200 publications, including over 130 academic journal articles and 15 books.

Projects

Prof Opara has worked on some projects, partnership initiatives and human capacity-building initiatives with a wide range of stakeholders. She has organized several international conferences, seminars and workshops across the globe.

She coordinated the Publication Project of Nigeria´s 50 Years Anniversary. She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Health and Environmental Studies; African Journal of Women Studies and Research; International Journal of Scientific Research in Education; and Metropolitan Journal of Science and Technology and serves on the editorial board of over 40 international journals.

Fellow/membership

• Fellow of Institute of Management Consultants;
• Fellow of African Scientific Institute;
• Fellow of the Board of Quality Standards;
• Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professionals;
• Fellow of West African Postgraduate College of Environmental Health, and
• Fellow of Chartered Institute of Administration.

She is also a Fellow of the African Sexuality Leadership Development funded by Ford Foundation and a Delegate/Resource Person/Consultant of the 2008 UN World Women’s Day of the Women International League on Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Geneva, Switzerland; United Nations PANAFCON Summit on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlement, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2004 UN World Habitat Day(UNHABITAT), Nairobi, Kenya; UNU-EHS Project on Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability, Bonn, Germany; UNU-WIDER Project on Country Role Models, Helsinki-Finland and the 2008 Women’s World in Madrid-Spain.

Awards

She has received 23 awards, fellowships and grants including the Erasmus Mundus of the European Commission, Brussels-Belgium, the prestigious IATEL Award for Academic Excellence in 2015 and 2024 Distinguished Leadership Achievement Award.

Professional membership

• Member, African Universities’ Research Group on Health and Environment;
• Member, IUCN Commission on Environmental Law(CEL);
• Member, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria(TRCN);
• Member, Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World(OWSD);
• Member, International Association for Scientific Knowledge(IASK);
• Member, African Network on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements (ANEW);
• Member, International Action Network on Small Arms(IANSA) and,
• International Association for the Study of the Commons(IASC)

Emergence as DUI VC

Before she was appointed the VC, the detribalized African scholar served as Head of Department, Dean, Director and Deputy Vice Chancellor, making her the best choice for the university community.

According to the Board of Trustees of the institution, her appointment followed a stringent recruitment exercise carried out by a professional recruiting firm and top-notch academics, in line with best global practices in headhunting for strategic positions in higher education institutions.

“Her appointment is expected to usher in an era of innovation and academic eminence. A scholar of Prof Opara’s status with a proven track record in higher education and an outstanding commitment to fostering learning and research, she is poised to make a sustainable impact on the University and the broader academic community,” the board said.

Her onboarding activities started on June 23, 2024, when she met with the Proprietor and Chancellor, Very Rev. Fr Modestus Ngwu at the Provincial Office, St. Dominic’s Priory, Yaba, Lagos.

The 9-day activities will come to a close on Monday, July 1, 2024, when her formal swearing-in ceremony will be held at Tom & Carolyn Walker Hall by noon.

Prof Opara, a devout Christian Catholic, is married with children.

About DIU

The Dominican University Ibadan (DUI) formerly known as the Dominican Institute is the first university of the Order of Preachers on the African continent.

In 1993, the Dominican Institute became an affiliate school of the University of Ibadan. The DUI was granted a license by the Federal Government of Nigeria on November 22, 2016, by the National Universities Commission (NUC).