Liberia: Cuttington University Celebrates Founders’ Day
— Dedicates its Trinity Agro Corporation (TAC), which aims to breed approximately 10,000 chickens and produce animal feed at its newly constructed poultry farm
Cuttington University marked Founders’ Day with a celebration at its main campus in Suakoko, Bong County, honoring the legacy of past and present contributors to the institution.
The university, founded on February 22, 1889, and named after Robert Fulton Cutting — a former treasurer of the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church in the United States — has been pivotal in developing Liberia's human resources for over 135 years. It’s original campus was located in Maryland County but later relocated to Suakoko in 1949.
The University currently operates three campuses; the Associate Program in Kakata, Margibi County, the Graduate and Professional Studies in Congo Town, Montserrado County, and the Undergraduate School in Suakoko, Bong County, which is the main campus of the University.
During the celebration, the Episcopal Church of Liberia and the Cuttington University Alumni Association dedicated two significant projects.
The keynote speaker of CU’s 135th Founders’ Day program was Mr. Charles B. Allen, Jr. Allen emphasized the importance of unity among students, faculty, and alumni to navigate the future together. He urged adherence to the university’s principles and regulations to foster a cohesive community and encouraged students to focus on a successful future.
According to him, it is ideas, rules, and policies that keep people together; therefore, everyone who is one way or the other connected to Cuttington must uphold the rules and policies of the University.
Allen stressed that for students to face the future, they should forget about the past, especially the negativities, and look forward to a successful future that is ahead of them and the University must initiate the said process.
A highlight of the day was the inauguration of the Trinity Agro Corporation (TAC), a poultry farm aiming to breed 10,000 chickens and produce animal feed. The farm, in partnership with the Episcopal Church of Liberia, aligns with the vision of the university’s president, Dr. Romell A. Horton, to advance Cuttington’s self-sufficiency and serve as a practical training ground for agriculture students.
Additionally, the Rally Hall dormitory received a refurbished section, enhancing student accommodation. The refurbished section of the Rally Hall Dorm suffered structural damage because of a fire in March 2019.
It was noted that the TAC Poultry Farm is a partnership cooperative of the Episcopal Church of Liberia (ECL) that options to advance Dr. Horton’s vision of feeding Cuttington. The farm will also function as another income-generating division for the University and a hub for agriculture students’ practical and research initiatives.
After the dedication of TAC Farm, guests were redirected to the Rally Hall dormitory to observe its first structural modification in fifty years.
In November 2023, the Alumni Association held an official ground-breaking ceremony for the reconstruction and modification of the upper Rally Hall section. Despite the limited period, the first phase of the project, which consists of self-contained dorm rooms/apartments for students who prefer their personal space, was enthusiastically dedicated today by Mydea White-Simmons and her team.
White-Simmons believes that living in dorms is one of the unique aspects of attending Cuttington University. As president of the Cuttington Alumni Association, she has promised to commit her team to making significant changes to the dormitories in order to attract students to move into the dorms.
President Horton expressed gratitude to the university’s supporters and hailed the faculty and staff for maintaining Cuttington’s reputation as a center of academic excellence in Liberia. The commitment of Cuttington’s community, including alumni associations, was recognized as vital in sustaining the university’s legacy.
Horton also lauded the tremendous efforts made by the University’s faculty and staff in continuously projecting the image of Cuttington as the “Citadel of Academic Excellence” in Liberia.
Dr. Horton, Cuttington’s first female president, further emphasized: “As long as each of us continues to develop the energy, interest, and passion for Cuttington, it cannot and will not fall, with God being our helper.”