Liberia: ‘Go And Change The Narrative’

The Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Jim Wright, has challenged graduates of Cuttington University (CU) to go forth and change the narrative that has beset the larger Liberian society, holding back its growth and development.

“Only Liberians can develop their own Country,” Wright told the graduates, urging them to join others who are immensely contributing to the development of Liberia.

Serving as Keynote Speaker at the CU’s 61st Commencement Convocation on June 24, he told the graduates that Liberia depends on them to change the narrative in terms of development.

A Foreign Service professional of 20 years and over 30 years of experience managing international development and relief programs, Wright admonished the graduates to raise their voices and put their words into action as a way of inspiring positive changes in Liberia.

He encouraged the graduates not to limit themselves in society and to keep in mind their responsibility to the development of Liberia.

“Every Liberian has a collective responsibility to ensure the country is on the right path, and graduates of Cuttington University are no exception,” Wright added.

Also speaking at the graduation, Cuttington University president, Dr. Romelle A. Horton, encouraged the graduates to see the need for contributing their services to the University upon graduation.

This, she said, will help CU to grow in the future. She reminded them of the uniqueness of their University as the oldest private University in the country and it was a prestige for them to graduate from the nation’s premier as the oldest private, coeducational, undergraduate, and degree- granting institution in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Romelle A. Horton, the first female President of Cuttington University, who shattered the glass ceiling by launching the first Doctoral Program at University in Liberia’s history; again announced that classes for the first Doctoral Program in Ministry & Theology (DMin and ThD) will begin in December of this year which will enhance learning at the nation’s premier University.

There is a felt need for academic training at the post-graduate level that is accessible, affordable, and available right here in Liberia. Cuttington University is responding to the felt need and satisfying this important demand for post-graduate training in Liberia.

As a result, Cuttington’s leadership cast a vision to meet a felt need in the area of post-graduate education in Liberia.

She said a Doctor of Ministry program and a Doctor of Theology program, along with their core concentrations and research opportunities, will develop a new breed of leaders, expand the educational offerings of Cuttington, increase her appeal as a premier institution of higher learning, improve her capacity to provide jobs in a country where most of the Labor Force is unemployed and give Liberians the opportunity to do postgraduate study here at home.

Dr. Horton made the statement in Gbarnga, Bong County on June 24, 2023, at the 61st commencement convocation of Cuttington University. Cuttington graduated three hundred eighty-three students in various disciplines from its three campuses in Liberia.