The Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, led by its Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Greg Mbadiwe, has appointed Prof. Benard Odoh as the seventh substantive Vice Chancellor.
Odoh, a professor of geophysics from the Department of Applied Geophysics, Faculty of Physical Sciences of the University, emerged as the VC after a rigorous screening and interview from among no fewer than 18 other applicants.
Announcing the appointment during the presentation of the certificate at the Council Chambers of the University on Tuesday, Mbadiwe said Odoh scored the first position from the pool of applicants, based on his evidence-based significant experience in university teaching, research, and administration.
Odoh, during his acceptance speech, appreciated the council for finding him worthy for the position, while promising to carry everyone along in the line of duty.
“By my appointment, I will be the first alumni of the university to be appointed as vice-chancellor. I had my first, second and third degrees in this university.
“I thanked the school authorities. I understand the institute and its needs very well, having passed through the process. I should be judged based on performance and not based on hearsay. We will face the business of leadership straightaway. The era of politics is over,” Odoh added.
Born on August 5, 1975, Odoh hails from Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi State. As an Alumnus of UNIZIK, where he graduated from the Department of Geological Sciences in 1999, he was appointed Lecturer 1 in the same department in 2009 after obtaining his PhD in 2008.
He served as a member of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Senate from 2010 to 2014 and also served as Special Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor (Academic Matters I)/Coordinator UTME Exercise, 10th June 2014 to Oct. 2014
He was assessed and appointed as a professor at Federal University Gusau in 2015.
Odoh, an Emeritus Secretary to the State Government of Ebonyi State, has over 120 research publications published in reputable international journals, e-books and monographs.
He returned to Nnamdi Azikiwe University in 2019 after resigning from his position as Secretary to the Ebonyi State Government.
He was a board member of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Confucius Institute and also a member of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Admission and Examination Monitoring Committee.
The newly-appointed Vice-Chancellor mentored and led the NAU Team to the first position among 26 African universities and represented the African Region in American Association of Petroleum Geologists Imperial Barrel Award (AAPG IBA) Finals in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on May 17 and 19, 2013, where they took the fifth position on the global arena.
He was also a member of the voluntary visitors-leadership programme for newly-appointed Nigerian Vice-Chancellors in the United States of America, organised by the US Department of State in Collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), 13-23 October 2010.
