The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS, in collaboration with a Committee of Mentees and Friends of Distinguished Professor James Dele Olowokudejo organised an exaugural lecture in commemoration of the 70th Birthday & Retirement of the Distinguished Professor of Botany, at the Afe Babalola Hall, on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.
While delivering the Lecture titled: “Plants, People and Possibilities: Musings of a Graduate Assistant, Advisor, Mentor and Distinguished Professor of Botany”, Distinguished Professor Olowokudejo took the audience on his journey through the University of Lagos, from his days as a student of the Department of Botany to Distinguished Professor of Botany. He then spoke about how plants affect people and vice versa; the University as an ivory tower. He charged vice-chancellors to develop the highest standards of governance seeing as the university is now a big, complex, demanding and competitive establishment that is often faced with management and administrative tasks that would test the best managers in any sector of human endeavour.
Furthermore, he spoke about botanists and botanical sciences of the twenty-first century; taxonomy and taxonomic practice/services; Man and the biosphere and lastly, the ethics of the academic profession. He gave a run-down of the code of ethics that guided his sojourn in the academia.
The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, in his address reminisced on his childhood and University days with Professor Olowokudejo; and how they have stood by each other over the years. He called him a role model, teacher of teachers, intelligent, kind, thoughtful, pragmatic and dedicated man, among other things.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ogundipe, in his remarks, extolled the virtues of this great man, while recalling the warm welcome he received from the Distinguished Professor when he joined the services of the University of Lagos in 1990.
Colleagues from the Department of Botany; Faculty of Science, University community, mentees and well-wishers from within and outside the University took the stage to extol the virtues of the Distinguished Professor especially his warm and accommodating nature.
Born July 15, 1951 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Distinguished Professor James Dele Olowokudejo started his career in the academia at the University of Lagos in 1976 as a graduate assistant and became a full Professor in 1998.
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