Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees of the University of Liberia maintains authority over the scope, mission,  along with the President & Chief Executive Officer. The BOT establishes the strategic direction and fiscal oversight of the university. The President & Chief Executive Officer, along with administrative staff, executes the strategic direction. The authority for the governance and control of the University is hereby vested in the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees exercises the following powers and performs the following duties in relations to the University and in furtherance of its objectives:

• To make and use a common seal and alter the same at its pleasure;
•  To take by gift, grant, devise, purchase, or otherwise real property and to hold same in fee simple or to deal with same in any manner provided for; to take by gift bequest, lease, purchase, or otherwise any estate of interest in real property or any other personal property, including intangibles, and to deal with same in any manner as provided for; and to use such property, real or personal, directly for University purpose, or to sell, let invest and re-invest, or in any other lawful manner exploit such property for the benefit of the University, the income therefrom to be applied to the endowment and support of the University in such manner as shall most effectually promote the interest of the Republic, the growth of the University, and the improvement of its faculty and student body;
•  To enter into and execute contracts and agreements. To mortgage real and personal property, and in pursuance thereof all deeds, bills of sale, or other instruments in writing sealed with the common seal of the Board of Trustees of the University, and signed by its order shall be considered in Law as the act of said Board of Trustees, when made in its corporate name;
• To sue and be sued, to plead and be implemented in all actions and to prosecute the same as necessary to final judgment and executive in the name of the Board of Trustees of the University of Liberia;
• To prepare the annual budget of the University to submit same to the Legislature, through the Visitor of the University;
• To establish effective liaison with the Ministry of Education for the purpose of coordinating policies and making reciprocal recommendations;
• To select its officers and members and to establish its Standing and Special Committees;
• To act upon the nomination of the President of the University when made by the Visitor of the University of Liberia; and to approve the appointment of the Deans and Directors of the various schools and other members of the faculty and staff upon nomination by the President of the University;
• To fix the time and place for its meetings;
• To make such by-laws, rules and regulations as may be necessary for itself and for the efficient government of the University; and To confer the usual collegiate honors and degree upon recommendation of the faculty senate through the President of the University, and to confer honorary degrees upon recommendation of the President of the University.

The Board of Trustees consists of twenty-one members. The President of the University serves as one of the Trustees. The following constitutes the representation on the Board: 3 members representing the Senate of the Republic of Liberia; 5 members representing the House of Representatives of the Republic of Liberia; 2 members representing the Alumni Association; 3 members representing the Business Community; 7 members nominated by the Visitor of the University, the Minister of Education as Member Ex-Officio, and the Visitor as Chairman Ex-Officio.

Members of the Board, except the Chairman Ex-Officio, the Member Ex-Officio, and the President of the University, serve four year term provided, however, that a member is re-elected to the Board if duly nominated for such re-election.
Members are selected in accordance with the Charter and By-laws of the University of Liberia. The President sits on the Board throughout the duration of his/her employment tenure. While Board members are welcomed to bring comments, questions, and concerns to senior administrative staff (directors), Board members must include the President in any correspondence. Any assignments or tasks are assigned to staff members only by the President.

The Board has standing committees, and from time to time may appoint special committees. The Standing Committees include the following:
⦁ Executive Committee
⦁ Committee on Nominations and Appointment
⦁ Committee on Budget and Finance
⦁ Development Committee
⦁ Government Liaison Committee
⦁ Student-Alumni Committee and
⦁ Faculty Welfare Committee

PROFILES OF BOARD OFFICIALS

  Rep. Mathew Gee. Zarzar, Acting Chair and Vice Chair

Sinoe County Electoral District #3 Representative, Matthew Gee Zarzar, is currently acting as the  chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the  University of Liberia (UL). Rep. Zarzar, a former Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Education.  Hon. Zarzar holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Southern University in Washington, D.C. Prior to his election as Vice Chair, the Sinoe County Lawmaker had been member of the UL Board since 2012. He is expected to work with rest of the members of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Board in moving things of the University forward and in the right direction.

Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan  is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Liberia, responsible for the formulation and implementation of the foreign policy of Liberia. He holds a MBA in Finance from William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester, New York, USA. He also received a certificate in Central Banking from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in October 2005 and a Certificate in Public Financial Management from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA in 2007. He also served as Minister of Finance. As Finance Minister and Liberia’s Governor to the Board of the African Development Bank (ADB), Hon. Ngafuan chaired the ADB Constituency comprising Liberia, Ghana, Gambia, Sudan and Sierra Leone from May 2010 until his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs in January 2012. He was also Liberia’s Governor on the ADB Board of Governors from August 2008 to present, serving too as Governor representing Liberia on the Board of Governors at the World Bank and the IMF. He chaired the Board of Directors of the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), the only significantly owned Liberian bank, from 2010 until his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has served as an Instructor of Accounting and President, University of Liberia Student Union, at the University of Liberia. He was a recipient of “2010 National Leadership Award” from the National Excellence Award Committee of Liberia after receiving the highest point among a shortlist of national leaders in a public poll conducted by the Committee. Mr. Ngafuan joined the UL Board of Trustees as Secretary since July 2006.

Francis L. M. Horton francis.horton2008@gmail.com

Francis L. M. Horton is currently the Treasurer of the UL Board of Trustees and serves as Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance since 2006. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary and serve as the Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Investment. Mr. Horton also serves as Member, Board of Trustees of the Bassa Brotherhood Industrial and Benefit Society (BBIBS). Mr. Horton holds a B.Sc in Zoology from the University of Liberia and a Certificate in Credit & International Banking from Chemical Bank, New York Trust Corporation, New York, USA.