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University of Liberia
The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia College. UL has four campuses: the Capitol Hill Campus in Monrovia, the Fendall campus in Louisiana, outside Monrovia, the Medical School Campus in Congo Town, and the Straz-Sinje Campus in Sinje Grand Cape Mount County. The university enrolls approximately 18,000 students and is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in West Africa. It is accredited by the Liberian Commission on Higher Education.
In 1847, Liberia declared independence from the American Colonization Society. In 1851, the new national legislature authorized the creation of a state college and chartered Liberia College. Financing was provided by the New York Colonization Society and the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, both United States organizations. These two groups provided almost all of the funds for the school during the 19th century and were responsible for hiring the faculty.
After authorization, groups from Clay-Ashland and Monrovia maneuvered in political circles in an attempt to have the school in their cities, with the location eventually chosen as the capital city. This political battle delayed the foundation; on 25 January 1858, the cornerstone of the first building was laid in Monrovia. In January 1862, the school was inaugurated, with classes beginning in 1863. The nation's first president, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, became the school's first president in 1862 and served in that post until 1876.
Seven men made up the first class of students, with a college preparatory division adding 18 students to the enrollment two months later. Besides American financing, colleges and individuals from the United States donated books and even the bricks and lumber used to construct the school's building. The library had an estimated 4,000 volumes at opening. Once classes opened, the curriculum was the standard courses typical at American colleges with courses such as rhetoric and Latin. Part of the impetus to start the school was a concern that some Liberians were already leaving the nation to study in Great Britain, which American backers thought might lead to a move away from the republican form of government.
During the 19th century, second- and first-year students would battle each other in an annual ritual over whether the first-year students were allowed to wear trousers. From 1866 to 1902, the school had ten graduates with long periods between granting degrees. Under the leadership of Edward Wilmot Blyden, school president from 1881 to 1884, women were allowed to enroll in the preparatory department. During the 1800s, UL and the country suffered from class and caste conflicts, which led to the temporary closure of Liberia College on several occasions in the 1890s. R. B. Richardson was the first alumnus to become the school president.
The School of Forestry at the college was founded in 1942 by Stephen A. Tolbert, who served as dean of that school until 1960. Enrollment increased at the university to approximately 70 students in 1948, and to 100 in 1950. In 1951, president J. Max Bond Sr. and dean Anna E. Cooper helped to convert the college into the University of Liberia. Also in 1951, the Law School was established and named after former Liberia Supreme Court Chief Justice Louis Arthur Grimes. In 1956, the university had an enrollment of 259 students.
In 1968, a medical school was added to the university. Due to civil strife in the country, UL has closed on several occasions, including in 1979, 1984, and 1990. In one incident in 1984, students and the University of Liberia faculty protested the Liberian government's arrest of two faculty members. Liberian President Samuel K. Doe sent the Liberian Army to attack the school on 22 August 1984, leading to several deaths, more than one hundred injured, a three-month closure, and destruction of some of the facilities. It did not grant any degrees from 1989 to 1996 due to the fighting from the First Liberian Civil War. When UL re-opened in 1997, enrollment totaled 6,000 students, though the civil war had damaged university facilities and led many faculty to leave the country. The last of the strife ended with the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
In 2007, the American Bar Association paid for renovations to the law school. In April of that year, the university opened a new 200-computer digital center paid for by a private company. In June 2007, the school's president suspended classes after a faculty strike over back wages owed by the government, with classes re-opened in July. In February 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush visited the campus during a state visit to Liberia.
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University of Liberia
The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia College. UL has four campuses: the Capitol Hill Campus in Monrovia, the Fendall campus in Louisiana, outside Monrovia, the Medical School Campus in Congo Town, and the Straz-Sinje Campus in Sinje Grand Cape Mount County. The university enrolls approximately 18,000 students and is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in West Africa. It is accredited by the Liberian Commission on Higher Education.
In 1847, Liberia declared independence from the American Colonization Society. In 1851, the new national legislature authorized the creation of a state college and chartered Liberia College. Financing was provided by the New York Colonization Society and the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, both United States organizations. These two groups provided almost all of the funds for the school during the 19th century and were responsible for hiring the faculty.
After authorization, groups from Clay-Ashland and Monrovia maneuvered in political circles in an attempt to have the school in their cities, with the location eventually chosen as the capital city. This political battle delayed the foundation; on 25 January 1858, the cornerstone of the first building was laid in Monrovia. In January 1862, the school was inaugurated, with classes beginning in 1863. The nation's first president, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, became the school's first president in 1862 and served in that post until 1876.
Seven men made up the first class of students, with a college preparatory division adding 18 students to the enrollment two months later. Besides American financing, colleges and individuals from the United States donated books and even the bricks and lumber used to construct the school's building. The library had an estimated 4,000 volumes at opening. Once classes opened, the curriculum was the standard courses typical at American colleges with courses such as rhetoric and Latin. Part of the impetus to start the school was a concern that some Liberians were already leaving the nation to study in Great Britain, which American backers thought might lead to a move away from the republican form of government.
During the 19th century, second- and first-year students would battle each other in an annual ritual over whether the first-year students were allowed to wear trousers. From 1866 to 1902, the school had ten graduates with long periods between granting degrees. Under the leadership of Edward Wilmot Blyden, school president from 1881 to 1884, women were allowed to enroll in the preparatory department. During the 1800s, UL and the country suffered from class and caste conflicts, which led to the temporary closure of Liberia College on several occasions in the 1890s. R. B. Richardson was the first alumnus to become the school president.
The School of Forestry at the college was founded in 1942 by Stephen A. Tolbert, who served as dean of that school until 1960. Enrollment increased at the university to approximately 70 students in 1948, and to 100 in 1950. In 1951, president J. Max Bond Sr. and dean Anna E. Cooper helped to convert the college into the University of Liberia. Also in 1951, the Law School was established and named after former Liberia Supreme Court Chief Justice Louis Arthur Grimes. In 1956, the university had an enrollment of 259 students.
In 1968, a medical school was added to the university. Due to civil strife in the country, UL has closed on several occasions, including in 1979, 1984, and 1990. In one incident in 1984, students and the University of Liberia faculty protested the Liberian government's arrest of two faculty members. Liberian President Samuel K. Doe sent the Liberian Army to attack the school on 22 August 1984, leading to several deaths, more than one hundred injured, a three-month closure, and destruction of some of the facilities. It did not grant any degrees from 1989 to 1996 due to the fighting from the First Liberian Civil War. When UL re-opened in 1997, enrollment totaled 6,000 students, though the civil war had damaged university facilities and led many faculty to leave the country. The last of the strife ended with the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
In 2007, the American Bar Association paid for renovations to the law school. In April of that year, the university opened a new 200-computer digital center paid for by a private company. In June 2007, the school's president suspended classes after a faculty strike over back wages owed by the government, with classes re-opened in July. In February 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush visited the campus during a state visit to Liberia.