Julius Okojie (born 27 July 1948) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

educational administrator and a professor of Forest Resources Management. He is the former executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) who served two terms from 2006 to 2016.

Background and education

Okojie was born on 27 July 1948 and had his primary and secondary education at Government Primary School, Uromi, Edo State Annunciation Catholic College, Irrua Edo State and Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State. In 1972, he completed his bachelor's degree in forestry from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

Ibadan, Oyo State Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its met ...

. Okojie then obtained his master's degree in forestry from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. In 1981, he was awarded a doctorate degree in Forestry Resource Management at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Career

Okojie started his career at Forestry Research Institute, Ibadan as a Research Officer before joining the University of Ibadan as a lecturer in 1978. In 1990, he was appointed as a professor of Forestry Resource Management at the university. Between 1990 and 1994, Okojie was the Dean, College of Environmental Resources Management, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. He has served as the National Coordinator of the committee of lost crops in Nigeria and is also a member of the Commonwealth Forestry Association. He was then appointed the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (1996-2001). In July 2005, Okojie was appointed the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Ota (2005/2006). He was appointed chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigeria Federal University in 2001. He joined the services of NUC in 2002 as a Visiting Professor and chaired the Standing Committee on Private University (SCOPU). He was later appointed the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission in 2006. He took a bow from active service with the first inaugural valedictory lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta tagged " A Servant is Not Greater Than His Master, Who Wants To Be A Vice-Chancellor?" on Wednesday 25 July 2018 having served as the second substantial Vice Chancellor of the Institution and immediate past two terms Chairman of the Nigerian University Commission.

Awards

Okojie is a recipient of the National Honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger- OON.

Personal life

Professor Okojie is married to Erelu Oluremi Okojie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okojie, Julius Living people 1948 births Academic staff of the University of Ibadan University of Ibadan alumni People from Edo State Yale University alumni Academic staff of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities