Victor O. Ukpolo (born 1950 in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) is the former Chancellor of

Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at New Orleans (also known as SUNO) is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Southern University ...

. Ukpolo is most known for his efforts in restoring SUNO to operation after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, specifically his role in obtaining funds for SUNO's recovery, including $44 million for student housing, $32 million for classroom buildings, and various grants for other academic purposes. In 2012 the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

selected Ukpolo as one of 45

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

s of the United States for Carnegie's Americans by Choice award.)

Modest beginnings

Ukpolo came to the United States at age 23 as a student at the

University of Maryland at College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

from which he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. To finance his education, he worked in a restaurant washing dishes and drove taxicabs in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. He received his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in the nation's capital. From there he steadily climbed through various assignments and challenges to the chancellorship at SUNO. He is thought to be the first native-born Nigerian to head a university in the United States.

Administrative background

Ukpolo's academic-administrative posts before becoming SUNO's seventh chancellor were in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. An

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, Ukpolo serves on the

American Association of State Colleges and Universities The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is an organization of state-supported colleges and universities that offer degree programs leading to bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees. AASCU grew out of the Association ...

’ Committee on Economic and Workforce Development.

Katrina aftermath

At SUNO, Ukpolo has demonstrated a knack for working with various types of people, his name being frequently in the news in the

Greater New Orleans The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (french: Grande Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Gran Nueva Orleans), is a me ...

Area because of his efforts to remedy the damage to SUNO's campus by

. His efforts to rebuild included his leading a group of prominent local, state, and federal officials on a tour of the campus. The ''Times-Picayune'', in an editorial on 2009 March 19, praised Ukpolo and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Joseph Cao Ánh Quang "Joseph" Cao (, ; vi, Cao Quang Ánh; born March 13, 1967) is a Vietnamese–American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is the first Vietnamese American and first ...

in their efforts to secure funding for restoration of SUNO's campus. Ukpolo also sought to protect the jobs of up to 50 employees who would be laid off if SUNO had to accommodate a $3 million reduction in state appropriation amid the economic downturn in 2009. Amid tough decisions Ukpolo can be counted on to do "the right thing for SUNO" according to Tony Clayton, chair of the Board of Supervisors for the

Southern University System The Southern University System is a system of public historically black universities in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its headquarters are at the Joseph Samuel Clark Administration Building on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge. The So ...

. As newly instituted standards for admission of students raised the expectations on new students, in 2011 SUNO successfully resisted efforts to merge with the nearby

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

. Early in 2012 Ukpolo continued to seek restoration of 13 remaining buildings rendered unusable by Katrina. He embarked on plans to recruit more students on an international basis.

Personal life

Ukpolo is married to Dr Fawn Teresa Ukpolo (born 1963), who served as director of the Laboratory School at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...

from 2006 to 2013 before becoming director of the

doctoral program A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in executive leadership at Our Lady of the Lake College in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

. The couple has three children.Constance Woods
Fawn Ukpolo heads Southeastern Lab School
(accessed 2009 March 7). See als

/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukpolo, Victor 1950 births 21st-century American economists American educators American University alumni Living people Nigerian emigrants to the United States People from Lagos University of Maryland, College Park alumni