The new head of the University of the South Pacific aims to improve governance at the regional institution.
Nauru President Lionel Aingimea took on the role of Chancellor this week.
He is the 28th Pacific leader and third Nauru president to hold the position.
Mr Aingimea said the USP needed strong staff and strong students supported by a strong council.
But he warned if the governance element of the USP didn’t improve, it would give way to corruption and nepotism.
He said this also gave way to an environment where people were too frightened to speak and the result could be low morale and a code of ethics that was thrown out the door.
Mr Aingimea said he wanted to improve and make USP a place where people were inspired to attend.
He arrives at the USP at a time when the university has been hit with huge crises.
The latest being the suspension of Vice Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia on 8 June by the Executive Committee of the USP Council.
Hundreds of students and staff protested the suspension and two weeks later, the full council met and reinstated the Kenya-born academic.
This week, the council met again to decide on the release of the BDO report’s findings into allegations of corruption at the USP.
Nauru contribution
Mr Aingimea said the chancellorship was a chance for Nauru to contribute to USP and an opportunity for Nauru to put its stamp on how USP should be governed.
He said his vision for USP was one where staff could work in an environment without fear and without intimidation.
He said students and staff should be able to work in an environment where “they can deliver what is needed either in business houses or what’s needed in industries”.
“I want us (USP) to be at the level of excellence that is on par with the best universities in the world and I believe we are one of the premier universities in the world,” he said.
The Nauru leader will be officially installed at the USP’s main campus in Fiji when strict border closures and travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic are lifted.
Presidential term
President Aingimea is serving his first term as Nauru’s 15th President and represents the constituency of Meneñ.
Prior to becoming president, he served as Secretary for Justice and Border Control under the Ministry for Justice and Border Control.
Former presidents of Nauru that have held the title of Chancellor are the late Hammer DeRoburt from 1974-76 and Marcus Stephen from 2009-10.
The chancellor’s main role is to confer degrees at the graduation ceremonies.
Previously, the term for chancellor’s three years until the change in the University Charter and Statutes altered the term to one-year appointments.
Chancellors are appointed by the USP Council from heads of states or heads of governments in alphabetical rotation amongst the 12-member countries of the university.
