Dr. Samuel N. Duo, Professor
Vice President for Academic Affairs (June 2022 - Present)

Dr. Samuel N. Duo is a result driven leadership development extension specialist with over 24 years of teaching, research and outreach experiences at the University of Liberia. In mid-2022, Dr. Duo was appointed as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Nimba University (NU). He is the Chief Academic Officer, responsible for all academic programs at NU. Dr. Duo has vast experiences with national and international organizations, including the Social Enterprise Development Foundation of West Africa as Program Officer, and later served as Acting Country Director. Dr. Duo also worked for the USAID Food and Enterprise Development where he served as Component 3 (Institutional Capacity Development) Lead in Liberia. As a consultant, Dr. Duo worked with UN FAO on policy diagnostic study, as well as linking research and extension to farmers for sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition.

Dr. Samuel N. Duo’s Academic Sojourn

As a result of the Liberian Civil War, Samuel fled to Ghana where he gained an undergraduate admission to the University of Ghana in 1993. He later earned his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture with Second Class Upper Division in 1997. Samuel was the only scholar from Liberia who won the competitive Ford Foundation International Fellowship in 2002 in Accra, Ghana that enabled him to earn his Master’s degree in agricultural and extension education at the Pennsylvania State University in 2005, USA after matriculation in 2003. Upon completion of his M.Sc. degree, Samuel was admitted into the Ph.D. program after obtaining a final GPA of 3.85 based on a four point index. Samuel deferred his admission for three years to enable him return to his war ravaged country, Liberia, and actively participated in its rebuilding efforts when he served as Program Officer for the Social Enterprise and Development Foundation of West Africa (SEND West Africa). To follow Samuel’s community development effort, please see this link: (http://ecowatch.com/2013/05/24/samuel-duo-build-liberias-sustainable-community/).

In 2008, Samuel returned to Penn State University to pursue his doctorate, and he graduated with a Ph.D. in agricultural and extension education with an emphasis on Leadership Development in May 2011. Samuel returned to Liberia in June 2011 and he served the University of Liberia, as well as local and international organizations including USAID Food and Enterprise Development, Winrock International, and the World Bank.

Samuel’s experience at the University of Liberia has shown that if Liberia needs to be proud of its future leaders, the basic education foundation should be solidified. Most of the students who matriculate to the university are not university-ready materials. This ugly situation has been exacerbated by corruption and lack of academic integrity being perpetrated by teachers and students (lost generation of young people who grew up during the civil war without functioning educational system). Dr. Duo considers academic strengthening in this regard in preparing the current and future generations of leaders and professionals. He sees academic integrity and quality as cardinal roles for him at the Nimba University.