The Dean, Faculty of Arts, Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Dr. Tajudeen Opoola has said that the Digital Language Laboratory of his faculty has over 59 million e-books and e-journal.
Dr Opoola disclosed this in a recent interview with FUOYENews on Monday, February 24, 2020.
He commended the university management under the leadership of Professor Kayode Soremekun for the
generous assistance towards the upliftment of the faculty noting that, “Today the Faculty has one of the best and certainly the latest Digital Language Laboratory available anywhere in Africa for university education. Our language laboratory server is linked to the university’s network backbone”, he further revealed.
Dr Opoola who became the Dean on August 1, 2018 first in an acting capacity is also the Head of Department of Linguistic and Languages. He expresses immense gratitude to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kayode Soremekun and his management team for the huge and numerous assistances to the faculty in academic program development, human resource development and infrastructural development.
In academic program development, two new departments were recently accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The departments include, the department of Linguistic and Languages and History and International Studies. These two new departments are in addition to those departments that were established in 2016/2017 Academic session.
He said further that the Senate has approved two more departments for the faculty; they are departments of Religious Studies and Philosophy.
While the Curriculum and Business Committees of Senate have been working on the new department’s curriculum, the faculty is also waiting anxiously for National University Commission resource verification visitation.
According to the Dean, new lecturers and 4 adjuncts staffs were recruited into various departments in the faculty now that more admission seekers are choosing FUOYE ahead of many other universities probably because of the recently released NUC rating placing FUOYE 13th in Nigeria.
In the area of infrastructural development of the faculty, the Dean disclosed that he personally provided a motorized borehole for the faculty at a time. The project was taken over by the university management who graciously and generously completed the project.
The faculty, according to him, can now boost of 12 brand new lecture theatres, 4 each for the departments of History, Theatre and Media Arts, English and Literary Studies.
In additions to these lecture theatres, the Dean further revealed that the faculty can boost of 8 lecture rooms and over 32 toilets for both staffs and students. With the exit of the faculty of management staff, there are more offices for academic and non-academic staff.
Research, being the fulcrum of the university, Dr. Opoola says the faculty with the support of academic staffs has produced volumes of faculty academic journal called TOJA, The Oye Journal of Arts (volume 1 and 2).
At the departmental level, he continued, the Theatre and Media Arts has published a journal named ALARINJO (volumes 1, 2 and 3)and the department of Linguistics and Literary has also published its own journal.
He informed FUOYENews that the faculty is in the process public presentation of a book in honour of Professor Ajibola Matthew Abiodun, the pioneer Head of Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies.
The faculty will also be hosting an event in honour of the former Dean of the faculty and presently Ekiti State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Professor R. Bakare. Again, hosted a national conference on professional theatre practitioners and will also be hosting another national conference of all faculties of arts and humanities in Nigerian universities in May, 2020.
Whilst thanking the university management, particularly the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Soremekun for the generous efforts towards the development of the faculty, the Dean like the typical Oliver Twist is requesting for more attention from the university.
Specifically, the Dean requested for more human capital and infrastructures. He noted that the faculty needs more clerical officers and required more office and lecture rooms. He prays for the movement of the faculty to its permanent site.
