A twelve man executive led by Alumnus Omamuzuoh Igbuwe of the Warri branch has been put in place to run the activities of the Delta State University Alumni Association for the next two years, signalling a return to normalcy after being in the limbo for quite some time now.
Speaking at the 2021 National Delegates Convention (at which the new executive emerged) and Alumni lecture over the weekend, the Vice-Chancellor of Delta State University, Abraka, Prof. Andy Egwunyenga, explained that the core mandate of Alumni Associations all over the world was to assist their alma mater in the pursuit of its vision and mission for the overall benefit of all stakeholders.
Prof. Egwunyenga, who has been giving DELSU an enlightened and committed leadership for close to 20 months, told the gathering that his vision as the Vice-Chancellor was to develop a robust alumni association that would strategically partner with the university in its quest to become one of the best in Nigeria.
While urging the alumni to be altruistic by thinking of what they could do for the university and make sacrifices in various areas, he outlined some of the roles which the association could play to include being DELSU’s most loyal supporters, strategic fund raisers, marketing and professional networks, role models and inspiration, career mentors, repository for provision of expertise, among others.
Prof Egwunyenga told the gathering that DELSU sees its students as life-long partners with commitments that do not end at graduation, noting that, “our students at graduation, beyond becoming automatic alumni, should become ambassadors for the continuous development of the University”.
Also speaking at the occasion, the guest speaker, Dr. Benson Uwheru, an Advisory Services Partner at Ernst and Young, emphasized the need for DELSU Alumni Association to up its game and play a more vibrant role in the affairs of the University.
Citing copious examples of well organized alumni associations in Nigeria and around the world, Dr Uwheru called for greater sacrifice, sobriety and commitment among members of the DELSU Alumni Association..