As Association Installs New Core Of Officers, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023
PHOTO: Mydea White Simmons, incoming president of the CU alumni association
Cuttington University’s Alumni Association (CUAA) will on Saturday, August 5, 2023 launch a $100,000 endowment fund during the installation of new officers at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia’s Congo Town suburb.
The Cuttington University Alumni Endowment Fund will support academic scholarships in science and technology; education, agriculture, and nursing; strengthen faculty capacity in research and teaching; and build modern housing to attract more students on the Suakoko Campus.
The new leadership headed by Mrs. Mardea White Simmons (class of 1987) as president includes Mr. Omilford Saye Nyah Jr. (Class of 2008), vice president; Vivien Charles Jones, (class of 1983), treasurer; Nathaniel D. Leesolee, (class of 2010), secretary general; Thomas Momo, (2008), financial secretary; and Princess K. Jones, (class of 2008), chaplain. The officers will serve a three-year term.
CUAA has already raised $30,000 for the fund, thanks to a $20,000 donation by Honorable Sidie Tunis, a Cuttington graduate who now serves as speaker of the ECOWAS parliament. The alumni association donated an additional $10,000. The organization hopes to reach $50,000 at Saturday’s program.
White Simmons replaces S. Tonorlah Varpilah (class of 1984), who served the association for four years.
“I am urging all Cuttingtonians at home and abroad to help us uplift our alma mater, so we can support the generations that came after us,’’ she said. “I just want to say a big thank you to Honorable Tunis for getting us started. It is my hope that other alumni members will support this worthy cause.’’
The alumni association has opened the endowment account at SIB Liberia Limited.
White Simmons said she and her team will work with CU’s President Dr. Romelle Horton and her administration to prioritize projects at the Suakoko campus, the junior college in Kakata, Margibi County and the graduate school in Monrovia. She said she will reach out to graduates of the junior college and graduate school to get involved in the alumni association. The goal is to get all Cuttingtonians involved in rebuilding the university.
“Cuttington has had a lot of challenges, largely because of the war,’’ White Simmons said. “We can help address some of those challenges by working with the administration to prioritize projects to boost academic standards and attract more students to the Suakoko campus.’’
For more information, contact Maureen Sieh, chair of the CUAA Communications Committee: 0776309644 or msieh66@gmail.com