A Year of Musings, and the Stories UL’s Critics Aren’t Telling

Published: September 7, 2026

It was one year ago this week that I first started this column, Monday Morning Musings of the UL President. My first column was “Back to School,” and it began like this:

Worldwide, the first day of school is one of the most important and highly anticipated days of the year – regardless of what day it falls on. It is the day of hopes and dreams for students, families, communities, and nations. It is the day when the next generation – be they children, youth, or adults – begins or renews the process of realizing their potential and fulfilling their aspirations. It is the bedrock of an ever-advancing civilization and the foundation upon which progress is made by humanity.

Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., President, University of Liberia

My purpose was to establish a positive narrative about the University of Liberia, with gentle but encouraging reflections on issues affecting us. It was against the backdrop of protests and negativity in social media and concerns that the discourse was dangerously one-sided. I wanted the world to see something positive coming out of UL, because there are (and continue to be) so many positive things that don’t receive enough attention. I likewise wanted to explain my leadership philosophy so that people could get to know me as UL President, given people’s concerns about my status as someone who “isn’t from here.” On this basis, I published 32 columns; this one is the 33rd.

This year, we find ourselves in a similar situation as before. The first day of school has come and gone without school actually starting at UL. Faculty and staff are on strike, students have protested (thankfully, to return to the classroom), and our classrooms are clamoring for attention. Social media has once again waxed toxic – even more so than before – and we are wringing our hands about what to do.

Yet (!), it is important to point out some momentous developments that have occurred since this time last year. For starters, we have $6.3 million dollars of infrastructure funding this year that we didn’t have last year. The Government of Liberia heard our cry and answered materially. At present, infrastructure renovation, modernization, and beautification has commenced, in addition to many quick impact projects that are underway. You wouldn’t know it from the social media chatter that speculates about where all the money is and what is being done with it—but I am here to tell you that it is being fully utilized for renovation, modernization, and beautification as we speak.

Secondly, UL is continuing to achieve academic accolades and financial investments worthy of a national flagship university. Just last week, I was privileged to meet with the FAO who came to announce a $45,000 grant to UL’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (DoFAS) because UL is launching the world’s first university curriculum on small-scale fisheries. You heard me right: The World’s First. At UL. For this project, DoFAS is collaborating with some of the top universities in the world – Duke University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. UL is in good company because of hardworking faculty breaking new ground in important fields that simultaneously accelerate national development goals. Kudos to DoFAS!!

In a similar vein, a few months ago, UL received a grant of $50,000 from UN Women to fund the first nationwide landscape study of sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV), harmful traditional practices (HTP), and violations of sexual- and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Liberia. This study is being undertaken by a collaboration involving UL’s Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (OGEWE), UL’s Institute for Policy Studies and Research (LIPSR), UL’s College of Gender Studies and Interdisciplinary Research, UL’s Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida School of International Relations (IBB), and UL’s Resource Center for Disability Services and Support and Alternative Learning (RCDSSAL). Our UL team is working together with UN Women and the EU, as well as an advisory group that includes the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National Police, the Human Rights Protection Unit of the Ministry of Justice, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, the Gender and Social Inclusion Units of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Local Government. Importantly, 60 UL students and recent UL alumni were hired to collect the data in the field – all 16 of Liberia’s counties. The results of this study will inform efforts to reduce and eradicate SGBV, HTP, and SRHR violations for years to come, contributing greatly to a better Liberia for all.

Activities such as these are what it’s all about. They define the essence of a national flagship university. There are many more good stories that I could tell, and many more I will tell in times to come.

For now, however, I want to encourage us all to pause and commit to toning down the negative talk on social media, talk radio, and even amongst ourselves. With negative words, we are tearing ourselves and each other down, and we are harming the reputation of our beloved institution, UL.

May we all reflect on these words from the Writings of the Bahá’í Faith, which have guided me since my earliest years:

“He must never seek to exalt himself above anyone, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endure a century.… That seeker should, also, regard backbiting as grievous error, and keep himself aloof from its dominion, inasmuch as backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the soul.” (from the Bahá’í Writings)

UL is a noble institution. Let us, one and all, commit to upholding its nobility in all we say and do.