The University of Liberia has announced a US$6.35 million infrastructure rehabilitation drive and a March 31, 2027, completion target for major renovation projects, as the country’s premier public university prepares to reopen following months of negotiations with faculty and staff over outstanding welfare concerns.
The University President, Dr. Layli Maparyan, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, disclosed the plan at a press conference on the Capitol Hill campus, outlining a sweeping program to renovate, modernize and beautify university facilities while preparing to restore academic activities through a combination of online and in-person instruction.
The initiative, described by her as the Renovation, Modernization and Beautification (RMB) exercise, is being executed under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, with the stated ambition of transforming UL into a university ranked among the top 300 in Africa.
Maparyan said the US$6.35 million allocated for 2026, through the National Legislature and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, is supporting work on three major buildings at Capitol Hill and another facility at the A.M. Dogliotti Medical School campus in Congo Town.
The Capitol Hill projects involve the Graduate School, Business College and Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law and its annex, while renovations have also begun on the Academic Building at the medical school campus.
The administration is also prioritizing rehabilitation of the Preclinical Campus at Fendall and the David A. Straz-Sinje Technical and Vocational College in Grand Cape Mount County, with contractors approved for those projects and the Law School work.
“All projects are expected to be complete by March 31, 2027,” Maparyan said, identifying the deadline as a major milestone in the university’s infrastructure transformation program.
She said the rehabilitation drive goes beyond cosmetic improvements, encompassing electrical upgrades, modern laboratories, disability access, renewable energy systems, improved sanitation and the completion of unfinished buildings, particularly at Fendall.
The university is also constructing a new high-security entrance gate and perimeter fence at its Capitol Hill campus, which Maparyan described as part of an effort to restore the institution’s image and communicate that the university is undergoing a major transformation.
Liberian architect Garmondyu Zogar, through his firm Forma Nova, designed the new campus appearance, drawing on existing structures and their historical significance while adapting them to contemporary higher education needs.
Delta Architectural and Construction Company is implementing the current renovation works, with technical oversight provided by a joint team from the Ministry of Public Works and the university.
Maparyan said the project management team, led by Engineer Mencer T. Powoe as project manager and Engineer James M. Clemons as deputy project manager, includes student interns from the university’s Civil and Electrical Engineering departments.
She said the arrangement is intended to combine infrastructure development with practical training and human-capacity development.
REOPENING HINGES ON STAFF NEGOTIATIONS
Despite the infrastructure push, the university’s reopening remains tied to efforts to resolve longstanding disputes between the administration and its faculty and staff. Maparyan acknowledged that negotiations had taken longer than expected but said discussions involving the university administration, Board of Trustees and the University of Liberia Faculty and Staff Association (ULFASA) had produced progress on several welfare-related matters.
The issues under discussion include outstanding National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) obligations, retirement benefits, salary disparities, increments and arrears.
She disclosed that ULFASA submitted a new draft quadripartite memorandum of understanding this week involving the university administration, the University of Liberia Faculty Association, the University of Liberia Staff Association and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
The draft, intended to support a new collective bargaining agreement, is currently under review. However, Maparyan did not announce a definite reopening date during the press conference, leaving the immediate return of students to classrooms dependent on further progress in the negotiations and the university’s operational preparations.
ONLINE CLASSES TO SUPPORT RETURN
To reduce further disruption while major facilities undergo rehabilitation, the university plans to reintroduce online education as a significant component of instruction, while retaining essential face-to-face classes. Maparyan said the administration was exploring arrangements to obtain additional teaching space outside the university for courses that cannot be conducted online.
Once faculty members return, they will be invited to participate in a two-week workshop on online education aimed at strengthening teaching methods and applying lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The university is also working to reduce the cost of internet access for students through proposed data packages while expanding the availability of campus computers for students without smartphones, laptops or other personal devices.
The Office of Student Affairs has prepared a new student orientation program, while the Academic Affairs team is revising course schedules to accommodate online classes and possible off-campus teaching locations. Maparyan said the preparations were intended to minimize delays between the resolution of the outstanding labour issues and the resumption of academic activities.
STUDENTS DEMAND THEIR EDUCATION
The prolonged interruption has also prompted repeated engagements between the administration and students, who have raised concerns about lost academic time, their future prospects and uncertainty surrounding graduation schedules.
Maparyan said the administration had met with students on several occasions to address those concerns, describing their determination to demand better educational opportunities as one positive outcome of the difficult period. She expressed confidence that cooperation among students, faculty, staff and the administration would ultimately help the university overcome the challenges.
UL SIGNS TWO NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Beyond the renovation and reopening plans, Maparyan announced two new memoranda of understanding intended to strengthen the university’s academic programs and research capacity. The first agreement, signed Tuesday with the Liberia National Tourism Authority, provides for cooperation in tourism-related research, curriculum development and the promotion of tourism sites on university campuses, particularly ecotourism.
The partnership is also intended to prepare graduates for employment and entrepreneurship in Liberia’s tourism industry. The second agreement, signed Wednesday with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority, provides for the establishment of an improved Earth Sciences Laboratory within the university’s College of Engineering, specifically its Earth Sciences Department.
Maparyan said the partnerships reflect the university’s efforts to expand collaboration with national institutions while improving the relevance of its academic programs to Liberia’s development needs. With US$6.35 million in current infrastructure funding, additional projects in the pipeline and a March 2027 completion target, the administration is presenting the RMB exercise as a major step toward restoring the university’s physical infrastructure.
But beyond the new gates, renovated buildings and upgraded laboratories, the immediate test for UL remains whether it can resolve the outstanding labour issues, reopen its classrooms and return thousands of students to uninterrupted learning.
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