Monrovia, Liberia – University of Liberia President Dr. Layli Maparyan has defended her administration’s reform agenda amid recent public criticism over classroom facilities, furniture and the institution’s broader academic environment, saying the university is pursuing a long-term transformation rather than temporary cosmetic fixes.
Maparyan made the remarks on Thursday, August 20, 2026, during the Ministry of Information’s press briefing, where she outlined her administration’s strategy to place the University of Liberia among Africa’s top 300 universities.
The UL president said the ranking target is being used as a practical benchmark for institutional reform because international university rankings measure multiple areas, including graduation timelines, faculty qualifications and infrastructure.
She said the university’s reform agenda is consistent with the government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development and its human-capacity-building objectives.
One of the administration’s most significant reforms, according to Maparyan, has been the regularization of the academic calendar.
She said UL has completed three regular academic terms and a vacation school since the new calendar was approved in February last year.
Maparyan argued that maintaining continuous academic terms is essential to reducing the amount of time students spend completing undergraduate degrees.
She said universities have greater control over academic scheduling than many other factors affecting graduation rates and that a predictable calendar can help students complete their programs within the internationally accepted four-to-six-year timeframe.
But Maparyan acknowledged that academic reform cannot succeed without a stronger professoriate.
She said only about 19 percent of UL’s approximately 800 full-time faculty members currently possess Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees.
Her administration, she said, is therefore expanding international study opportunities to increase the number of highly qualified faculty members.
Three UL personnel have already received funded Ph.D. scholarships to study at the University of Delhi in India, while three women are expected to pursue doctoral degrees at the University of Botswana.
Another woman is pursuing a funded Ph.D. at Duke University, Maparyan said.
More than 15 other UL personnel are also reportedly pursuing Ph.D.s under study-leave arrangements or are preparing to return after completing their doctoral programs.
The UL president said the strategy has two objectives: improving the academic qualifications of the university’s faculty and increasing the number of women in senior academic positions.
She also announced that Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar has joined the list of institutions where UL faculty may pursue advanced degrees.
The partnership, she said, was facilitated by Liberia’s Ambassador to Senegal, Ali Sylla.
While academic reform remains a priority, Maparyan devoted significant attention to infrastructure, acknowledging that the physical condition of some UL facilities has become a source of frustration for students and the public.
She said the university received US$6.3 million in the 2026 fiscal year for renovation and modernization.
But she stressed that the money is not intended simply for painting buildings or replacing damaged materials.
According to Maparyan, the modernization plan includes upgrading electrical and energy systems to support technology-driven education, laboratories and other modern academic requirements.
She outlined a three-stage approach.
The first stage focuses on urgent repairs such as leaking roofs and dysfunctional bathrooms. The second involves creating temporary classroom spaces to allow students to continue learning while major renovations are underway. The final stage involves comprehensive rehabilitation and modernization of the university’s buildings.
Maparyan said the administration is currently working on all three stages.
She pointed to the planned modernization of UL’s science laboratories as an example of the university’s broader approach.
The university recently met with a representative from PHYWE/LN Education Group to develop a plan for renovating and equipping laboratories serving STEM disciplines.
Maparyan said the exercise is intended to ensure that laboratory modernization is properly integrated with building renovations and the energy infrastructure needed to operate modern facilities.
The UL president also highlighted the Solar Oasis Student Utility Park at Fendall.
The project, which she said is nearing completion, will include 26 new bathrooms and a student center equipped with internet access and 24-hour device-charging facilities.
Unlike conventional university utility projects, the complex is designed to operate entirely on solar energy.
Maparyan said the facility will serve as a demonstration project for the possibility of expanding solar power across the university.
The UL president also directly addressed complaints surrounding classroom furniture.
She acknowledged that some students have criticized the use of green wooden armchairs and called for more modern furniture.
Maparyan said students were right to demand improved classroom facilities but defended the chairs as a response to an immediate need.
She explained that Voices of the Elders RL, or VOTE RL, donated the chairs after raising funds to address students’ longstanding shortage of classroom seats.
Rather than dismissing the criticism, Maparyan said the university would gradually transition to modern chairs as buildings are renovated.
She urged students to remain patient while the transformation takes place and thanked VOTE RL for helping the university address an immediate classroom shortage.
The CPAV building was another contentious issue addressed by the UL president.
Maparyan acknowledged the widely circulated images showing rain entering classrooms and explained that CPAV was never intended to serve as a permanent classroom facility.
However, she said growing enrollment forced the university to use the building for teaching.
For the moment, she said, CPAV will remain part of the university’s “swing space” strategy, allowing classes to continue while larger facilities undergo rehabilitation.
But she offered a long-term vision for the location.
Maparyan said a multistory classroom building will eventually replace the existing facility, suggesting that the current use of CPAV should be viewed as a temporary measure rather than the university’s final solution to classroom shortages.
Her comments come as the university also works to resolve tensions involving faculty and staff.
Maparyan said she held discussions with ULFASA leadership on Tuesday and described the engagement as productive and collegial.
She said she was awaiting the outcome of the association’s General Assembly.
At the same time, she said the administration was preparing for the reopening of the university.
Among the preparations are course registration through the ePortal, orientation programs for new students and the return of student identification cards.
Maparyan’s remarks present the University of Liberia as an institution undergoing simultaneous academic, administrative and physical transformation.
The central challenge, however, will be sustaining those reforms while addressing students’ immediate concerns over classroom conditions, furniture, facilities and the pace of infrastructure improvements.
For the UL administration, the Top 300 ambition is intended to provide the pressure and structure needed to address those challenges.
Maparyan said the objective is ultimately larger than a ranking.
She presented the transformation of UL as a national development imperative, arguing that a stronger university is essential to producing the skilled professionals Liberia needs to advance its economic and social development.
