The first Nigerian female Vice-Chancellor at the University of Benin, Edo State and the first Nigerian woman to receive a Doctorate, Alele-Williams, has died. Ms Alele-Williams, a professor of mathematics gained prominence after she was appointed the vice-chancellor of the prestigious University of Benin in 1985.
Her tenure witnessed a drastic reduction in cultism, a menace in UNIBEN at the time.
Before her appointment as vice-chancellor, she made history as the first Nigerian woman to obtain a doctorate degree in Mathematics education in 1963, a rare feat in the sixties.
What led to her death is still unclear as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the University of Benin (UNIBEN) on Saturday ordered the flying of the institution’s flag at half-mast to mourn the death of the first female vice-chancellor.
In a statement issued by the University of Benin’s spokesperson, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, she said Prof. Lilian Salami, current vice-chancellor of the institution on behalf of the university community mourned the passing of her predecessor.
Salami, the second female vice-chancellor in the institution after Alele-Williams, described the late former and first female vice-chancellor as an iconic giant for breaking the glass ceiling for other women to blossom.
She expressed solace in the fact that the late professor was being celebrated rather than mourned.
“The Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof. Lilian Salami, on behalf of the Governing Council, Management, Staff, Alumni and Students, mourns the passing of her predecessor, Prof. Grace Alele- Williams.
“Prof. Salami described the late former and first female vice-chancellor of the University of Benin as an iconic giant who broke the glass ceiling for other women to blossom,’’ Dr Ehanire stated.
Kogiflames/Vanguard
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