HARPER, Maryland – The William V. S. Tubman University’s President Edward Wonkeryor has been replaced by President George Manneh Weah.

Weah replaced Wonkeryor with the former dean of the Arts and Sciences College, Elliott Wreh-Wilson.

Wonkeryor was appointed under former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to head the university for five years. However, he was not formally inaugurated as president of the university following his arrival.

He had to contend with tribal politics, as he was a Nimba native appointed to head the Maryland-based university. Before he even came, protests on radios and on the streets, supported by some regional lawmakers, called for the appointment of a university head who hailed from Maryland or the Southeastern region.

Wonkeryor’s relatively brief leadership was marked by crises, including students’ demonstration for quality instructors, basic services, and items that students had paid for but were not receiving. The Bush Chicken previously reported on one such protest by engineering students.

Following Wreh-Wilson’s appointment, some students and faculty members were seen celebrating with the slogan, “It’s Maryland solidarity.”

Wreh-Wilson is expected to take over after his confirmation hearing at the Senate.

Meanwhile, a social justice advocate in Maryland, Thomas Bedell, recently appeared on a local radio station in Harper, Cape Rock, and called on the county’s legislative caucus to reject Wreh-Wilson on grounds that he has tinted character based on unverified rumors of the newly appointed university president having been involved in a fistfight with another faculty member.

However, at least three professors at the university, including Victor T. K. Morris, Dioh Kimber III, and Cyrus Tugbe, have debunked Bedell’s claims and supported Wreh-Wilson’s leadership. The three lecturers say the allegation is not true and have urged students and citizens of the county to not give credence to it.

There are now plans underway by some university staff and students to give the newly appointed president a rousing welcome.

Wreh-Wilson obtained his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Paul’s Seminary in Liberia, according to an author biography on Amazon.com. He later received his Master’s and Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston College and Boston University, respectively.

Wreh-Wilson taught for over 18 years at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where he was the chair of the Philosophy Department. He is the author of Race, Rights, and Commonsense and Beginning African Philosophy.

He has a 28-year-old son who plays American Football for the Atlanta Falcons.

Featured photo by Franklin Neyahlor