How Gregory Varsity was established, named after Pope

What motivated the establishment of the four-year-old Gregory University, Uturu (GU-UTURU) and its naming after Pope Gregory, The Great, has been unveiled in the school’s one-week maiden convocation ceremony held last week.

The Vice President of Liberia, Joseph Boakai, delivered the maiden convocation lecture on and thereafter was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree.

Explaining the motivation for establishing the school and its naming after Pope Gregory, Deputy VC (Academics), Prof. Charles Okorafor saying the history of the university dates back to the days Chancellor and Founder, Dr. Gregory Iyke Ibe, was teaching pro bono (free of charges) in Abia State University, Uturu and Tansian University, Umunya.

He said that it was while Dr. Ibe was in the universities that he began to be burdened about the quality and quantity of education being bequeathed to the country’s future leaders.

Okorafor said Ibe through his company, Skill G Nigeria Ltd, has been in the forefront of the campaign to improve the quality of science education in both primary and secondary school sectors through the production and distribution of specially designed mathematics sets and other science laboratory equipment.

Convinced that education should be deployed as a veritable tool for socio-economic development, the chancellor conceptualised a higher institution that would provide conducive spiritual environment and the right technological infrastructure for the production of morally sound graduates for the global market.

“ With this mission statement, Ibe consulted widely and thus commenced the development of the blueprint that formed the basic framework for the realisation of the institution of his dream. And that in line with the well thought out mandate of the planned institution, it was named Gregory University after Pope Gregory, who between 540 and 640 AD, was the Patron Saint of Teachers across the globe. The school’s motto: Knowledge For Tomorrow.