LIBERIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION
TH
45 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
THE HUMAN ASPECT OF DEVELOPMENT IN LIBERIA:
STEPS, STRATEGIES, AND SUSTAINABILITY
April 4-7, 2013
New Brunswick, NJ
45th annual conference
Conference Theme:
The Human Aspect of Development in Liberia:
Steps, Strategies, and Sustainability
April 4-7, 2013
Hosted by the New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products program
(NUANPP), the Center for African Studies (CAS), the Centers for Global
Advancement and International Affairs (GAIA Centers) and the Bloustein
School of Planning and Public Policy.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey,
New Brunswick, NJ
Liberian Studies Association Officers 2013
Jackie N. Sayegh, President, Cornell University
Mary Moran, Secretary and Treasurer, Colgate University
Emmanuel O. Oritsejafor, Past President, North Carolina Central University
LSA Abstract Review Committee for 2013.
Mary Moran, Colgate University
Yekutiel Gershoni, Tel Aviv University
Edward Lama Wonkeryor, Temple University
Samuel Wai Johnson, George Mason University
George Kieh, University of West Georgia
Elwood Dunn, University of the South
Verlon Stone, Indiana University
Emmanuel Orisejafor, North Carolina Central University
Jim Simon, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Local Organizing Committee
Jim Simon, Chair, New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program (NUANPP, SEBS, CAS)
Cliff Kitto, NUANPP, SEB
Rodolfo Juliani, NUANPP, SEB
Ousseina Alidou, Center for African Studies (CAS)
Albert Ayeni, Rutgers, CAS, SEBS
Bala Balagaru, School of Engineering
Marianne Gaunt, VP for Information Services and University Librarian
Renée DeLancey, CAS
Abena P.A. Busia, CAS
Joanna Regulska, GAIA Centers
Steve Weston, Bloustein School of Public Policy
Mrs. Inyang Williams, NCSU
Mr. Franklin Ben-Weller
Special Thanks to:
Amy E. Cobb, Assistant Events Manager, RU Bloustein School of Public Policy
Kathy Larrabee, Rutgers, Dept. Plant Biology and Plant Pathology
Justin Epstein, Special Events, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
Whitney Prendergast, Director of Development, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
Mike Green, Director, Office of Communications, Rutgers NJAES
Cindy Rovins, Agricultural Communications Editor, Rutgers NJAES
Carolyn Edwards, CAS and History
Rutgers Volunteers:
Larry Hwang, PhD in natural resources management SEBS, Rutgers with Cuttington University
Jonathan (Lepolu) Terlon, MS soil sciences, SEBS, Rutgers with Cuttington University
Daniel Henry Smith, MS in Bloustein School of Public Policy, Rutgers with University of Liberia
Kieyee Bordolo and Samuka Konneh, MS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for Advance
Infrastructure and Transportation, Rutgers University
April 4, 2013
Message from the President, Liberian Studies Association
Dear Colleagues,
The Liberian Studies Association 45th annual conference theme, The Human Aspect of Development
in Liberia Steps, Strategies, and Sustainability, reflects the changes taking place in Liberia as we go
about the task of building a transformed nation. The theme also reminds us that it is not
enough to solely view the increase of GNP or other similar measures as signals of inclusive
growth. Their impact on human development must also be measured in the improved
livelihoods of the people.
The discussions in the coming days will examine the myriad ways to bring about “peoplecentered” development which will hopefully translate into a better life for all. I firmly believe
that the presentations and deliberations will identify useful and effective best practices in the
development of the new Liberia.
On behalf of the Liberian Studies Association committee and membership, I would like to
extend warm thanks to our hosts: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and specifically
by the New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products program (NUANPP), the Center for
African Studies (CAS), the Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs (GAIA
Centers) and the Bloustien School of Planning and Public Policy. We are deeply grateful for the
welcome shown to us.
Best Wishes,
Jackie N. Sayegh
Welcome to the LSA
Prof. Ousseina Alidou, Director, Center for African Studies, Rutgers
University
ruafrica.rutgers.edu
Dr. OusseinaAlidou is Associate Professor in the Department of African,
Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Literatures, affiliate graduate faculty of the
department of Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is currently the Director of
the Center for African Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Her research focuses
mainly on the study of Muslim women as agent of social and political changes in postcolonial
African societies such as the Republic of Niger and Kenya; Muslim women discourses and
literacy practices in African Muslim societies; Comparative African women’s literature;
Gendered discourses of citizenship and belonging and the politics of cultural production in
Muslim African countries.
Dr. Ousseina Alidou’s books include Muslim Women in Postcolonial Kenya: Leadership,
Representation, Political and Social Change (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, In press
2013); Engaging Modernity: Muslim Women and the Politics of Agency in Postcolonial Niger
(Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2005, a runner-up Aidoo-Schneider Book Prize of
Women's Caucus of the Association of African Studies) explores women’s agency through their
contribution in religious and secular education, public politics and the performing arts. She
co=edited Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa, Co-edited with Ahmed Sikainga (Trenton:
Africa World Press, 2006); A Thousand Flowers: Social Struggles Against Structural Adjustment
in African Universities, Co-edited with Silvia Federici and George Caffentzis (Trenton, NJ:
Africa World Press, 2000). Her other publications are reviewed and/or appeared in refereed
journals of theoretical linguistics and African Studies including Historical Language Contact in
Africa, special volume of Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika; Trends in African Linguistics, Studies in
Language, Review of African Literature (RAL), Africa Today, and Islamic Africa.
Dr. Ousseina Alidou received the 2010-2011 Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in
Teaching. Named in honor of the memory of the noted historian and Rutgers Professor, Warren
I. Susman, the award competition is held annually and is open to tenured faculty members at the
rank of associate professor and above "in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and
guiding the intellectual development of students at Rutgers University. She was the recipient of
the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award of the Africa-America Institute, a US-based organization
dedicated to the promotion of capacity building in Africa through higher education and training.
In 2006 Professor Alidou was awarded the Rutgers University Board of Trustees Fellowship for
Scholarly Excellence "in recognition of her significant contributions in the areas of linguistics,
literature and culture and gender studies, particularly her highly innovative interpretations of
Islam relating to women and of new individual and collective social practices in Africa."
Welcome to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
We are pleased and honored to host the 45th Annual Meeting of the Liberian Studies Association. Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey is highly committed to Liberia’s reconstruction efforts. Several years ago, and
with the recruitment of Rutgers Professor Emmet Dennis to serve as the new President of the University of
Liberia, Rutgers made a serious commitment to develop a university-wide effort to assist in the rebuilding of
Liberia and strengthening the University of Liberia. With Rutgers new strategic vision of ‘Jersey Roots-Global
Reach’ and the internationalization of RUs own curriculum and international development program, a universitywide committee was formed to develop a proactive focus on Liberia.
As a result, Rutgers now has active signed Memorandums Of Understanding and ongoing projects with both the
University of Liberia and Cuttington University. Rutgers has become active in several educational, human
capacity building and science-based collaborative programs. One such program in which Rutgers is integrally
involed is the Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development Project (EHELD) funded by the U.S.
Agency for International Development. This program seeks to develop Centers of Excellence in Engineering at
the University of Liberia, and one in Agriculture at Cuttington University. EHELD focuses on developing the
human aspect and capacity of Liberians along with new curriculum and improved labs and facilities. Another
program in which Rutgers is involved is the People, Rules, and Organizations supporting the Protection of the
Ecosystem Resources (PROSPER) also funded by USAID-Liberia. PROSPER focuses on the preservation of the
Liberian rainforest and the sustainable development of the countries natural resources. Additional projects in
which Rutgers is involved ranges from those focused on library and information services and strengthening the
access to information in engineering and agriculture; to a pilot project addressing issues of sexual violence and
harassment, and more. These initiatives have lead to the establishment of multidisciplinary teams across the
many colleges at Rutgers. From my own School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, to Library and
Information Management, to the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering, the School of Social
Work and the Bloustein School of Public Policy, to our Gender and Women’s Studies and the Center of African
Studies, its clear that Rutgers has a long standing commitment to Liberia and to sub-Sahara Africa. Rutgers
continues to seek collaborative partnerships with our counterparts in Liberia and with other public: private
sector partnerships.
Many daunting challenges face Liberia- from political stability, infrastructure, governance, human development,
unemployment, to the need to develop a skilled work force and to better educate the younger generation of
Liberians. Yet, such challenges need to be viewed as opportunities and in this context we are honored and feel
privileged both as individuals and as a university to participate in this process.
Therefore, its a pleasure for us at Rutgers to host the 45th Annual Meeting of the Liberian Studies Association
that provides a international forum for scholars, scientists, businesses and others interested in Liberia to share
ideas, experiences and needs. This years’ LSA meeting allows us to learn more about Liberia, to meet other
scholars and academics working on a wide array of exciting projects and to come away with new friends, new
insights, understandings and new ideas. On behalf of Rutgers, our own programs in New Use Agriculture & Plant
Products Program, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Schools of Environmental & Biological
Sciences, the RU Center for African Studies, the Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs (GAIA
Centers) and the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and the faculty, staff and students involved in
international development in Liberia and Africa, we welcome you here to Rutgers. We hope that you’ll find this
years’ conference most productive and rewarding.
Jim Simon, Chair, and Host
Director, New Use Agriculture & Natural Plant Products & RU Chairperson, Strengthening Linkages with Liberia
Schedule for the 45th Annual Meeting of the Liberian Studies
Association, 2013 Conference. The Human Aspect of
Development in Liberia: Steps, Strategies, and Sustainability
Day 1: Thursday, April 04
3:00-6:30
pm
Registration and orientation.
Lobby of Bloustein School of Public Policy (33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, NJ)
Session A (Forum)
3:30-4:15
pm
Welcome and Greetings:
Jackie N. Sayegh, President, Liberian Studies Association;
Ousseina Alidou, Director of the Center for African Studies
Robert M. Goodman, Executive Dean of the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological
Sciences
Thomas N. Farris, Dean, School of Engineering, Rutgers University
4:30-6:00
pm
4:30-5:00
5:00-5:30
5:30-6:00
6:30
–
8:30 pm
Rutgers and Liberian Development
Jim Simon, Professor, Director, New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program and
Rutgers PI for Liberian EHELD and PROSPER programs, and Host 2013 LSA, Rutgers University
Opening session
Moderator: Edward Lama Wonkeryor
Refugees and Diaspora: Becoming Transnational Citizens: Circulatory Migration and Civic
Engagement among the Liberian Diaspora
Janet Reilly, PhD Candidate, Political Science Dept., Graduate Center, City University of New York
Liberian Refugees: The Final Distribution?
Marilyn Silberfein, Temple University, Department of Geography and Urban Studies (Emeritus)
History I: An Examination of Liberia’s ‘Special Relationship’ with the USA: the US State Visits of
Presidents W.V.S Tubman (1954) and Samuel K. Doe (1982)
Brooks Marmon, American Council on Education. American Council on Education. Washington DC.
Reception Zimmerli Art Museum
71 Hamilton St, New Brunswick, corner of George St. and on Hamilton
Join us for African cuisine and Afro-Caribbean Music
(http://www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu)
Day 2, Friday, April 05
Session A (Forum)
8:00-8:30
8:30-10:00
8:30-9:00
Session B (Room 113)
Coffee/African Herbal Teas Continental Breakfast and Registration.
Lobby of Bloustein School of Public Policy
Gender equality and development
Culture
Moderator: Mary Moran, Colgate University
Moderator: Abena P.A. Busia
Gender Equality Social Change in Liberia:
Liberia's Cultural Dichotomy
Abdoulaye W. Dukule, Liberian journalist and news
The Human and Psychological
editor
Development Factors
Yves-Renée Jennings, Ph.D., Professorial
Lecturer, School of International Service,
International Peace and Conflict
Resolution Program, American University,
Washington DC
9:00-9:30
9:30-10:00
10:00-10:30
The Impact of Women on the process of
Development in Liberia
Emmanuel G. K. George (Country Director
ADRA-Liberia), Rachael Lyanda (Assistant
Lecturer in Political Science (Babcock
University, Nigeria), Augustus Luke
(Research Assistant, Adventist University
of West Africa).
Gender Equality and Women’s Economic
Empowerment
Jetty Smith Carter, Women In Business
Officer, Food and Enterprise Development
Program of Liberia (FED)
Sustainable development
Moderator, Dr. Samuel Wai Johnson
10:30-11:00
Social and Environmental Impacts of
Charcoal Production: A Case study in
Liberia
Brieland Jones and Jose Alfaro Center for
Sustainable Systems, School of Natural
Resources and Environment, University of
Michigan
Satisfying the Rural Residential Demand in
Liberia with Decentralized Renewable
Energy Schemes
Jose Alfaro and Shelie Miller
11:30-12:00
12:00-1:30
1:30-2:00
2:00-4:30
2:00-2:30
Encountering Race: Liberians in Staten Island.
Bernadette Ludwig,
PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology
The Graduate Center, The City University of New
York
Coffee and African Herbal Teas Break
10:30-2:00
11:00-11:30
Social and Economic Impacts of Labor Migrants
Remittances
Yekutiel Gershoni, Professor Emeritus, Department
of Middle East and African History, Tel Aviv
University
Educational
Moderator: Verlon Stone, Coordinator, Liberian
Collections Project
READING LIBERIA: Literacy, Readership, and
Publishing
Scott Walter, CODE and Charles Temple, Education
Department, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Education for Development and/or Development of
Education
Augustine Konneh, PhD., Director General, Foreign
Service Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liberia
IBB Graduate School, University of Liberia,
Monrovia.
Education for Development
Mr. S. Edward Harmon, Director
Youth/ Young Adult Department
Liberia Annual Conference
United Methodist Church. Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia
When the Vulnerability Levels are so high
in Liberia, with respect to Disaster and
Environmental Degradation, is the Nation
adequately prepared to withstand these
imminent challenges?
Morris T. Koffa, Executive Director, Africa
Environmental Watch
Lunch Break (Light lunch provided)
A Knowledge Ecology for Community
Development in Liberia
Lauro Palumbo, Martin Kesselman and T.
Michael Weah. Library of Science and
Medicine, Rutgers University
Gender, youth and livelihoods
Moderator: Samuel Wai Johnson
21st Century Beasts of Burden: Modern
day child domestic servitude in the
Republic of Liberia
Danielle Taana Smith, Associate Professor
of Sociology, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology Rochester Institute of
Technology New York
Admitting and Retaining Students With Disabilities in
Higher Education in Liberia
Sakui Malakpa, Professor, Department of early
childhood, physical and special education. University
of Toledo
2:30-4:30
2:30-3:00
3:00-3:30
3:30-4:00
4:00-4:30
4:45-5:30
6:00-7:00
Understanding the Views of Livelihood
Strategies among Liberian Refugee
Mothers
Gary Haddow, Masters/PhD Student,
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education,
University of California, Santa Barbara
Development Programs and Strategies in
the rebuilding process of Liberia:
Problems, Challenges and Solutions
Armah D. Lansanah, Graduate, African
Methodist Episcopal University, Camp
Johnson Road, Monrovia-Liberia
Impacts of De-monopolization of
Communications Programs as a Catalyst
for Improving Political and Social
Developments in Liberia
Zotawon D, Titus, GCPP, MPP Deputy
Minister Department of ICT &
Telecommunications Ministry of Posts &
Telecommunications
“Bigness” and Interrupted School Pursuits
Eva Harman, PhD Candidate, Department
of Anthropology, Princeton University
Accountability
Moderator: Bala Balaguru
Building a Sustainable Democracy In Liberia In the
21 Century: The Role of the Liberian Justice System
Charles Kwalonue Sunwabe, Jr., Esq, Washburn
University School of Law, The Catholic University of
America
Making Pots Boil”: Building Accountability in Liberia
Blair Glencorse and Briana ThompsonAccountability Lab
National Integrity Barometer Research Project
Samuel Duo, Assistant Professor/Leadership
Development Extension Specialist, Department of
Agriculture and Extension Education, University of
Liberia
and Ruth Jappah Counselor-at Law
Chairperson, Steering Committee National Integrity
Barometer Research Project
A Survey of Five Social and Political Deficits in the
Liberian Development Culture
K-Moses Nagbe, Prince George’s Community
College & Montgomery College
Forum: Plenary Speaker: Role of the University in a Post-Conflict Country - The Liberian
Experience
Dr. Emmet Dennis, President University of Liberia.
(Refreshments to follow the President’s Address)
LSA Business meeting (Room 112)
Day 3, Saturday, April 06
8:00-8:30
8:30-9:00
9:00-10:00
9:00-9:30
Coffee/African Herbal Teas Continental Breakfast and Registration.
Lobby of Bloustein School of Public Policy
Session A (Forum)
Session B (Room 113)
History II
Moderator, Edward Lama Wonkeryor
A Photographic Record of Human
Development in Liberia During World War
II: The Charles W. Allmon Collection
John C. Yoder, Whitworth University,
Spokane, Washington.
Agricultural development
Moderator: Albert Ayeni
To Reach Liberian Farmers and Invigorate
Agriculture
Cyril E. Broderick, Sr. Dept. of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, College of
Agriculture and Related Sciences,
Delaware State University, Delaware.
Educational reform
Moderator: Martin Kesselman
Reforming the Liberian Educational System through
Quality Teacher Development Program
Michael Adolu Wannah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of
Education, Department of Teaching, Learning, and
Diversity. Concordia University, Chicago.
The Importance and Impact of Technical and
Vocational Institutions in Human Development,
Liberia a case study
Thomas M H Tweh, Student/CEO, West Point Health
and Sanitation Organization, Inc.
9:30-10:00
10:00-10:30
10:30-12:00
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
12:00-1:30
12:00-1:30
1:30-2:00
2:00-2:30
Agroforestry in Liberia: Exploring Rural
Practices, Perceptions and Potential
Through a Household Survey
Lisa Fouladbash, M.S. Candidate, and Dr.
William Currie, PhD. University of Michigan
School of Natural Resources and
Environment
Coffee and African Herbal Teas Break
Development and economic growth
Moderator: Albert Ayeni
China in Africa
Donald L. Cassell, Jr., AIA, Senior Fellow,
Sagamore Institute, Indianapolis, IN
Exports, Imports, and Economic Growth in
Liberia: Evidence from Causality and
Cointegration Analysis
Anthony Paul Andrews, Governors State
University
Cuttington University and Liberian
Agricultural Development
Charles K. Mulbah, Dean Of College of
Agriculture and Sustainable Development
Development and poverty reduction
Moderator: H. Rodolfo Juliani
The Quest for a Middle Class Liberia: A Case for
Human Capital Development
Dr. Stephen Kaifa, Professor of Economics and
Finance, County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ
Liberia: A Country in Search of a Vision
James S. Guseh, J.D., Ph.D., Department of Public
Administration
Poverty Reduction and Peacebuilding in Collapsed
States: The Case of Liberia
Samuel Wai Johnson, Jr., Doctoral student & Drucie
French Cumbie Fellow George Mason University
School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Lunch Break (Light lunch provided)
LSA Business meeting (Rm 112)
Governance, Budget Deficits and Financial
Crises: the Role of Government in the
Liberian Bank Failures
George P. Gonpu, Assistant Professor of
Economics Anisfield School of Business,
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Converting banks’ financial statements
from current GAAP to IFRS in the Liberian
banking system: Challenges and prospect
Jedidiah Sazi Lawubah, Bank Examiner
Central Bank of Liberia
Warren & Carey Streets
Monrovia, Liberia
Panel Discussions
2:30-3:30
Liberia, West Africa, and the U.S. War on Terror
Moderator: Edward Lama Wonkeryor
Edward Lama Wonkeryor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Teaching/Instructional)
Affiliated Graduate Faculty, African American Studies, Temple University
Emmanuel O. Oritsejafor, Ph.D., Professor & Interim Chair, Political Science
North Carolina Central University
Dr. William Allen, Director General, Civil Service Agency, Republic of Liberia
3:30-4:30
Dr. George Klay Kieh, Jr., Professor, Political Science & African Studies,
University of West Georgia
National Development and the Reality of the Liberian Classroom: Training Those Who Teach
Moderator: Dr. John Victor Singler
Addressing the Shortage of Trained Early Childhood Educators in Rural Liberia Through In-Service
Teacher Training
Pat Reilly, Vice President, Friends of Liberia, Boston, MA
School-Based Professional Development of Teachers: A Pilot Project in Harper
Dr. Blidi Stemn, Associate Professor, Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership, Hofstra
University; Executive Director, Education First..
“I just 1 2 tell u hw gr8 n 1d4 u r”: Using Text Messages as a Medium for Teaching Writing
Dr. John Victor Singler, Professor, Department of Linguistics, New York University
Lobby (Posters will be displayed during entire LSA meeting)
Poster
Session
Examining Gender Based Violence and Abuse among Liberian School Students in Four Counties:
An Exploratory Study: A Joint Project between Rutgers University and Cuttington University.
Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW Associate Professor & Director, Center on Violence Against
Women & Children, Rutgers University, School of Social Work
Technology and Education in Developing Countries
Alan Heiman, Cornell Academic Technologies, and Advisor, Cornell Computer Reuse Association
Developing a new curriculum for the College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development: A
collaborative effort between Rutgers, NC State and Cuttington Universities
Charles Mulbah (Cuttington University), Rodolfo Juliani and Jim Simon (Rutgers University) and
David Jordan (NC State University).
The new curriculum for the Division of Engineering TJR Faulkner College of Science and
Technology (University of Liberia).
Charles Carpenter (University of Liberia), P.N. Balaguru (Rutgers University), Francis Cooper
(EHELD program).
Abstracts
Day 1: Thursday, April 04, 2013
Session A (Forum)
Opening session. Moderator: Edward Lama Wonkeryor
4:30-5:00 pm: Refugees and Diaspora: Becoming Transnational Citizens: Circulatory Migration and Civic
Engagement among the Liberian Diaspora
Janet Reilly, PhD Candidate, Political Science Department, Graduate Center, City University of New York.
Contact: jreilly@gc.cuny.edu.
Full citizenship is achieved not just through legal status and voting rights, but also through substantive
participation in a country’s (broadly-defined) political system. This paper explores the Liberian diaspora’s civic
engagement both in local communities in the United States and in Liberia. It examines recent and historical
patterns of migration between Liberia and the United States and their role in creating a transnational space and
a “transnational citizen” identity for Liberians in the diaspora. In addition to the colonization of Liberia by black
Americans in the early 19th Century and the refugee flows resulting from the Liberian wars in 1989-2003,
individuals have migrated in smaller but significant numbers from Liberia to the United States and back again in
multiple waves. Depending on their time of arrival in the United States, individuals from Liberia have been
subject to different immigration and reception policies in the United States. Similarly, Liberians in the United
States have been influenced by the Liberian state’s recent attempts to formulate a diaspora engagement policy,
actively encouraging the diaspora’s involvement in peace building activities, such as the Liberian Truth and
Reconciliation Commission process, and as financiers of the reconstruction effort. The paper examines the
relationship between Liberians’ incorporation in the United States and their participation in politics and
development activities in Liberia, paying particular attention to the role of state policies—both US policies and
Liberian policies—in influencing civic engagement. Drawing on archival research and individual narratives
collected from Liberian immigrants in the United States (in New York and Minnesota), the paper highlights the
Liberian diaspora’s recent civic engagement in Liberia and explores the extent to which this is a new trend or a
perpetuation of past patrimonial relations between the diaspora and the homeland.
5:00 – 5: 30 pm: Liberian Refugees: The Final Distribution?
Marilyn Silberfein, Temple University, Department of Geography and Urban Studies (Emeritus). Contact: 2524
Tulip Ln, Langhorne PA 9053, geog100@verizon.net.
The circumstances encountered by Liberian refugees have turned into a model of a protracted refugee situation.
A combination of two civil wars plus the reluctance of many refugees to return home has resulted in their
remaining outside of Liberia for as long as twenty-three years. Since 2004, programs have been underway for
the return of refugees by ship, airplane, canoe, and truck, but many remain fearful of the potential for ongoing
insecurity, lack of land and other resources or other problems. At the same time, integration in the countries of
asylum or resettlement in a third country has not necessarily been an option. Finally, a decision was made to
terminate the status of Liberian refugees as of June 30th, 2012 (The Cessation Clause). This study compares the
situation of Liberian refugees in various West African countries, specifically Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea,
Ghana and Nigeria. Some interesting similarities have been discerned as well as contrasts, especially in the
period leading up to and following the June 30th deadline. The basic question to be answered is as follows: will
the cessation clause solve the protracted refugee situation for Liberians or will it just signal a new stage in an
ongoing dilemma.
5:30 – 6:00 pm: History I: An Examination of Liberia’s ‘Special Relationship’ with the USA: the US State Visits of
Presidents W.V.S Tubman (1954) and Samuel K. Doe (1982)
Brooks Marmon, American Council on Education. American Council on Education. Contact: 6523 1st ST NW, Apt
4. Washington, DC 20012, 434-962-9986, bmarmon@gmail.com.
Scholars and journalists frequently comment on a ‘special relationship’ between the United States and Liberia.
However, most of the existing literature on this topic emphasizes the role of the American Colonization Society
in shaping modern day Liberia during the 19th century (and to a lesser extent the Firestone rubber company in
the 20th). This paper seeks to broaden that discourse by examining the coverage of the official or semi-official
Liberian press of President Tubman’s 1954 visit to the US and President Doe’s US state visit 28 years later.
Travel to the Caribbean by Tubman and to Europe by Doe immediately following their US visits will be briefly
considered as well. The voyages came at a critical time for each administration – President Tubman departed for
the US in the midst of an electoral challenge from his predecessor, Edwin Barclay, while Samuel Doe sought to
confirm the legitimacy of his control of the country following a bloody coup two years earlier. The official
Liberian press covered both visits in great detail (for a period of several months) and the events were
conveniently adopted and adapted by each administration for their own propaganda purposes. The chronology
of the paper allows for a consideration of the interests of both the True Whig Party (traditionally seen as close
to the US given its roots among Liberia’s settler population) and the first Liberian President of ‘indigenous’
descent. The paper concludes that while the ‘special relationship’ between Liberia and the US was often
romanticized and overstated, there was a solid connection between the two countries that supports the basis of
these claims. The attention that the Liberian press lavished on both of these visits and the relative ease of
access (in comparison to other African nations) that Liberian heads of state had to prominent US figures testifies
to the ongoing bonds linking each nation. An evaluation of the visits also challenges some of the longstanding
assumptions surrounding the Doe administration and the True Whig Party.
Friday April 05, 2012
Session A (Forum)
Gender equality and development. Moderator: Mary Moran, Colgate University.
8:30 – 9:00 am: Gender Equality Social Change in Liberia: The Human and Psychological Development Factors
Yves-Renée Jennings, Ph.D., Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, International Peace and
Conflict Resolution Program. American University, Washington DC. Contact: Cedar Break Drive, Centreville, VA
20120, yrjennings@gmail.com.
Since the end of Liberia’s 14 year Civil War in 2003, gender equality has been featured among the country’s top
development priorities and considered a foundational social change which can help the country foster socioeconomic growth and a culture of peace that involve Liberian men and women. While designing its intentional
gender equality social change agenda, Liberia anchored its strategy in the 1979 United Nations (UN) Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1997 gender mainstreaming
initiative, and other corollary instruments such as the 2000 UN Millennium Development Goal 3. In collaboration
with international agencies and organizations, and the contribution of local representatives, in 2009 Liberia
launched a National Gender Policy (NGP) and a complementary National Action Plan (NAP) for the
Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 to guide its efforts toward the
achievement of its gender equality goal. While Liberia recognizes the imperative to ensure that the needs of
both men and women are met at a political, societal, professional, and economic level, the country’s efforts
have so far focused primarily on women’s empowerment. Furthermore, Liberia’s gender equality agenda has not
taken into account the unintended consequences of a women-only focus, or ensured that the human and
psychological needs of both Liberian men and women are constructively met to help them adapt to this social
change. Accordingly, this paper questions how Liberia’s gender equality efforts can be successful without: a)
proactively dealing with the unintended consequences of this social change with regard to the exclusion of men;
and b) instituting a human and psychological development agenda that helps both men and women learn how
to positively embrace their new gender roles in ways that benefit the development of Liberia and all Liberians.
To address these two concerns, this paper draws upon the findings of a 2010 fieldwork carried out with Liberian
male and female civil society leaders who shared their views about what Liberia can proactively do to ensure the
human and psychological development of both genders. Such development would allow them to constructively
come together and collaborate to contribute holistically to their country’s post-war economic, social and
political agenda and growth.
9:00 – 9:30 am: The Impact of Women on the process of Development in Liberia
Emmanuel G. K. George (Country Director ADRA-Liberia), Rachael Rachael Iyanda (Assistant Lecturer in Political
Science (Babcock University, Nigeria), Augustus Luke (Research Assistant, Adventist University of West Africa).
Studies have shown that women play key roles in preserving order and normalcy in the midst of chaos and
destruction. However, a preponderance of the literature either focuses on women as war victims, or neglects to
empirically investigate the nature of, and impacts of women’s involvement in development processes in conflictaffected states. Therefore, this study examined the impact of women on the process of development in Liberia,
as well as the challenges they faced. This study utilized the survey design and adopted both quantitative and
qualitative methods of data collection. The respondents were selected from community leaders, women,
youths, teachers and members of various women groups. The in-depth interviews were supplemented with six
focus group discussions (FDGs) with homogeneous participants. The study also used historical methodology so
as to give insight into women’s roles over time. Reliability and validity were further achieved through
triangulation. The data collected were subjected to analysis using the Pearson Correlation, along with content
analysis. This study reveals that women played significant roles in the development processes in Liberia. With
the Pearson Correlation obtained at 0.718 and the P-value at 0.000<0.01, the study found out that women’s
involvement in development is significant. Again, the study discovered that women’s involvement in
development was highly significant to obtaining peace in Liberia (R= 0.621, P-value = 0.000<0.01). It found out
that women involvement to a large extent, has impacted the process of development in Liberia The study,
therefore, submits that the women of Liberia despite the odds invoked their ancient roles. The study also found
out that women active in the process of development in Liberia that the process of development has intensified
and whenever the process was stalled, it was the women who took drastic action, thereby making lasting impact
on the developmental processes and winning for themselves international recognition. The study concludes
that it will be detrimental to both nations to relegate to the background the traditional roles of women as
developmental agents. Therefore, the study recommends that there is a need to move women impact on
development further by increasing the level of women’s formal involvement in the process of development
around the world.
9:30 – 10:00 am. Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Jetty Smith Carter , Women In Business Officer, Food and Enterprise Development Program of Liberia (FED).
Contact: FED, 6th Street, Sinkor , Monrovia, Liberia. Jetty_Carter@dai.com.
Equality between men and women is both a human right and a development issue for most countries today. It is
widely acknowledged that gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental cornerstones for
achieving development and sustaining growth in today’s world. Women have played a major role throughout
the history of Liberia. They comprise 54 percent of the labor force in both the formal and informal sectors. Yet
women remain among the most disadvantaged. Their predominance in the informal economy translates into
low productivity, meager earnings and exposure to exploitation. Illiteracy rates among women aged 15-49 are
particularly high (60 percent) compared to men (30 percent). 42 percent of Liberian women and 18 percent of
men have never attended school. During the 14 years civil conflict, sexual violence was systematically used as a
weapon of war against women and young girls. The health needs in Liberia are significant with limited access to
health care facilities. The focus of this Presentation is on the Gender Equality and Women Economic
Empowerment as strategic entry points to break the social economic factor of gender inequality trap in which
most of Liberia’s women and girls find themselves. With over 10 years of experience working with women and
adolescent females throughout the country, I have seen first-hand how the vulnerability and devastating effects
of the that lack of access to opportunities for women can bring to bear on the entire population and evidently
on national economic and development activities. I shall attempt to draw parallel to the key points of the
Government of Liberia, as stated in their Poverty Reduction Strategy. Specifically, I shall look at intervention
strategies that are pertinent to increasing the productivity of women in the informal sector, and exposing
vulnerable women to options and opportunities in the formal sector. No doubt, there is a need to strengthen
and increase women participation in governance; to inspire civil involvement in addressing gender inequalities
and education for development.
Sustainable Development. Moderator, Dr. Samuel Wai Johnson
10:30 – 11:00 am: Social and Environmental Impacts of Charcoal Production: A Case study in Liberia
Brieland Jones and Jose Alfaro, Center for Sustainable Systems, School of Natural Resources and Environment,
University of Michigan. Contact: 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. jfalfaro@umich.edu.
When considering the breadth of complexity involved in sustainable development, many social and political
struggles stem from the use, or misuse, of natural resources. Energy supply chains (extraction, production, use,
waste) can have particularly devastating impacts on sustainability and positive human development. In SubSaharan Africa, over 80% of the population relies on traditional fuels, the lowest rung on the “energy ladder”, to
meet their energy demand for cooking and heating. This creates and perpetuates a number of coupled social
and environmental challenges. With most developing countries proposing an energy transition that relies
heavily on modern sources, as the developing world has tremendous renewable potential, little emphasis is
given to holistic improvements in traditional energy sectors that have become largely embedded into society.
We present a case study examining the social and environmental impacts of charcoal production in Liberia. As
one of the least developed countries, a large percentage of the population in rural areas relies on this sector for
a significant portion of income. Still, there are negative health, social and environmental outcomes related to
use of these fuels. Lack of government resources and adequate policies do not address widespread child labor,
gender inequity or land degradation associated with the production of charcoal. Stakeholder interviews and
community surveys illustrate the benefits and disadvantages of the status quo and how these concerns directly
contradict the overall efforts and progress of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Further analyses highlight
available natural and social capita that can lend to utilizing available resources for poverty alleviation and
environmental sustainability as well as recommendations for integrated approaches in addressing traditional
energy challenges in developing countries.
11:00 – 11:30 pm: Satisfying the Rural Residential Demand in Liberia with Decentralized Renewable Energy
Schemes
Jose Alfaro and Shelie Miller, Center for Sustainable Systems, School of Natural Resources and Environment,
University of Michigan. Contact: 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. jfalfaro@umich.edu.
The country of Liberia, West Africa, has the lowest level of access to electricity in the world. Although efforts
are underway to provide electricity to the population, policy calls for a centralized development scheme around
the capital city and the majority of the rural areas will lack access to electricity through the year 2025.
Decentralized electrification projects can help stimulate the economy of rural Liberia. Investing in the rural
electricity sector provides a tool for development, increases the well-being of the population, and adds jobs and
opportunities to develop human capacity. These projects provide parallel efforts to the urban electrification
planned in the country. However, focused policy and funding is needed for rural projects to become reality and
Liberia to capitalize on this opportunity. This work offers decentralized generation as an alternative towards
electricity development in Liberia. The suppressed demand of the rural population is calculated. Proof is given
that Liberia has sufficient renewable energy potential to supply residential needs if used in decentralized
generation schemes. The capital costs and resulting electricity tariffs of fulfilling the demand through
decentralized schemes are calculated. Economic metrics are compared to available willingness and ability to pay
in Liberia. This works provides important information that policy makers can use for development, planning,
and energy policy. The information is particularly important in light of Liberia’s recent National Energy Policy
and the upcoming Rural Energy Master Plan.
11:30 – 12:00 pm. When the Vulnerability Levels are so high in Liberia, with respect to Disaster and
Environmental Degradation, is the Nation adequately prepared to withstand these imminent challenges?
Morris T. Koffa, Executive Director, Africa Environmental Watch. Contact: 4207 Plummers Promise Dr. Bowie,
MD 20720, koffamkoffa@aol.com.
As Liberia thrives in its post war reconstruction efforts in rebuilding social capacity and economic growth within
the context of the national framework of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and Vision 2030 aimed at poverty
reduction and economic prosperity, there are noticeable risks as to the state of the environment and the
proliferation to disasters that seem not to gain adequate attention from the national government as a proactive
approach for risk assessment and management. The failure to act promptly could make sustainable effort very
daunting a task for the nation. The current state of the environmental situation and natural disasters
vulnerability present further risk that could potentially destroy all the gains. There is a danger to the wellbeing
of the nation and its people in any eventuality. These are imminent threats that can escalate and erupt at any
moment with the propensity to inflate catastrophic economic destruction, impact agriculture farms, provoke
environmental public health calamities, and perhaps, unbearable human casualties. Disaster is the newest major
threats that have encroached on Liberia in the past decade from anthropogenic and natural consequences partly
due to climate change. Is Liberia ready with the needed mitigation capacity to prevent or reduce the impact of
any eventuality? This paper/presentation will attempt to address the potential challenge and what can be done
from a policy perspective to support relevant governmental institutions to meet the challenges in the protecting
the nation of such national threat.
1:30 – 2:00 pm: A Knowledge Ecology for Community Development in Liberia
Laura Palumbo, Martin Kesselman and T. Michael Weah, Library of Science and Medicine, Rutgers University.
Contact: 165 Bevier Rd, Piscataway NJ 08854, 732-309-6574, martyk@rulmail.rutgers.edu.
Librarians are much more than building libraries; they build communities. For Liberia, libraries can have impacts
that lead to poverty reduction. Liberia is a country where 90% of the population is food insecure, over 80% of
women work in the agriculture sector and have a much lower literacy rate than men, and where unsustainable
subsistent agriculture practices have detrimental effects on the environment (Liberia has over 40% of what was
once the large Guinea rainforest). Although President Sirleaf-Johnson has a “back to the county” initiative,
there is a lack of infrastructure of roads and major divides exist of literacy, learning, gender, and the Internet
between urban Monrovia and the rest of the country. Elsewhere in Africa, public libraries are the primary
conduits for agriculture, health and education information. But, in Liberia, libraries are the missing link. There
are some rays of hope that will be discussed in this presentation: how librarians can play a major role in the
development of an information-rich curriculum for extension in a new College of Agriculture and Sustainable
Development at Cuttington University, how a public librarian has created a learning environment for teaching
the use of computers and the Internet as well as publishing children’s books on agriculture and environmental
themes, and how the idea of community knowledge centers and mobile devices might be employed in rural
communities to create a presence for teaching, learning, and knowledge. Millions of dollars worth of
information is now available for free to developing countries such as Liberia, yet librarians are non-existent to
make this information available to those that need it most at Universities and Ministries. Finally, this
presentation will focus on how Rutgers University librarians, Liberian champions of libraries, small social
entrepreneurs, and charitable organizations can make a difference in empowering communities for sustainable
development.
Gender, youth and livelihoods. Moderator: Samuel Wai Johnson
2:00 – 2:30 pm: 21st Century Beasts of Burden: Modern day child domestic servitude in the Republic of Liberia
Danielle Taana Smith, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology Rochester
Institute of Technology New York. Contact: Danielle.Smith@rit.edu.
Liberia is a source, transit, and destination country for young women and children subjected to forced labor and
sex trafficking. The majority of the victims is Liberian and is exploited within the country, with trafficking
primarily flowing from rural to urban areas. The rural-urban divide in terms of ethnicity, affluence and education
provides fertile ground for the continuous exploitation of child labor. I focus on domestic servitude as one form
of forced labor. To contextualize modern day domestic servitude in Liberia, I use examples from interviews with
Liberians living in the United States and returning to the US from visits to Liberia. I inquire how domestic
servitude can be understood as an historic act embedded within ethnic relations between Liberians. The
objective of this study is to bring to public discourse the historic and contemporary practice of domestic
servitude in Liberia, which remains closely interlinked with the nation’s social, political and economic systems.
These practices have for generations affected the psycho-social development of children!. Child domestic
servants suffer from physical abuse, chronic hunger and malnutrition, low self-esteem, and decreased mental
functioning. They are effectively ostracized from their communities. Victims of domestic servitude exhibit poor
academic achievement and high drop-out rates from school, resulting in future unproductive citizenship. I argue
that if Liberia is to achieve its developmental goals, policies must be implemented to address the issue of child
domestic servitude. The study concludes with policy recommendations that discourage the practice of servitude
and that ensure the legal protection of children who are victims of domestic servitude.
2:30 – 3:00 pm: Understanding the Views of Livelihood Strategies among Liberian Refugee Mothers
Gary Haddow, Masters/PhD Student, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa
Barbara. Contact: 1617 Castillo St., Apt 5. Santa Barbara, CA 93101. ghaddow@education.ucsb.edu.
This study examines the view of education among Liberian refugee mothers with respect to their
children’s livelihood development, defined as “the activities, the assets (natural, physical, human, financial, and
social capital), and the access to these (mediated by institutions and social relations) that jointly determine the
living gained by an individual or household” (Ellis, 200, p. 10). In the Buduburam Refugee Camp for Liberians
near Accra, Ghana, refugees have been able to create a role, however minimal in the camp economy. How do
Liberian refugee mothers envision that their children are able to continue to survive while potentially living in
the same conditions? Most importantly, what is the role that education plays in the current and future
livelihood strategies of refugee children? These questions were answered through a series of in-depth individual
interviews and focus groups with ten Liberian refugee mothers. While formal education was determined to be
the most important asset in a child’s development, the interviews revealed three distinct views of the
importance of education versus the importance of repatriation with respect to access and quality. One group
emphasized the importance of quality schooling through high school within Buduburam compared to Liberia; a
second group believed schooling through junior high in Buduburam then back to Liberia to finish high school;
and, the final group felt education in the camp was not worth the resources. Due to the reliance on foreign aid
funding Buduburam’s schools, a division within participants emerged as to whether international aid should be
focused on camp life or rebuilding Liberia. The social relations between host and refugee intensified the division
between participants regarding education versus repatriation. With the 2012 closure of Buduburam my future
research will focus on the role education plays in the reintegration of Liberian refugees within their homeland.
3:00 – 3:30 pm: Development Programs and Strategies in the rebuilding process of Liberia: Problems,
Challenges and Solutions
Armah D. Lansanah, Graduate, African Methodist Episcopal University. Contact: Camp Johnson Road, MonroviaLiberia. 704-241-3415, armslan106@yahoo.com.
The impact of civil war and poor governance on Liberia’s capacity for human development has been devastating.
Loss of life through violent conflict which is one of the greatest impediments to human development or extreme
deprivation, forced human displacement, the destruction of infrastructure and government capacity, and the
collapse of livelihoods have left a perilous legacy of human insecurity. Even though the crisis of war has ended
and the first steps towards reconstruction have been successfully made, challenges are enormous. Indicators of
human development in Liberia – covering employment, income, health, education, gender equality and child
welfare – are amongst the lowest in the world, when such indicators have been available. Most importantly, the
main priorities of focus for the Government of Liberia is to fully ensure the integration of human rights – how
people lives are affected by development and democratic values in the development of policy guidelines for all
business establishments, Concession Agreements etc., - under the guidance of the relevant authorities. If these
policies are inculcated within our Development Partners’ (CSOs and NGOs) programs, the focus on the human
aspect of development and social development goals will be achieved. This will also cause Aid coordination to be
strengthened and therefore ensuring transparency and accountability of public funds. As we all know that
mobilizing capacity is at the core for rebuilding Liberia. The process of developing the Poverty Reduction
Strategy (PRS) has been significant to Liberia’s development. However, there is still much work that needs to be
done. When we look at the essence of development, which is to enhance people’s choices and access to lifesustaining opportunities, Development should be human centered, with both the process and outcomes
revolving around people. As a result, we will not enjoy development without security and respect for human
rights, all of which complement the other. Giving the sources of Liberia’s violent conflict, including social
inequality and the exclusion of sectors of the community from economic and political opportunities, it is
essential that capacity-building and development activities are broad-based and inclusive in the national
development agenda for rebuilding Liberia. The war affected all Liberians in almost every sector and in all
regions of the country. It destroyed lives and livelihoods, along with physical and social infrastructure at all levels
in Liberia. It is critical that the population be included in all steps of the progress so that their enthusiasm for
peace and development can be sustained. This paper endeavors to explicate the political and social factors that
affect development efforts with specific focus on the human aspect of development. As you delve through this
essay critically, development programs and strategies in rebuilding Liberia will be expanded in detail.
3:30 – 4:00 pm: Impacts of De-monopolization of Communications Programs as a Catalyst for Improving
Political and Social Developments in Liberia
Zotawon D, Titus, GCPP, MPP. Deputy Minister, Department of ICT & Telecommunications, Ministry of Posts &
Telecommunications. Contact: Carey/McDonald Streets. GPO Central Complex, 1000 Monrovia 10. Monrovia,
Liberia. 231 886 550 067.
Endeavors to conceptualize development have sometimes been narrowly confined to the notion of economic
progress. Annual growth rates, gross national product (GNP) and gross domestic product (GDP) which present a
broad picture of the level of investments and other transactions in a nation-state are some tools that underpin
this notion. While this notion assumes that mainstream economic development based on these indicators
induces equity and represents development, the contrast has often been the case. During the decades of the
50s and 60s, these indicators showed a positive growth rate for Liberia, but, in real terms the standard of living
of about 85 percent of its citizens contradicted the acclaimed progress. This paper discusses the impact of demonopolization of communications programs in Liberia from another perspective. It assesses how the process
has enhanced governance, contributed to raising the living standard of majority of the people and facilitated
equity as a major innovation that impacts national development. It argues that the main characteristics of
inclusive and sustainable development are not GDP, GNP or annual growth rate. Rather, they are important to
provide the population with an enabling environment to access services of their choice and to use available
services to contribute to national development. This, together with the ability to question policy that
undermines their choice and to recommend options they deem suitable, facilitates inclusive development. The
article presents de-monopolization of communications programs as a policy initiative that contributes to
governance and social development using comparative analysis of pro-monopoly legacies versus post-monopoly
dividends in Liberia’s communication sector since the 80s. It shows that inclusive development is best achieved
in a governance model where the elites’ narrow pragmatic interests do not overshadow the general needs of
the society. The degree to which this is possible is a function of the quality of democratic culture and the
willingness and confidence of private sector actors to undertake the needed investment.
4:00 - 4:30 pm: “Bigness” and Interrupted School Pursuits
Eva Harman, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Princeton University. Contact: 116 Aaron Burr Hall,
Princeton, NJ 08544.
In Liberia, primary education is free and compulsory. The Ministry of Education implements measures to keep
secondary and post-secondary costs down. Yet, many young people are not in school. As part of my doctoral
work, I conducted fifteen months of ethnographic research in Bong County with young people and their family
members and friends. I followed a group of young people as they moved between school pursuits, family
obligations, entrepreneurial ventures, and rural and urban areas. I also conducted interviews with parents,
teachers, school leaders, and other stakeholders. Two significant disjunctures emerged in my fieldwork: a
disjuncture between pregnancy and schooling and a disjuncture between other forms of “bigness” and
schooling. Young women who became pregnant during my research were forced to interrupt their studies, or
they choose to do so. Some young people talked about being—or feeling—“too big for school.” They were past
an appropriate age for going to school, or they were thickly embedded in family responsibilities, networks of
relationships, and market opportunities that made them “too big for school.” In this paper, I discuss what these
disjunctures—the spaces and histories they issue from as well as the ways young Liberians construct and
navigate them—can tell us about how schooling and investments in education are organizing space and time
and creating openings for a post-war present in Liberia.
Forum
4:45 – 5:30 pm: Plenary Speaker: Role of the University in a Post-Conflict Country - The Liberian Experience
Dr. Emmet Dennis, President University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia.
Session B (Room 113)
Culture. Moderator: Abena P.A. Busia
8:30 – 9:00 am: Liberia's Cultural Dichotomy
Abdoulaye W. Dukule, PhD, Liberian journalist and news editor, Monrovia, Liberia. Contact: 231-777 200 300.
Since its founding, Liberia has been stranding on two cultural pillars: the Western American Christian and an
amalgam of African cultures. This dichotomy affected every aspect of life in the country, creating a clash, with
assimilations and rejects. From the early 1970s, young Liberian intellectuals started to question many aspects of
the national identity and touched on cultural manifestations of alienation. Ten years after the end of the war
that transformed Liberia and somehow trusted it into a new era, it would be interesting to see what cultural
metamorphosis went on, on a parallel level. From trying to define culture to comparing the pre-war and postwar Liberian evolving national identities, this paper will seek to take stock of what form of cultural identity the
nation has emerged with at the end of the war.
9:00 – 9:30 am: Social and Economic Impacts of Labor Migrants Remittances
Yekutiel Gershoni, Professor Emeritus, Department of Middle East and African History, Tel Aviv University.
Africa has experienced both domestic and international migrant movements from ancient times; however, in the
second half of the 20th century their momentum has increased as globalization has brought a great rise in the
number of labor migrants. Thousands of Liberian labor migrants (estimated at 86,000 in 2009) live and work in
African and non-African countries. Their remittances totaled some $340 million between 2004 and 2010. The
literature observes both economic and social impacts of labor migrants' remittances. The economic impacts
have been extensively debated. Scholars distinguish between remittances workers send to their families and
those they send for the public benefit. Scholars who examine remittances sent to families hold that these
remittances have negligible impact on the macro economy, and only a fortunate few gain a temporary
advantage, as the families use the money frivolously. Scholars who examine remittances sent for public
consumption hold that they play a substantial role in economic growth, as they are invested in philanthropic
projects and entrepreneurial efforts. The social impacts have been studied only recently and, thus far, very
little. They refer to attempts by returning migrant workers to implement in their own society the economic,
social, and political values they acquired through their acculturation abroad and contact with the host society.
Scholars distinguish between return migrants who aspire to reform the governance in their home country and
those who seek to introduce a western business model. In the first part of this talk, dealing with the economic
impacts, I will show that remittances sent for families come mainly from individual labor migrants, while those
sent for the benefit of the society come mainly from organizations established by African labor migrants in the
Diaspora. The Liberian government, like other African governments, considers the labor migrants' remittances,
especially those sent by organizations, integral contributions to the country's economic development. In the
second part of the talk, I will discuss the difficulties faced by return migrants who tried to introduce a western
oriented business model. The difficulties stemmed from the clash between the traditional African values and the
knowledge and habits the migrants acquired abroad. Many returning migrants yielded to traditional
expectations by lavishing their savings on their relatives. Those few who insisted on establishing their own
business, based on understandings they had acquired abroad, did so in defiance of local tradition and at the
expense of their relationship with their relatives.
9:30 – 10:00 am: Encountering Race: Liberians in Staten Island.
Bernadette Ludwig, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, The Graduate Center, The City University of New
York. Contact: bludwig@gc.cuny.edu.
African immigration to the United States has sharply increased in the last two decades. So far, however, scholars
have done little research on African immigrants and refugees. Using ethnographic data, this paper shows how
Liberian refugees and immigrants in Staten Island, New York are racialized in the United States, and how this
process mirrors and diverges from the experiences of Black West Indians. Both, Liberians and West Indians
experience discrimination based on their (perceived) race and have complex relationships with African
Americans, which involve both distancing and identification. Despite these similarities, there are some
significant differences between West Indian and Liberian immigrants that have to do with their distinct modes of
entrance to the U.S. and past experiences with race and ethnicity. Liberians are not only racialized as “Black,”
but also labeled “African,” which comes with more negative stereotypes than those associated with West
Indians. The refugee status that many Liberians have affords them compassion from many Whites and grants
them access to government benefits but it is also an additional source of stigmatization. In short, Liberians are
not immune to racism, which is especially pronounced in Staten Island, the borough in which most Liberians live.
Hence, the comparison of Liberian and West Indian immigrants demonstrates that being racialized as “Black” is
of enormous consequence, but that other factors such as immigrant status, heritage culture, and specific
geographic locale also greatly influence the particular experience with and effects of racialization.
Educational. Moderator: Verlon Stone, Coordinator, Liberian Collections Project
10:30 – 11:00 am: READING LIBERIA: Literacy, Readership, and Publishing
Scott Walter, Executive Director, CODE and Charles Temple, Education Department, Hobart & William Smith
Colleges
Education in general and literacy in particular are closely associated with societal benefits, so it is no surprise
that providing universal primary education comes closely behind poverty reduction in the Millennium
Development Goals. But primary education and literacy instruction can be done well or badly; and recent
surveys are showing that many and sometimes most children in Sub-Saharan African countries, including Liberia,
essentially do not learn to read, even after six years in public schools. The responses too many development
agencies make to literacy needs is to teach still more low-level mechanics of reading. It is our view that literacy
instruction should rather be oriented toward three goals if it is to take root and have impact: (1) emphasize
thinking and communication, even as we teach basic skills; (2) develop the habit of reading and not just the
ability to read; and (3) be deeply rooted in local culture. We further believe that if literacy projects are to be
worth the effort, they should support local trainers who can carry on in diverse ways after funded projects are
finished, and they should also support local publishers who can continue to provide relevant materials that
people will read. Reading-Liberia began in 2009 as a partnership between the We Care Library in Monrovia, the
Liberian Association of Writers (LAW), and CODE in Canada (www.codecan.org) . The project has proceeded
along two tracks. First, Reading-Liberia has trained and certified a team of 24 teacher trainers who have in turn
offered multi-year workshops to 439 primary school teachers from all of the 26 public primary schools in
Monrovia on teaching reading and writing with language-based activities that stress comprehension, critical
thinking, problem-solving, and cooperative learning. Second, Reading-Liberia has established a publishing
initiative that prepares Liberian authors and storytellers to write children’s books and trains Liberian artists to
illustrate them; it has also helped We Care Library, in association with Sub Saharan Publishers in Ghana, to
become a publisher of children’s books both for Liberia and Sierra Leone. To date, Reading-Liberia has published
23 titles of locally produced books for Liberian children, and a total of 163,900 copies of those books have been
printed and distributed around the country. In collaboration with PEN Sierra Leone, Reading-Liberia’s publishing
facility has produced another eight titles written and illustrated by Sierra Leoneans, and a total of 80,000 copies
will be distributed early in 2013. The Reading-Liberia project has confronted serious complexities and collected
colorful stories. As we describe our experiences in the Reading-Liberia project, show our books and training
materials, and share data in our interactive session, we will touch on several of the issues that are relevant to
this conference.
11:00 – 11:30 am: Education for Development and/or Development of Education
Augustine Konneh, PhD., Director General, Foreign Service Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Liberia IBB
Graduate School, University of Liberia, Monrovia. Contact: augustinekonneh24@gmail.com.
The paper will result from a study of the relationship between education and development as applied to the
case of Liberia. It will examine the different systems of education that Liberia has had beginning from the
traditional system of the indigenous peoples of Liberia to the educational system introduced by the Settlers,
moving on to the present educational system that has undergone change over the years. The purpose of the
research will be to examine the impact that education has on the material and other forms of well-being in
Liberian society. This is based on the assumption that education is a means of preparing members of society to
live successfully in their environment – to alter the environment to meet their material needs, to organize
society for efficient interaction of groups and members of society, to achieve governance, and to exert realistic
social control. This concept of education prevailed among the Romans in the concept of “EDUCERE” (to educate
or to train). The research will examine other studies of the relationship between education and development. If
education is to be defined as higher material standards of well-being and more efficient social organization, to
secure the cooperation of members of society in productive activities as well as recreational activities.
Development is often seen as quantitative and qualitative changes in society that make for better material and
social well-being. This is what western society has experienced – that is why they are referred to as developed
society. These societies claim that development has been brought about among other things through
educational systems that discovered and impart knowledge through the method of observation and testing of
rationale hypothesis about the relation of things and events (causal relationship or associational relationship).
As can been seen this kind of education is based on experimentation and proof of evidence. This kind of thinking
is believed to have developed in the era of humanism and the spread of the enlightenment, when it was sort to
separate the secular from the religious or transcendental. It is during this period the sciences emerged from the
general philosophical thinking of the Greeks and to some extent the Romans. The emphasis on the sciences and
mathematics that follow broadened and enhanced the scope and ability of technology to resolve many physical
and social problems in society. Thus, technology is seen as a vital instrument in development. Western societies
have adopted differing systems of education—the English, the French, the Americans and the Germans. The
study will therefore do a comparative examination of the impact of these systems of education on the lives of
members of those societies – on their material and social well-being.
In the context of Liberia, the study will examine the impact that the present system of education has made on
the material and social well-being of the people as a whole. We will examine the content of the curriculum, the
teaching and learning methods, the duration of class courses, and examine the result that these have had on
capacity building of its citizens. It will look at the ability of Liberians to solve some of the physical and social
problems related to the economy and society. For instances, we will look at how relevant the teaching and
learning of mathematics and the natural sciences both pure and applied are to solving the problems of everyday
life. In other words, it will seriously study the appropriateness of the curriculum in schools, colleges, and the
universities in solving the physical and social problems encountered in industry, in the construction of the
physical infrastructure, in the design of public and private buildings, and the generation of power for industrial
and social use. It will also assess the extent of capital investment in the education and training in mathematics,
sciences, technology for the economy and social roles of the members of society. In the end it will look at some
developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to see, if anything, that could be learned from their
experience of the relationship between educational systems and development. Finally, the study will try to
propose an educational system that is more appropriate to the needs of development in Liberia (engineers,
technicians, medical staff, doctors, plumbers etc) by suggesting a design of a system that takes into account the
advantages and disadvantages of the various systems I will have looked at for the impact they make on the lives
of people in their society – that is their material and social well – being. The methods I intend to use in this study
are: interviews, questionnaires, and the extensive study of the literature in education and development as well
as government and other public documents, school, colleges and universities reports in Liberia, and the
comparative literature on the role of educational systems in society. My sources therefore will be primary and
secondary sources.
11:30 – 12:00 pm: Education for Development
Mr. S. Edward Harmon, Director Youth/ Young Adult Department, Liberia Annual Conference, United Methodist
Church. Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia.
The lack of education as it regards the trend of development in Liberia has resulted to a serious social problem
that needs to be addressed to enhance development. Three factors are responsible for this: 1. Lack of Access to
Basic Quality Education in rural Towns and Villages – thousand of children are denied access to education in
most of the towns and villages. Children roam around the country-side as child laborers on their parents farms,
most girls get marry before reaching age 16 while large number of them become mothers before attaining age
18; while retention of the few that decide to continue drops every year. This is coupled with untrained teachers
or volunteers occupying the class rooms as teachers. 2. Lack of Ownership to development – the manner in
which development is carried out in Liberia promotes exclusion of the beneficiaries by the development
planners. The stages of development are not followed but rather the plans are done from above and send to the
communities for implementation. The dissemination of information as to who owns the project is lacking,
people see the development as being owned by the government or the INGO rather than owned by them. With
such behavior, most development projects failed along the line of implementation. 3.
The wait for
Government to do all syndrome – since people don’t have basic education as to the clear definition and
responsibilities of communities and their leaders, they wait for government to do everything for them. This
attitude continues to affect the development of people.
1:30 – 2:00 pm: Admitting and Retaining Students With Disabilities in Higher Education in Liberia
Sakui Malakpa, Professor. University of Toledo. Contact: 2801 W. Bancroft Street M.S. 954. Toledo, OH 43606,
Sakui.malakpa@utoledo.edu.
Statistics provided at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Liberia last May showed that there were
approximately 43,541 post-secondary students in 31 tertiary institutions in Liberia. Of these students, 23,847
were enrolled in four campuses at the University of Liberia (AllAfrica.com, May, 2012). However, a survey of two
institutions of higher education in Liberia show that very few students with disabilities are admitted in tertiary
institutions in the country and the few admitted tend to drop out for lack of proper services. Thus, this paper
proposes to investigate this problem further. Considered will be statistical data regarding number of students in
higher education in Liberia, specific problems they face, and strategies for retaining such students and
maximizing their success.
Accountability. Moderator: Bala Balagaru
2:30 – 3:00 pm: Building a Sustainable Democracy In Liberia In the 21 Century: The Role of the Liberian Justice
System
Charles Kwalonue Sunwabe, Jr., Esq, Washburn University School of Law, The Catholic University of America and
The George Washington University. Contact: 100 Bryn Mawr Court East # 315, Pittsburgh, PA 15221, 703-4028589.
This paper examines the latest attempts at democratization in post-conflict Liberia. It explores ways in which the
Liberian Judiciary can serve as a catalyst for the cultivation and promotion of democratic institutions that are
essential for the making of a rule based democratic society. Additionally, this paper assumes that Liberia’s
current democratic dive is devoid of serious and much needed judicial stewardship. Previous societal ills that
were at the foundation of the Liberian civil war have resurfaced—the rights of the governed are routinely
trampled upon by people with controlling legal authority. The justice system as a whole remains abominably
corrupt. Judicial decisions are wanting as a matter of law, and an elite centrist judiciary-- where the rule of law is
ignored-- the law is intentionally misinterpreted by judicial officials to placate the positions and demands of a
minority ruling elite. Viewed from this perspective, the present Liberian judiciary is an active participant in the
undermining of judicial and democratic institutions. Furthermore, the current roles of the Liberian Judiciary
threatens societal normalcy, cohesion and widen the scope of conflicts. As such, this paper will make the
following central arguments: (1) the role of the Liberian Judiciary as supreme authority on the interpretation of
the law needs to be redefined and deepened. (2) Judiciary reform in Liberia should embrace the concept of
moral and ethical codes for judiciary personnel and should elevate only persons who meet highly ethical
requirements to be considered for judgeship. (3) The Liberian Judiciary should be placed under international
trusteeship with the aim of rebuilding and re-lunching a functional judiciary that carters to the inclusive needs of
all Liberians.
3:00 – 3: 30 pm: “Making Pots Boil”: Building Accountability in Liberia
Blair Glencorse and Briana Thompson- Accountability Lab. Contact: 1889 F Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington,
DC 20006. +1-202-294-8331. www.accountabilitylab.org.
The absence of accountability was a central cause of civil war in Liberia and remains‐ in different ways‐
at the very core of the issues that affect the country today. Poverty, inequity and instability are the
result of an absence of political, economic and social accountability, not vice versa. At the same time,
there is still very little understanding of how accountability‐ as opposed to simple corruption‐ manifests
itself in the Liberian context and how best it can be supported over time for more durable development
outcomes. This paper will begin by evaluating what accountability means in the Liberian context and how it is
understood by citizens‐ with analysis of where progress has been made and where gaps remain. It will
then assess a series of dichotomies that seem to be at the heart of the difficulties in generating
responsible development, including: opportunity versus responsibility (short‐term versus long‐ term
thinking); dependency versus agency (the “relief” versus can‐do mentality); de jure versus de facto
processes (legal frameworks versus implementation); individual versus collective responses to poor
governance; and the rhetoric of anti‐corruption versus the reality of the lives of ordinary Liberians. The
paper will conclude with some suggestions as to how accountability can be better supported‐ by
citizens, the government, the private sector and donors in Liberia‐ for more sustainable, more equitable,
an ultimately more effective development.
The research for the paper will involve a three‐step process of: i)
an in‐depth review of the relevant literature (both theoretical and practical), to build a common
understanding of the issues; ii) discussions in Liberia with relevant actors in the accountability,
transparency, governance and development fields2; and iii) synthesis of information gathered to provide
a clear and structured analysis of accountability issues.
3:30 – 4:00 pm: National Integrity Barometer Research Project
Ruth Jappah, Counselor-at Law. Chairperson, Steering Committee National Integrity Barometer Research
Project. And Samuel Duo, Assistant Professor/Leadership Development Extension Specialist, Department of
Agriculture and Extension Education, University of Liberia. Contact: jappah2000@yahoo.com, 231-886-425451.
sam_duo124@yahoo.com, 231-886-230978.
The purpose of the Integrity Barometer study was to assess the public experience of corrupt practices in Liberia
regarding service delivery in the health, education, judiciary, civil protection, and business sectors. The
information on how Service Delivery in those sectors is being carried out would be used to better inform policy
making for improved governance in the country. Public servants are expected to demonstrate professionalism in
their work or service delivery processes. Therefore, a public servant’s behavior must be above reproach,
characterized by integrity, and must at all times be in the public interest. Such behavioral practices as public
servants are indispensable in ensuring that integrity, professionalism and ethics can be permeated or imbued in
the public service. A descriptive research method was used in this study. Using a survey instrument, the data
were collected from 1,400 Households in seven counties (Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand
Kru, Lofa, Montserrado, and Nimba), and 600 questionnaires were administered to business owners in those
counties. The results of this study based on the random sample of seven counties show that the public or
households were undecided about whether they agreed or disagreed in terms of their experience of corruptions
across the four sectors (Education, Health, Civil Protection and Judiciary). The implication is that approximately
half of the respondents agreed that corruptions exist in those sectors, whereas about half disagreed. However,
they ranked Judiciary the highest in terms of their experience of corruptions, followed by Civil Protection
(Police/Immigration). The Health sector was ranked third, followed by Education. There are moderate and
positive significant correlations between services provided by the Judiciary and Civil Protection
(Police/Immigration). The implication is that as the public experience of corruption occurring in Judiciary service
delivery increases, experience of corruption occurring in Civil Protection also increases.
4:00 – 4:30 pm: A Survey of Five Social and Political Deficits in the Liberian Development Culture
K-Moses Nagbe, Prince George’s Community College & Montgomery College. Contact: kateabela@gmail.com.
This paper divides into three parts—(1) the J. J. Roberts statement, (2) the contextual theories, and (3) the
framework for postwar national agenda. Studying a folksy statement, which Liberians typically evoke when they
feel the urge to rest from work, or abandon what seems a difficult task, the presenter links four interdisciplinary
theories to the subject of national development. He argues that in development matters, what people say and
repeat shapes their values, standards, and attitudes. He explains that the J. J. Roberts statement—“If J.J.
Roberts didn’t finish it, who will finish it?”—provides a window into this reality because it manifests a few
theoretical perspectives based on Wittgenstein’s (1922) picture theory, Blumer’s ( 1969) symbolic
interactionism, Halbwachs’ (1992) theory of collective memory , and Bandura’s (1986 ) theory of reciprocal
determinism. The presenter then identifies five social and political deficits in the Liberian development culture
as examples. These deficits include (1) the lack of a strong sense of industry, meaning no deep commitment to a
hard work ethic; (2) the lack of strong commitment to scholarship, meaning no deep commitment to linking
theory and practice; (3) the lack of commitment to philanthropy, meaning no strong and systematic culture of
giving; (4) the lack of a strong sense of destiny and legacy, meaning no strong commitment to a dignified
mission and purpose in life; and (5) the lack of commitment to historical consciousness, meaning no strong
commitment to understanding human actions and how they impact the past, the present, and the future.
Besides the theoretical framework linking Wittgenstein, Blumer, Halbwachs, and Bandura, the presenter relies
on numerous archival resources and many years of observing and writing about the Liberian character to
explore his proposed topic. With these resources, he enumerates insightful attributes found in J. J. Roberts, the
subject of the folksy statement, and shows how such attributes can be used as the basis for a new agenda for
postwar development in Liberia.
Forum: Plenary Speaker
Role of the University in a Post-Conflict Country - The Liberian Experience
Dr. Emmet Dennis, President University of Liberia.
Saturday, April 06
Session A (Forum)
History II. Moderator, Edward Lama Wonkeryor
8:30 -9:00 am: A Photographic Record of Human Development in Liberia During World War II: The Charles W.
Allmon Collection
John C. Yoder, Whitworth University, Spokane, Washington. Contact: johnyoder@whitworth.edu.
In 1943, Charles Allmon, a young American graduate of Purdue University, was sent to West Africa as a divisional
superintendent for Firestone Rubber. Carrying a camera given to him by his parents, he took more than 100
color slides while in Liberia. Ten of those slides, used in a 1947 National Geographic article on Firestone,
launched Allmon’s long and illustrious career as a National Geographic photographer. Allmon’s entire collection
of Liberia photos, now in the possession of John Yoder, provides a remarkable record of the human aspects of
development during one of Liberia’s most dramatic periods of economic growth and cultural change. At
Firestone, Allmon documented the activities of Liberian workers and their families, the work of people
conducting commerce at the local market, and the lives of ex-pat managers. In Monrovia, Allmon photographed
Liberian bureaucrats, soldiers, police, nurses, shopkeepers, river merchants, Mandingo vendors, and Fanti
fishermen. At Roberts Field and at the Free Port, the pictures show the impact of World War II and the growing
global transportation network on Liberian development. Pictures from Kakata depict life on the road bringing
development to the interior. Finally, Allmon took a number of candid pictures of President Tubman and former
President Charles D.B. King. These photos show clear evidence of the effects of western oriented development
on Liberia. To some extent, people and places in Monrovia, Firestone, Roberts Field, and the port in the early
1940s looked very much as they do today. The pictures also show how much the goals of Firestone, the US
government, and mining interests shaped Liberian economic, political, and cultural development. My
presentation will include a review of the Allmon photos and also portions of an interview I conducted with
Charles Allmon in his home in 2010. Allmon, now in his early 90s lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
Agricultural development. Moderator: Albert Ayeni
9:00 – 9:30 am: To Reach Liberian Farmers and Invigorate Agriculture
Cyril E. Broderick, Sr. Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Related Sciences,
Delaware State University, Delaware. Contact: 1200 North DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901-2277.
cbroderick@desu.edu.
A wide diversity of information exists on improved seeds, innovative techniques, and modern equipment. A
wealth of information also exists about agricultural crops and understanding of dynamic scope of knowledge
about tropical crops. Agriculture in Liberia suffers a whole lot, because too much of the knowledge of relevance
to the people who farm and who exert the greatest efforts in local production for self-sufficiency and in the
cultivation of export crops for foreign exchange. The question is what can be done to reach farmers and assure
that they benefits from developments in agriculture. The objectives, consequently, are to summarily identify and
categorize these potentially beneficial features of agriculture and indicate routes to farmers that would
positively influence levels of productivity and higher rates of productivity. We will show that there are improved
species, varieties, and cultivars of rice, cassava, and even sweet potatoes, yams, and eddoes that Government
agencies and not-for-profit organizations can provide. Small tractors, solar powered equipment, including water
pumps can also be secured by the availability of small loans. To reach farmers, extension outreach, the Internet,
Government programs, and the involvement of private organizations can account for major improvements.
Especially with the loss of area development projects, programs to focus on oil palm, cocoa, rubber and coffee,
for example, there is critical need to reach Liberian farmers to ensure that they succeed. Support to Liberian
farmers continues to be critical to successful farming, a fact that has been echoed nationally and by
representatives of the World Bank.
9:30 – 10:00 am: Agroforestry in Liberia: Exploring Rural Practices, Perceptions and Potential Through a
Household Survey
Lisa Fouladbash, M.S. Candidate, and Dr. William Currie, PhD. School of Natural Resources and Environment.
University of Michigan. Contact: lisafou@gmail.com
The Government of Liberia lists agricultural development as a primary focus for poverty reduction, as over 40%
of the population engages in smallholder agriculture and is vulnerable to food insecurity (MOA 2007; PRS 2008).
Development efforts have generally focused on large scale cash crop agriculture, the benefits of which have not
historically trickled down to communities. In light of this, there is renewed vigor towards the development of
smallholder agriculture, which is typically focused on the transition from shifting cultivation, viewed as
destructive to primary rainforest, to permanent agricultural systems. A research thesis was designed to assess
whether agroforestry may be a viable alternative to shifting cultivation, in the realms of improving rural
poverty, reducing deforestation, and increasing carbon storage. A household survey was administered to 80
randomly selected households throughout Bong and Lofa counties, with topics including deforestation, fallow
times, planting arrangements, perceptions towards planting trees, food security, and income. Survey results
showed that 87.5% of respondents practiced shifting cultivation, with an average fallow of 7 years. 77.5 % of
respondents cultivated tree crops, 40% of which practiced spatial intercropping. Mature rubber was planted in
monoculture 100% of the time. Of the respondents who planted trees, 90% still practiced shifting cultivation to
grow food crops, due to their belief that intercropping will result in competition and low success. Results suggest
that tree crop farming does not act as replacement for shifting cultivation, which is an important source of
production for household subsistence. The development of permanent tree crop systems is therefore unlikely
to reduce deforestation unless it incorporates some form of intercropping of food crops. Insecure land tenure,
insufficient money and lack of knowledge were the primary reasons for not planting trees. These results are
discussed within the broader context of sociopolitical and historical factors including the state of land rights,
foreign investment, access to markets and neoliberalism.
Development and economic growth. Moderator: Albert Ayeni
10:30 – 11:00 am. China in Africa
Donald L. Cassell, Jr., AIA, Senior Fellow, Sagamore Institute, Indianapolis, IN. Contact: 2902 North Meridian
Street. Indianapolis, IN 46208. donald@sagamoreinstitute.org.
This work will review the growing role of China in African in the last three decades. It will explore the nature and
extent of China's investment and development aid in Africa. We will be seeking to answer these questions: what
does China bring to Africa and its peoples? What does China take away from Africa and its peoples? And how
does Africa profit from the exchange? The paper will seek to discern the quality and quantity of China's interest
and influence on the continent. We will seek to understand what the Chinese themselves think about their work
in Africa and their model of development as compared with the Western model of development in Africa. The
paper will evaluate the response to and concerns of the International Community vis-à-vis China's work in Africa,
and the opportunities and challenges presented by China's growing involvement in Africa. The paper will
consider Africa's response to this new development partner. And we will conclude by considering how the
future might look for the good of all involved in Africa’s development. In all of the above discussions, Liberia will
be considered as a particular instance of China’s engagement with Africa.
11:00 – 11:30 am: Exports, Imports, and Economic Growth in Liberia: Evidence from Causality and
Cointegration Analysis
Anthony Paul Andrews, Governors State University. Contact: aandrews@govst.edu.
A key policy tool for assessing growth and development in developing economies is to ascertain the economic
relationships between economic growth and the trade sector for a particular economy. The reason for this
importance lies in the degree to which the trade sector is the “engine of growth” for these economies, which to
a large extent are characterized by unit-modal production processes.1 additionally, it is the sector in which most
developing economies derive their foreign exchange, which allows them to purchase goods and services in the
international community. Understanding this relationship provides opportunities to develop strategies, which
provide information on the relationship between the trade and output sectors. There are two ways in which one
can examine the long run relationship between economic variables. The first is concept is a special case of
causality, called Granger Causality, which tests the hypothesis that some variables do not “Granger cause” some
other variables (Granger, 1969). Under this concept, for example, a variable X is said to cause another variable Y
if Y can be predicted with greater accuracy by using past values of exports than by not using such past values, all
other information being identical. In this context, Granger causality is used if at least n-1 of the series under
investigation is integrated of order zero. Under this concept, for example, if exports “Granger-causes output
growth, we can expect some relationship between exports and leading values of output growth (see Thomas,
1997; Heij et al., 2004). The second concept used in examining the long run relationship between two variables
is that of “cointegration,” which is the statistical equivalent of examining equilibrium and disequilibrium
conditions between to variables with regards to their long run time paths. Under this concept a measure of the
amount required to maintain equilibrium between two variables is estimated, using an error correction model.
Using this method requires the variables in the analysis to be integrated of order 1. This paper develops a
model for examining the long run relations between exports, imports and output growth for the economy of
Liberia using a new data for series from 1970 -2010 (UN data, 2012). The methodology is fairly standard with
similar studies by Hwang (1998) for Korea, Ramos (2000) and Ugar (2008)for Turkey, Mehdi and Motice for Iran
(2011). However, most incorporate endogenous growth model concepts and consider either Granger causality
or cointegration in modeling causality among long run relationships. The main objective of this paper is to
examine causality between trade sector variables and economic growth in the Liberian economy. The
importance of understanding the relationship between key variables is through the specification process of
determining the direction of causality in model building. Thus, understanding the direction of causality is critical
for the policy analyst.
11:30 – 12:00 pm: Cuttington University and Liberian Agricultural Development
Charles K. Mulbah, Dean of College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development, Cuttington University. Contact:
Cuttington University, Suakoko, Bong County, Liberia.
Cuttington University (CU) continues to contribute immensely to the development of Liberian agriculture
through manpower development, knowledge dissemination and leadership development. Prior to the Liberian
crisis 374 students received Associate degrees in agriculture at RDI. Over four hundred students have been
trained in various agricultural fields at the bachelor’s and certificate levels since 2003. Five hundred and eighty
students are currently enrolled at the College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development CASD) pursing studies
in animal science and health, plant and soil science and in natural resource management. The College has
embarked on extensive student practical activities and internship programs to provide students with the
necessary skills needed to contribute to agricultural development in Liberia. CASD has also designed student led
entrepreneurship activities geared towards enabling students to learn that agriculture is a business. CASD and
the EHELD contract faculty are providing agriculture information to local farmers and agricultural enterprises to
enhance their production.
1:30 – 2:00 pm: Governance, Budget Deficits and Financial Crises: the Role of Government in the Liberian
Bank Failures
George P. Gonpu, Assistant Professor of Economics Anisfield School of Business, Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Mahwah, NJ 07601. Contact: ggonpu@gmail.com.
Since 2007, when the financial crises which caused the great recession in the US began, researchers’ interests in
understanding its causes and consequences have increased. In addition, the role of government in mitigating the
social impacts of financial crises and in providing policy responses to prevent future crises have gained increased
attention (C. M. Reinhart and K. Rogoff, 2008). Long before 2007, Liberia had experienced waives of bank
failures which correlated with its military rule in the 1980s. Those failures caused significant losses of bank
reserves, personal savings and business deposits. The intense stress of losing a family’s lifetime savings and the
deprivation caused by the increase in poverty were primary in the deaths of many Liberians (S. Devine, 2001). In
light of these experiences, a number of questions remain unanswered. Notwithstanding, this paper explores the
role of government among the causes of the bank failures in Liberia. Particularly, it explores the extent to which
the institutional structure of the banking sector, its leadership at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and the use of
depositor’s funds in financing fiscal deficits, caused the Liberian financial crises. Data obtained from the IMF and
the CBL as well as from interviews with leaders from the Liberian banking sector and Liberian policy makers are
used to explore the link between political leadership, budget deficits and Liberian bank failures between 1980
and 2003. The paper’s results will contribute to the literature on Liberia’s experience with financial crises,
uncover the role of governance in the financial crises and provide policy recommendations for reforms needed
to achieve effective governance.
2:00 – 2:30 pm: Converting banks’ financial statements from current GAAP to IFRS in the Liberian banking
system: Challenges and prospect
Jedidiah Sazi Lawubah, Bank Examiner, Central Bank of Liberia. Contact: Warren & Carey Streets. Monrovia,
Liberia.
As a requirement for the convergence process into a single currency of the West African Monetary Zone
(WAMZ) by 2015, the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) set in motion the conversion process of banks’ financial
statements and reporting from the current generally acceptable accounting principle to International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS). The CBL did so by working with commercial banks operating in Liberia in 2010 in the
formulation and adoption of a roadmap for the conversion process. The roadmap stipulates that all commercial
banks licensed by the CBL must produce and publish their first set of IFRS compliant financial statements by April
30, 2015. The Liberia banking system comprises nine African banks including one Liberian owned which covers
nine of the nation’s fifteen counties. The conversion process will cover three tiers: 1. restating three-consecutive
year financial statements; beginning with an IFRS opening balance as at January 1, 2010; 2. Embedding IFRS
recording in the business process and IT/MIS infrastructure; and 3. Developing and training IFRS technicians
across the industry. Hence, this presentation will cover the problems and possibilities of the conversion process
as related to Liberia.
Session B (Room 113)
Educational reform: Moderator: Martin Kesselman
8:30 – 9:00 am: Reforming the Liberian Educational System through Quality Teacher Development Program
Michael Adolu Wannah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education, Department of Teaching, Learning, and
Diversity. Concordia University, Chicago. Contact: 7400 Augusta Street, River Forest IL 60305 or
michael.wannah@cuchicago.edu
Educational reform must start with a holistic and comprehensive quality development program. The need to
reform the Liberian educational system should be of outmost priority for the rebuilding and development of the
nation after the civil war. Education is the cornerstone on which every advance nation is built and a good
teacher is the source of providing such education. Ginsburg and Megahede argue that educational reform
should not only be shaped by the ideas and actions of national actors but also by global (ideological, political,
and economic) dynamics reform. The teacher is very influential in the daily lives of the students’ entrusted to his
or her care. Thus, the quality of a teacher is directly correlated to the students’ learning. This means that a welltrained teacher produces successful students. This paper offers a holistic and comprehensive quality teacher
development program that is anchored in the goals of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Education for All (EFA). This paper also analyzes the Finnish successful teaching training
model to explore avenues in reforming the post war Liberian educational system through pre-service and inservice teacher development programs. Furthermore, this study reviews UNESCO, World Bank and other
published documents to ascertain that role that quality teacher development program plays in the provision of
quality education based on a well-grounded student-centered teaching pedagogy. The author believes that
teachers in Liberia can meet the goals of the Education for All program when teachers are adequately trained.
9:00 – 9:30 am: The Importance and Impact of Technical and Vocational Institutions in Human Development,
Liberia a case study
Thomas M H Tweh, Student/CEO, West Point Health and Sanitation Organization, Inc. Contact: Township of
West Point 406 – B -002 32 street,West Point P O Box 5425. tmhtweh@yahoo.com
Considering the current state of affairs in terms of Liberia’s Development Needs, both the public and private
sectors need to collaborate in supporting the Human Development programs. Reference to the conference
theme, I wish to discuss both the human institutional need for Liberia. Firstly, the Human development aspect,
because of the war, Liberia is experiencing brain dream in the human development, and the labor sector,
because the present generations have been denied the right to Vocational training opportunities. There is a
vacuum in the development programs due to the lacks of skillful or technical people for these programs,
resulting to the importation of foreign staffs that have the technical expertise for the job markets as means of
filling the gap created. This is greatly denying ordinary Liberian the right to employment. Because of the lacking
of skills, Liberians cannot get better and long term job. Secondly, because Liberia beginning her development
journey, and the few skillful ones available are old (reaching their retirement age) the development projects are
employing the very few that are semi skill on a short term basis, leaving the large portion of the work in the
hands of the foreigners with higher wages, salaries and other benefits. To reduce the existing gap, I wish to
share my view looking at the conference theme; the following institutions are currently focusing in the direction
the conference wish to address but, how far are they?
Development and poverty reduction: Moderator: H. Rodolfo Juliani
10:30 – 11:00 am: The Quest for a Middle Class Liberia: A Case for Human Capital Development
Dr. Stephen Kaifa, Professor of Economics and Finance. Contact: 214 Center Grove Road, County College of
Morris, Randolph, NJ 07869
The appeal of human capital as a key factor of production in socio-economic development has been and
continues to be a major thesis and argument in both empirical and applied literature. Liberians are therefore
encouraged to expand and develop a robust educational system. Recently, a major government document
surfaced called “Vision 2030” which is to serve as a road map for addressing social, political and economic
challenges that confronts Liberia. Chief among its many basic ideologies is the “Aim to Transform Liberia into a
Middle-Income Country by 2030”. Is this goal attainable with strong human capital development? The main
theme of this paper is to explore and validate the polarizations among demographic realities, labor market
structure, human capital expansion and negative externalities in Liberia. Then determine the likelihood and
probability of a convergence for transformation of a vibrant middle class Liberians in the future. To expound
this, I will use past and present documentary evidence (literature), Gini Coefficient and Lorenz Curve (this will
address distribution of income), joint ratio relationship (this will address policy concern between income and
economic growth), Pareto Optimization Principle (this will address growth determinants and human capital
accumulation). The making of a middle-class society requires that I also take account the Time Value of Money.
This is an original and fresh dimension to this topic and an important aspect of the discussion. To facilitate this
research, I’ll extract data from the following sources; IMF, World Bank, UNPD, African Development Bank,
Liberia National of Bank and Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Info Services.
11:00 – 11:30 pm: Liberia: A Country in Search of a Vision
James S. Guseh, J.D., Ph.D., Department of Public Administration. Department of Public Administration North
Carolina Central University. Durham, NC 27707, Contact: 919-530-5201, jguseh@nccu.edu.
Although Liberia is Africa’s oldest independent Republic, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Its
income per capita in 2011 was $400, ranking it next to the poorest country in the world, i.e. 225th out of 226
countries. The purpose of this research is to show that a major contributing factor to Liberia’s slow development
is the lack of a national vision. However good the strategies are for national development, they must be
anchored on a pillar of a national or unifying vision, if they are to achieve their intended objectives. The
research will first provide an overview of the performance of Liberia’s political economy since independence.
This will be followed by a discussion of the importance of national visioning in national development. Next the
research will show how the lack of a national vision has contributed to Liberia being a poor developing country.
The research will conclude with the need to find a national vision that will unify the Liberian people to put the
interest of Liberia first for sustainable development.
11:30 – 12:00 pm: Poverty Reduction and Peacebuilding in Collapsed States: The Case of Liberia
Samuel Wai Johnson, Jr., Doctoral student & Drucie French Cumbie Fellow George Mason University School of
Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Contact: 4730 19th Street, N. Arlington, VA 22207. 302-353-2593
Drawing on data about Liberia’s three-year Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), this paper uses Azar’s (1991)
framework of structural underdevelopment and conflict prevention to examine the extent to which post-conflict
Liberia PRS has addressed the country’s Hobbesian development problem, the fundamental cause of the
country’s civil war from 1989 – 2003 and set the country on the track of stability and sustainable development.
The PRS, launched in 2008, was a boldface attempt by the government to address Liberia’s Hobbesian
development challenge as part of the country’s rebirthing and reconciliation process. Despite its modest gains,
Liberia remains faced with scaring development indicators and similar governance questions that generated the
14-year conflict. Besides, the case of Liberia presents questions about the definition of participation in postconflict PRS process and how differentiated is a peacebuilding approach that is tagged as “conflict-sensitive”
such as Liberia’s PRSP from that of liberal peacebuilding.
Panel Discussions
2:30 – 3:30 pm: Liberia, West Africa, and the U.S. War on Terror:
Moderator: Edward Lama Wonkeryor
Terrorism has become endemic in global societies thus culminating in the infinite destruction of lives and
property. Adversely affected is the United States, with the atrocious September 11, 2001 attacks on the World
Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. which resulted in the deaths of untold
numbers of Americans and property. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, additional terrorist’s
attacks on American interests in Kenya and Tanzania and elsewhere in the world had taken place. Also,
unsuccessful terrorist’s attacks had taken place on the American soil. Because of this, the U.S. has declared war
on terrorism with the aim of safeguarding its national and geostrategic interests. After the terrorist’s attacks on
U.S.’s interests in Africa, the U.S. government has committed much financial resources, technical and military
assistance to governments in Africa and in other parts of the world, to fight terrorism. Within this setting, this
panel discussion will explore the dimensionality of the U.S. war on terror in West Africa in general and the
Liberian nexus in particular. Equally significant, the panel will also examine the regional and sub- regional
security implications in Africa as far as the U.S.’s war on terror is concerned.
Edward Lama Wonkeryor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Teaching/Instructional). Affiliated Graduate Faculty,
African American Studies, Gladfelter Hall, Contact: Rm 816. 1115 W. Berks Street. Philadelphia, PA 19122,
Temple University, lama@temple.edu.
Emmanuel O. Oritsejafor, Ph.D., Professor & Interim Chair, Political Science Department. North Carolina Central
University. Contact: 101D Edmonds Classroom Building. 1801 Fayetteville St. Durham NC 27707
eoritsejafor@nccu.edu.
Dr. William Allen, Director General, Civil Service Agency, Republic of Liberia. Contact: cwilliamallen@yahoo.com.
Dr. George Klay Kieh, Jr., Professor, Political Science & African Studies, University of West Georgia. Contact:
1601 Maple St, Carrollton, GA 30118. gkieh@westga.edu
3:30 – 4:30 pm: National Development and the Reality of the Liberian Classroom: Training Those Who Teach
Moderator: John Victor Singler and Blidi Stemn. john.singler@nyu.edu. 212-998-7959
In the clamor for funding in Liberia, the cries of the nation’s students and teachers have scarcely been
heard. While national leaders have championed education in their speeches, a visit to a Liberian school or the
mere inspection of a student’s copybook reveals that their rhetoric does not jibe with reality. To the peril of the
next generations, Liberia’s citizens are failing to heed the truism that, the longer it takes for Liberian schools to
recover from the national trauma, the longer it will take Liberia to function effectively as a nation. Does anyone
dispute that education is the foundation for all life skills? The papers in this panel focus on steps that are being
taken to train teachers who are already in the classroom, most of them without any training in how to teach.
The papers do not represent sweeping attempts to solve all of Liberia’s educational problems at every level in
every school in every county. Rather, they represent work in progress to deal with specific groups of teachers in
specific subject areas and locales. Recognizing the prime importance of early childhood education (the child who
has been provided with a strong foundation in the earliest years of schooling will be better prepared to learn
throughout his or her schooling), two of the papers focus on teacher training at this level. Virginia Hesel and Pat
Reilly report on the work that Friends of Liberia (FOL) has done in working with teachers and principals in prekindergarten through third grade in rural communities in five counties since 1999. Their paper reports both on
FOL’s efforts to improve the quality of early childhood education in rural Liberia with in-service training and also
its current efforts to form a network for the dissemination of good teaching practices from teacher to teacher.
Blidi Stemn’s paper assesses the first of an ongoing series of workshops on the teaching of math and science
that he has conducted for elementary school teachers in Harper, Maryland County. The framework that he
employs includes coaching, mentoring, reflective analysis, and the creation of culturally relevant materials as
ways to develop subject-matter knowledge and improve instructional practices. Finally, John Singler’s paper
provides a technique for use with teachers of more advanced students, specifically in the training of writing.
Independent of schools and their curricula, text-messaging (SMS) has emerged among Liberian students as a
venue of high creativity. Singler will propose ways for developing that creativity and for extending it from the
cell phone to the classroom.
Format of the panel: After the introduction by Singler, the panel will consist of the following papers:
Addressing the Shortage of Trained Early Childhood Educators in Rural Liberia through In-Service Teacher
Training. Virginia C. Hesel, Former Director of the Lower School of the Winsor School, Boston, MA, and Pat
Reilly, Vice President, Friends of Liberia
School-Based Professional Development of Teachers: A Pilot Project in Harper. Dr. Blidi Stemn, Associate
Professor, Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership, Hofstra University; Executive Director, Education
First
“I just 1 2 tell u hw gr8 n 1d4 u r”: Using Text Messages as a Medium for Teaching Writing. Dr. John Victor
Singler, Professor, Department of Linguistics, New York University.
Poster Abstracts
Examining Gender Based Violence and Abuse among Liberian School Students in Four Counties: An
Exploratory Study: A Joint Project between Rutgers University and Cuttington University.
Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW Associate Professor & Director. Rebecca Davis and Gretchen Hoge. Center on
Violence Against Women & Children, Rutgers University, School of Social Work
The objective of the Cuttington University and Rutgers University study is to assess Gender Based Violence (GBV)
against children and youth in schools in four counties in Liberia: Bong, Grand Bassa, Grande Gedeh and
Montserrado Counties. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative methodology through four approaches:
1) an analysis of existing policies, laws, research, and other GBV documentation; 2) interviews with key
stakeholders regarding their perspectives on GBV; 3) separate focus groups with students, teachers, parents,
and community members; and 4) an anonymous survey that was distributed to students in schools. The results
are a first step in providing evidence of such violence as well as provide recommendations for addressing GBV in
Liberian schools. Results indicated that sexual violation (i.e. peeping or inappropriate touching) was very
prevalent (87%) among both girls and boys. Sexual coercion (i.e. forced sex) was more prevalent than
transactional sex (i.e. trading sex for grades or money). Both sexual coercion and transactional sex were
reported by more girls (47% and 60% respectively) than boys (40% and 27% respectively). Approximately 38% of
girls and boys reported telling someone about their GBV experiences. Those students who did not disclose their
GBV experiences were also asked why they did not tell anyone. Answers included they didn’t think anyone
would believe them (43%); they were afraid of what would happen to them (41%); they were afraid of what
would happen to their family (38%); and they were afraid of getting kicked out of school (35%). The
recommendations from this study include: 1) address the gap between policies and practices; 2) develop and
implement comprehensive education and prevention programs; and 3) conduct further research.
Developing a new curriculum for the College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development: A collaborative
effort between Rutgers, NC State and Cuttington Universities
Charles Mulbah (Cuttington University), Rodolfo Juliani, Jim Simon (Rutgers University), David Jordan (NC State
University) and the EHELD team.
The Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development is a USAID funded program aimed to establish a
center of excellence in agriculture and natural resources at Cuttington University. EHELD and Cuttington
University have created the new College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development (CASD) that provides
innovation in agricultural research and education to support the socioeconomic development of Liberia. Some of
the strategic goals of CASD are to 1) develop technically and professionally skilled Liberians in key development
areas of plant, soil, and animal sciences and natural resource management. 2) Provide students with demanddriven education, research, service learning and community outreach approaches that meet Liberia’s
sustainable development priorities and provide practical hands-on training and skills development. To achieve
these goals the college was restructured in three departments, Animal Science and Health, Plant and Soil
Sciences and Natural Resource Management. CASD offers a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B.Sc. Agriculture),
with Major areas of study in Animal Science and Health, and Plant and Soil Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in
Natural Resource Management (B.Sc. NRM). CASD also offers flexibility to students for specialization in seven
secondary Minor areas of studies: Agribusiness, Agricultural Extension and Education, Agricultural
Mechanization, Animal Science and Health, Gender, Culture, and Agriculture, Natural Resources Management,
Plant and Soil Sciences. EHELD is a consortium led by RTI, Int. in concert with Rutgers University, North Carolina
State University, University of Michigan in concert with University of Liberia (in Engineering) and Cuttington
University (in Agriculture).
The new curriculum for the Division of Engineering TJR Faulkner College of Science and Technology (University
of Liberia).
Charles Carpenter (University of Liberia), P.N. Balaguru (Rutgers University), Francis Cooper (EHELD program).
Under the EHELD program supported by US AID, RTI, Rutgers University and University of Michigan are working
together to establish updated modern Engineering Program to achieve excellence in engineering in Liberia. Since
Engineering is the backbone for development of the country, US AID chose this field for support. Engineering
Division has very good physical infrastructure in terms of buildings but lacks in laboratory, library and classroom
support facilities. The curriculum was not updated for more than four decades. Therefore EHELD identified four
focus areas of: Curriculum development, Laboratory and Library development, faculty development and ways to
improve the quality of incoming students through summer programs. Substantial amount of work have been
completed in all these focus areas. Two scholars are completing MS at Rutgers University and a number of
faculties have been appointed to help the current UL faculty. The curriculum was revised to be in par with
international standards. A model program was circulated through international committee and a workshop was
held in University of Liberia to obtain input from UL faculty, local industry and government agencies. Comments
from this well attended workshop were used to finalize the curriculum and it was approved by UL for adoption.
Under the new curriculum there will be four majors covering Civil, Electrical, Mining and Geological Engineering.
There is also a program for Geology. Students with proper prerequisites will complete the degree in years. For
the first few years, the incoming students may have to take pre-engineering courses for a year and maintain a
prescribed minimum Grade Point Average to enter the Engineering Program. Details of the new curriculum will
be presented in the posters. EHELD is a consortium led by RTI, Int. in concert with Rutgers University, North
Carolina State University, University of Michigan in concert with University of Liberia (in Engineering) and
Cuttington University (in Agriculture).
Technology and Education in Developing Countries
Alan Heimans and Kelly O'Chan. Cornell Academic Technologies, and Advisor, Cornell Computer Reuse
Association
Venue:
The LSA meeting will be held in the Bloustein School of Public Policy, 33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, NJ. This
building is across the street from the Heldrich Hotel.
The Thursday evening reception will be held at Reception Zimmerli Art Museum, 71 Hamilton St, New
Brunswick, on the corner of George St. and Hamilton. We will have two vans that will transport conference
participants from the Bloustein School of Public Policy to the Zimmerli Art Museum for these that wish a ride
to/from the conference to the reception. It’s also an easy 20 minutes walk from Bloustein to the Zimmerli Art
Museum going down George Street and directions will be provided at the registration table.
Recommendations for area restaurants and maps of the city and campus will be provided at registration. A full
program and abstract book will be provided at registration.
Registration:
Registration is required to attend and present papers at the conference. General Registration is $100.00 /
Registered students - $50.00. There will be on-site registration. Checks and cash preferred on site! Receipts will
be provided.
Suggested Hotels in Area (approximate prices only at this time are provided below):
-The Holiday Inn Express,
brunswick/ebknj/hoteldetail
New
Brunswick
–ca.
$88.00.
www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/east-
-The Heldrich Hotel*, New Brunswick- $151-159.00 (this hotel is literally across the street from the Bloustein
School of Public Policy where the meetings are being held)
http://www.theheldrich.com/
-The Hilton, East Brunswick – ca. $99.00+. This hotel is within a 10-minute DRIVE to the Bloustein School of
Public Policy where the meetings are being held.
http://www.hilton.com/search/hi/us/nj/east_brunswick/0/0/0/0/0/0/20?WT.srch=1
-Hampton Inn, North Brunswick - $99
http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/new-jersey/hampton-inn-north-brunswick-new-brunswickEWRNBHX/index.html
-The Hyatt, New Brunswick- this is within a 10 minute walk to the conference.
Getting to Rutgers and the LSA: Directions
By Air: For out-of-state or foreign participants, the nearest airport to New Brunswick is the Newark
International Airport, about 45 minutes away in Newark, New Jersey. For those arriving from overseas, many will
find arrivals coming into the JFK International Airport and/or the La Guardia International Airport, both in New
York City and about 60 minutes away. The Philadelphia International Airport is about a 90-minute drive and
appears to be the furthest away from Rutgers. Bus and train service in addition to taxi service is available from
the airports that will bring you to New Brunswick. If you require shuttle service from the airports to your hotel,
you will need to make your own arrangements by calling State Shuttle at (973) 729-0030 or (800) 427-3207. At
the Newark airport there is a monorail that connects you to the New Jersey Transit where you’ll transfer onto a
local NJ train heading south to the New Brunswick train station. It is easy and there are many transit employees
that will direct you to the correct train. Once you get off at the New Brunswick train station, you can take a taxi
or walk 10 minutes to the Bloustein School of Public Policy and/or either to the Heldrich or Hilton hotels- all
located in downtown New Brunswick.
By Car:
From the New Jersey Turnpike (north or south): Take Exit 9 to Route 18 North. Take the New Street exit. Stay
straight through lights at Neilson Street and George Street. The Bloustein School is on your right at the
intersection of New Street and Livingston Avenue.
From Garden State Parkway South: Take Exit 129 to the New Jersey Turnpike South. Take Exit 9 for Route 18
North and follow the Turnpike directions above.
From Garden State Parkway North: Take Exit 105 to Route 18 North and follow the directions listed above.
From Route 1: Take Route 1 to the intersection of Route 18 and take the exit for Route 18 North. Follow the
directions listed above.
From Route 287: Take Exit 10 to Easton Avenue (New Brunswick). Proceed on Easton Avenue for approximately
7 miles until it ends at Albany Street (at the New Brunswick train station). Turn left onto Albany Street; go a
block and a half to George Street. Turn right at George Street and go four blocks to Livingston Avenue. Turn right
onto Livingston Avenue; the Bloustein School will be on your right at the next intersection, the corner of
Livingston Avenue and New Street.
Contact information:
For LSA information and inquiries, contact: Jackie Sayegh (jsb25@cornell.edu). Tel: (607) 255-6849 or Prof. Jim
Simon, jimsimon@rci.rutgers.edu or jesimon123@gmail.com; 848-932-6239.
For Information about Rutgers, CAS, local events and logistics, please contact: Renee DeLancey
(rdelance@rci.rutgers.edu) or Cliff Kitto (clifford.kitto@rutgers.edu).
45Th LSA meeting highlight:
Liberian Studies Journal
Editorial Policy
The Liberian Studies Journal is dedicated to the publication of original research on social, political, economic,
scientific, and other issues about Liberia or with implications for Liberia. Opinions of contributors to the Journal
do not necessarily reflect the policy of the organizations they represent or the Liberian Studies Association,
publisher of the Journal.
Manuscript Requirements
Manuscripts submitted for publication should not exceed 25 typewritten, double-spaced pages, with margins of
one-and a-half inches. The page limit includes graphs, references, tables and appendices. Authors may, in
addition to their manuscripts, submit a computer disk of their work preferably in MS Word 2007 or WordPerfect
8.0 (or higher) for Windows. Notes and references should be placed at the end of the text with headings. Notes,
if any, should precede the references. The Journal is published in June and December. The deadline for the first
issue is February 28, and for the second, August 31. Manuscripts should include a cover page that provides the
title of the text, author’s name, ad dress, phone number, e-mail address, and affiliation. Anonymous referees
will review all works. Manuscripts are accepted in English and French. Manuscripts must conform to the editorial
style of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMA), The American Psychological Association (APA), or Modern Language
Association (MLA).
The opinions expressed in this Journal are those of the authors and contributors and should not be construed as
representing those of North Carolina Central University, the Liberian Studies Association, or the editors of this
Journal.
Authors should send their manuscripts for consideration
by regular mail or e-mail attachments to:
All Book Reviews should be mailed to:
James S. Guseh, Editor
Liberian Studies Journal
North Carolina Central University
1801 Fayetteville Street
Durham, North Carolina 27707
Email: JGuseh@nccu.edu
Phone: 919-530-5201
Emmanuel O. Oritsejafor, Co-Editor
Liberian Studies Journal
North Carolina Central University
Durham, North Carolina 27707
Email: EOritsejafor@nccu.edu
Phone: 919-530-7589
Indexing and Abstracting
The Liberian Studies Journal is indexed and/or abstracted by America: History and Life (1970-); Bibliographic
Index (Jan. 1990-); Current Abstracts (Jun. 2009); Historical Abstracts (1970-); International Bibliographies of the
Social Sciences International Political Science Abstracts; Linguistic Bibliography; MLA International Bibliography
(Modern Language Association of America); RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de
Littermate (Musicale) (1973-). Ebsco Index (2009).