By; BUHARI B. BELLO, Jos
The 14th Governing Council of the University of Jos has appointed a new Registrar for the university for a term of five years.
She is Dr. Rejoice James Songden who until her appointment, was the Registrar of the Karl Kumm University, Vom, Plateau State.
The University’s Governing Council considered the report of its Selection Board which interviewed candidates for appointment into the position of registrar and approved her appointment with effect from June 24, 2022.
The newly appointed Registrar, Dr. Rejoice Songden who becomes the first female to be appointed as Registrar of the University of Jos, was a Deputy Registrar in the Senior Staff Establishment Division of the University of Jos before she took a Leave of Absence to serve as Registrar of Karl Kumm University, Vom.
Dr Songden obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of Jos in 2002 and later a Master of Arts Degree in English also from the University of Jos in 2012. She later enrolled in the same institution for a PhD programme in English which she successfully completed in 2018. Dr Songden also possesses a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).
She joined the services of the University of Jos in 2005 as an Administrative Officer II from where she steadily rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Registrar in 2020 before being appointed Registrar in Karl Kumm University in 2021.
Dr. Songden has served in various units in the University of Jos, including Senior Staff Establishment Division, Faculty Officer, Faculties of Environmental Sciences, Education and Arts as well as in the Information and Publications Division.
The new registrar has held many responsibilities and carried out many ad-hoc assignments in the university, including Ad-hoc member, Committee on the Review of the Scheme of Service and Conditions/Regulations of Service for the University of Jos Press Limited, Member, Unijos Public Procurement Committee and Secretary Complex ‘D’ Appraisal Committee.
Others are Secretary Committee for the establishment of a Counselling Unit for the University of Jos and Secretary, Committee to Screen Students Credentials in the Faculty of Arts.
Dr. Songden is a seasoned administrator and member of several professional bodies and associations, among which are Fellow, Institute of Professional Managers and Administrators of Nigeria (IPMA), Member, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRC), Member, Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU) and Member, Association of Nigerian University Professional Administrators (ANUPA).
The new registrar who is also a Part-Time Lecturer I in the University of Jos, has published many articles in Learned Journals and successfully supervised several postgraduate and undergraduate level projects.
She is widely travelled and has attended many trainings and workshops in Nigeria and abroad.
Aged 46, Dr. Songden hails from Pankshin Local Government Area in Plateau State and is blessed with two children.
