The President of International Relations of Sharda Group of Companies and Sharda University, Dr. Ashok Daryani, and the Dean of Sharda School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof. Dr. Anviti Gupta on Tuesday, 29th October 2024 welcomed the Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Liberia and Acting President of the Grand Kru Technical College, Associate Professor Dr. Josephus M. Gbal-hinnih Gray as visiting professor of Sharda University in Knowledge Park, Greater Norda, New Delhi, India. Besides, Dr. Gray serves as Sharda University Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia.
Dr. Gray brings a wealth of expertise with him that will provide students with opportunities to explore, discuss, research, and engage with him in the field of international relations and geopolitics with the world’s most pressing issues, says Dr. Daryani. Dedicated to research and academic success, Dr. Gray’s arrival represents the expansion of the unique and impressive MoU between UL and Sharda University. According to Dr. Daryani, the two institutions have a long-standing strategic focus on higher education collaboration and partnership. He continued: Dr. Gray is the first African and second from outside India to be offered the opportunity a visiting professor at the institution.
“The Sharda University is honored to receive and host you,” said Dr. Ashok Daryani, President of Sharda Group of Companies and Sharda University on Tuesday during a brief ceremony at his official office on the 3rd floor of the Administrative Cell, Block 2. “It is a significant achievement that highlights the importance of promoting UL and SU exiting ties and demonstrates a deep commitment to our partnerships and collaboration in several aspects.”
In appreciation of Dr. Gray’s role, to teach, hold interactive sessions with students, conduct research, and work with other professors on research projects Dr. Daryani presented an inspired gift to the Sawyer College Dean who is also a professor of International Relations, IBB Graduate Program of International Studies.
Dr. Daryani further stated that it’s important to show Dr. Gray appreciation and gratitude for educating and inspiring the next generation of thinkers and leaders.
In brief remarks, Dr. Gray said he was truly touched by the unique treatment, accommodation, admiration, and esteem accorded him. He used the fora to extend appreciation and gratitude to the Acting President of the University of Liberia, Prof. Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh for the opportunity given to him to travel to Beijing, the People’s Republic of China to attend the 7th Congress and Council of the International Confucian Association Meeting and to honor the invitation from ShardaUniversity in New Delhi, India to serve as Visiting Professor for two months. I’m truly grateful for the opportunities, Dr. Gray said.
Earlier, the Dean of Sharda School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof. (Dr.) Anviti Gupta and the Chairpersons prior to the ceremony in the President’s office, formally welcomed Dr. Gray to the institution and expressed interest to send at least three professors from the University for a semester sabbatical at the University of Liberia. Dr. Gupta also expressed her readiness to visit UL if accorded the opportunity to hold sessions, teach, conduct seminars, and help with the establishment of a Psychology program.
Dr. Gupta, a Professor, an accomplished academician, and behavioral trainer, earned her Ph.D. in Applied Psychology while her BA and MA are earned in Psychology. She has taught courses on Organizational Behavior, Abnormal and Clinical Psychology Counselling Psychology, Emotional Intelligence, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Organizational Change and Development, Psychology at Work Place, Social and Industrial Psychology, Managerial Counselling, Transactional Analysis, and Emotional Intelligence.
She is a certified psychological counselor and trained clinical hypnotherapist with other expertise in areas such as juvenile and adolescent problems like anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, materialism, and peer pressure with twenty-one years of experience to her credit. “I’m thrilled to welcome you to our campus and very glad to work and gain from your expertise and experience.”
Dr. Gray is assigned to Sharda University Department of Political Science Master’s Program and assigned course MOP 177. It is a four-credit-hour course and is taught on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The combined section enrollment of about 75 students contains students from 17 different countries with an age range of 17-22. Interestingly, students attending Sharda University are from 96 countries with female enrollment about 60% of the total population of the university.
The section offered on Tuesdays runs from 10:25 am to 11:25 am in room D1-BS7, while Thursday’s section runs from 8:35 am to 09:35 in room D1-BS7. The two sections scheduled on Fridays run from 8:35 am to 09:35 am in room F13-BS7 and 09:30 am to 10:30 am in room D1-BS7 in Block 7, ShardaUniversity School of Humanities and Social Sciences, respectively.
“It is also interesting to experience the diversity of culture, environment, and Indian meals. I have found the administrators, professors, faculty, staff, and students to be warm, friendly, and hospitable”. “They are people with a great sense of humor and treat guests with admiration.
This is a unique experience and hope that UL in the future will consider offering other colleagues the opportunity to undertake a similar experience in India and also reciprocate a similar offer to have professors from Sharda University join the faculty at the University of Liberia as visiting professor”, the Sawyer College Dean noted.
At Sharda University, students are required to register 75 percent of class attendance before they can be allowed to write their final examinations. Importantly, no faculty member is allowed in class to teach without sharing the weekly course lessons with the chairpersons of departments for review, scrutiny, and approval.
All course materials must meet the university’s standard under the Indian Government’s set guidelines for teaching at any university and college across the country. The course contents and materials must be approved by heads of departments before being used in class. Each classroom contains CCTV cameras used by the various chairpersons or heads of departments to monitor teaching and learning. The entire campus of the school is under 24-hour security monitoring with more than 4,500 security cameras.
The final examinations are prepared by the Office of Exams, not the instructor who taught the course for the semester. Also, the exam papers are graded by different professors and not by the course professor, while all exams, whether Mid-term exams or Final Exams must be Essay-based questions that are administered for three hours. As a matter of policy, no one is hired as faculty to teach or serve as administrative staff without expertise and use of computers which serves as one of the major requirements for hiring individuals at the institutions.
Meanwhile, Dr. Josephus M. Gray, who was appointed in January 2020 as Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College has a rich history of leadership within the university, including serving as President of the UL Student Press Club, Part-time Faculty, Instructor, Assistant Professor and now Associate Professor. He continues to make immense contributions to UL’s academic community as an Associate Professor of International Relations, IBB Graduate Program of International Studies. He is a native-born Liberian, who hails from the Southeastern Village of Kayken, Barclayville District in Grand Kru County, Republic of Liberia, but earned his childhood education in Harper City, Maryland County.
Dr. Gray has earned the highest level of education in his chosen academic field including a Ph.D. in International Relations and Diplomacy from the HELP-CEDS University in Paris, Republic of France. Dr. Gray further earned an MA in International Relations and a BA in Communication (Print Journalism) from the University of Liberia. Dr. Gray earned an advanced Diploma in Modern Journalism (2006) from ICFJ in Washington, D.C. USA; Diploma in Modern Diplomacy, (2008) from Chinese Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China; Certificate in Practical Research (2017), from BibliothequeInternational Library, Paris, France and Certificate in Digital Journalism (2006) from the World Newspaper Editors Forum. Cape Town, South Africa.
It is interesting to note that Dr. Gray’s 580-page Ph.D. dissertation titled: “Effect of Diplomacy: Liberia-U.S.-China’s Triangular Relations” was successfully defended in the presence of four academic jury of astute French professors including (1)Prof. Dr. Faund NOHRA, Associate Professor at Paris Descartes University; Prof. Dr. Souha AKIKI, President of Paris Graduate School/ Innovative Knowledge Institute; Dr. Prof. Michael STRAUSS, Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures and Human Rights and Dr. Prof. Michael LEBEDEV, Senior Diploma at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
At the public sector level, Dr. Gray has held positions such as Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia, Assistant Foreign Minister for Public Affairs; Political Counselor, Embassy of Liberia in Paris, France, and Minister Counsellor/ Charge D’ Affairs, Liberia’s Permanent Mission to the Swiss Federation and the United Nations in Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland.
At other levels, he earned diplomas and certificates in foreign policy Studies, international relations, diplomacy, print journalism, development communication, research methodology, and leadership from Paris, France; Genera, Switzerland; Beijing, China; Washington, D.C., USA; Cape Town, South Africa; Rabat, Morocco; Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal and Monrovia, Liberia.
Dr. Gray has wildly written and published over 300 peer-reviewed articles in local and international journals and three books. His most recent book characterizes the existing relationships among Liberia, China, and the United States of America as “triangular, and is on sale in 160 countries across the world. The book is reproduced in several languages including French, Italian, Chinese, and Spanish. Besides, the book published by Amazon has gained international recognition and has been produced as a film in the USA.
At the University of Liberia, Dr. Gray taught research methods courses in several departments including the Departments of Political Science, Communication and Media Studies, Social Science, and English and Language Studies, as well as teaching, research, publication, and capacity building. His extensive leadership roles have included Dean of the ACS College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chairman of, the Council of Deans, University of Liberia, Co-chairman of the Grand KruTechnical College, and Member of the Professor Amos C. Sawyer Educational Foundation; Sharda University in India Ambassador to Liberia and Member of Council of the International Confucian Association and Acting President, Grand Kru Technical College in Barclayville.
In the area of pre-reviewed publications, Dr. Gray has authored the following publications: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Impact of eLearning at the University of Liberia; Analysis of the Similarities and Disparities: The Tale of Liberian Press and Global Media Practices; Analysis of the Impact and Intricacies of Liberian Foreign policy and international Relations over the last 75 years; Comparison and Contrast of China and Liberia’s Contemporary Global Status: Analysis of CPC’s Scientific Theories Democratic Governance and National Development in Post-war Liberia; The Effect of Diplomacy: Liberia, US, China’s Triangular Relations.
Other pulsations include The Consequences of the Unforgotten Liberian Civil War; The Tale of Violence against Liberian Media: The Curse of Bad Governance and Rampant Corruption in Africa and China and African Countries’ Independent Exploration of Development Path, while his books include: Liberia’s Emerging Democracy: published in Paris, France 2012 and Effect of Diplomacy, published 2021 by Amazon, Washington State, USA. His contributions to book chapters include The New Dimension: Beijing Influence in Liberia and Analysis of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its Impact on Liberia’s Infrastructure Development.
Prof. Gray holds membership in reputable professional journals such as the International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Sciences (IJROSS), International Research Journal of Public and Environmental Health, and Academia.edu located at 580 California St, Suite 400, San Francisco, USA.
He is a member of the Africa-China Think Tanks Forum, in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, and a Council Member of the International Confucian Association, headquarters in Beijing, China. Dr. Gray also supervised about 46 MA Thesis from 2018-2021 and 16 BA Thesis from 2020-2023, respectively. He has won multiple awards across the University of Liberia and India.
