– Leaked Documents Reveal
By G. Bennie Bravo Johnson
MONROVIA, LIBERIA – A leaked document has revealed a secret plan by the University of Liberia (UL) administration to terminate 100 faculty members, directly contradicting the core message of inclusion and collective problem-solving championed by President Dr. Layli Maparyan at her inauguration months ago.
The document, titled “Proposed Rationalization of Faculty Workforce, July 2025” and obtained by the Women Voices Newspaper, is signed by President Maparyan herself and addressed to the UL Board of Trustees. It coldly recommends “the release of one hundred (100) Assistant and Associate Professors, effective Academic Year 2025/2026.”
A damning handwritten note in the margin, a stark contrast to the bureaucratic language, lays bare the motive: “To accommodate thirty (30) former USAID project staff into key teaching and administrative roles.” This suggests a plan to replace a century of institutional experience and tenure with a smaller, externally-funded cohort.
This leak comes as the University of Liberia Faculty Association (ULFA) has brought all academic activities to a screeching halt, voting unanimously to strike over a litany of unresolved welfare issues, including unpaid salaries and deplorable sanitary conditions.
The revelation shreds the fabric of President Maparyan’s inaugural address delivered on January 10, 2025. On that day, she stood before the university community and declared, **“It takes all of us to make the University of Liberia great. Not perfect people, but dedicated individuals who deeply care about this institution and are willing to make sacrifices to see it thrive.”**
She further promised to “move rapidly towards regularizing faculty pay,” clean up payroll errors, and famously vowed to fix the campus’s dysfunctional bathrooms, stating, “It is impossible to work or study when plagued by the call of nature.”
Instead of solving these chronic issues, the leaked proposal indicates an administration preparing to jettison a significant portion of its dedicated faculty. The plan strikes at the heart of job security for mid-career academics and appears to prioritize the placement of a specific, externally-derived group over the existing workforce.
The disconnect between the president’s public vows of unity and the private reality of a mass termination plan has sent shockwaves through the academic community. It paints a picture of an administration allegedly preparing to solve its problems not through the collective sacrifice she invoked, but through a sweeping dismissal that faculty are calling a betrayal.
With campuses already paralyzed by the ULFA strike, which demands a signed Collective Bargaining Agreement as the only path back to the classroom, this leak injects a new and toxic element of distrust into the crisis. It raises a critical question for the Board of Trustees and the Liberian public: Is the university’s leadership working to build up its dedicated individuals, or is it planning to cast them out?
Coming of Dr. Maparyan:
Upon assuming the presidency of the University of Liberia in January 2025, Dr. Layli Maparyan announced that a critical first step in restoring the university’s status was to regularize faculty pay by implementing a comprehensive, corruption-free payroll system.
Dr. Maparyan, the university’s sixteenth president, made these comments during a media engagement on January 9th, following a meeting with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai at the Executive Mansion. Their discussions centered on the university’s future and its vital role in national development.
She expressed a firm commitment to addressing the institution’s most pressing challenges. “I will solve the problems that people never thought of and make everyone feel that the University of Liberia is a beacon, as the flagship university of the Republic,” she vowed.
President Boakai, who serves as the University’s Visitor, warmly welcomed Dr. Maparyan and expressed full confidence in her leadership. “Liberia is not new to you, and we are excited to have you at the helm of this historic institution,” he stated.
The President also commended the UL Board of Trustees for their diligent and unanimous selection of Dr. Maparyan. Board Chairman, Senator Numene T.H. Bartekwa, presented her to the President, voicing his confidence in her ability to tackle the university’s longstanding issues. Outgoing President Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh praised the selection process for its integrity and adherence to international standards.
Dr. Maparyan’s appointment, approved by the Board of Trustees under the University’s Charter on December 23, 2024, followed a rigorous search process. The Executive Mansion noted her prior connection to Liberia as a Fulbright Specialist at the university in 2010 and her receipt of the Distinguished Citizen Award for Service to the Liberian Community in 2009.
However, the appointment was not without controversy. While many praised the decision, some argued that a Liberian candidate should have been prioritized. Of the twenty-two applicants, most were Liberian, but the search committee ultimately identified Dr. Maparyanis
