NIEPA boss becomes UNIBEN Vice-Chancellor | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
25th October 2019
The Registrar of the National Institute for Educational Planning And Administration (NIEPA) has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
Lilian Salami, an home economics and nutritional education professor, emerged as the head of institution following a management meeting held on Friday, 25th October.
She succeeds UNIBEN’s ninth Vice-Chancellor, Faraday Orumwense whose tenure elapsed, also in similar capacity.
She becomes the second woman to become the university’s Vice-Chancellor since Grace Williams, who was Nigeria’s first female Vice chancellor, in 1985.
Born in Jos, North Central Nigeria on  8th August, 1956, Salami hails from Benin, Southern Nigeria.
Her early schooling started in Jos but was truncated by the Nigerian Civil War.
Both her primary and secondary education were then completed in  the Edo State capital.
She obtained her West African School Certificate (WASC) from Baptist High School, Benin City.
In 1975, she travelled to the United States of America, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point Campus and had her summer schooling in the University of Minnesota, St Paul.
She later moved to North Dakota State University, Fargo after she got married in 1977.
There, she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in 1979 in Home Economics and Master’s degree in Nutrition in 1982.
She returned to Nigeria in 1983 and enrolled to serve in the National Youth Service Corps in Benin City.
Upon completion of the national service, she made a brief start of her teaching career with the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo, Nigeria.
Between 1985 and 1994, she lectured Nutrition at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
In the midst of that, she earned a doctoral degree in Human Nutrition at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka  in 1991.
In 1994, she joined UNIBEN as a senior lecturer and rose to the rank of Professor in 2005.
In her desire to be well-grounded in teaching, she obtained a postgraduate diploma in education in 2001 from the University of Benin.
In 2004, Salami proceeded to the Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa as a post-doctoral fellow which she obtained in 2005.
She has held numerous positions at UNIBEN prior to the latest.
Salami has taught numerous undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Home Economics and Nutrition.
She has successfully supervised over 40 masters and 15 PhD students.
She is a fellow of Nutrition Society of Nigeria and International Federation of Home Economics/Home Professional Association of Nigeria.
To her credit are over 75 peer reviewed articles in national and international journals.