Professor Babatunde Ipaye, A Teacher of Teachers And Professor of Professors. May 16, 1942 may have been like any ordinary day in Oka, Akoko in the Akoko South council of Ondo State, but when historians settle down to create and capture history, that day will forever be remembered by many, including this writer for the life and remarkable contributions of a man who was born on that day, Professor Babatunde Ipaye. Professor Ipaye, a teacher of teachers, a mentor, an erudite scholar and Professor of Counselling Psychology with tangible proofs to show, is a wonderful father of five and a truly devoted husband to one wife (our very Dear Mummy, Mrs. Christiannah Bamidele Ipaye). As we celebrate a defining milestone in the life of Professor Ipaye, we note the worthy contributions he has made. He stands out for his dedication to demon-strable servant leadership and academic distinction. He has been a worthy instrument whom God has used to shape the academic destinies of many people I am privileged to be among the number. Professor Ipaye, looking at his academ-ic track record has maintained academic and professional relevance. A counselling psychologist yesterday, today and several years to come, he has lived an accom-plished life in and out of the classroom, co-creating destinies and building leaders of the future. Professor Ipaye’s sojourn into the academia has been most humbling and inspirational. Between 1966 and 1969, he obtained the University of Ibadan’s Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree with Second Class (Honours) Upper Division with specialisation in Education and History, with French as minor. He also trained at the University of Ibadan in 1972 in Educational and Curriculum Evalua-tion at the International Centre for Edu-cational Evaluation. Between 1966 and 1968, he attended the University of Lome, Togo summer training programmes in the teaching of French: Direct Method under Professor Davis. To crown all these academic efforts, Professor Ipaye obtained a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Ibadan in 1975. He actually enrolled for the programme in 1972; mean-ing that he finished in record time. Professor Ipaye did not make any pretence of finding a career as an academic. So, early in his career he decided to teach. For some of us, his students, we found Professor Ipaye’s classroom an open space of intersecting connections of theoretical spins, inspirations, creativities, innova-tions and a platform for birthing of new paradigms. This has helped to situate our own pathways on tracks of emerging truth and trajectories. There was not a single iota of doubt in the minds of most of us his students that Professor Ipaye was born to teach and impart lives. No wonder his peers and colleagues quickly bestowed on him the mantle of leadership early in his career as a scholar, mentor and academic father. Between 1974 and 1976, he was a foundation/pioneer Head, Department of Education (in the School of Education) Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin. In 1969 through to 1974, he was a Lecturer at the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo and from 1978-1983, Acting Head, and later, Head, Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ilorin. As Foundation Head of the Department in a new university which opened in 1976, he initiated most of the programmes in Counselling Psychology, taught most of the courses and handled Methodology, Social Studies, Comparative Education, and the Teaching Practice for the Faculty from 1977 to 1979. Professor Ipaye’s academic leadership went beyond his immediate environment. From 1987 to 1988 he was the Director, Institute of Education (during the sabbatical year), Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti (now Ekiti State University). As director, he developed full-time and sandwich programmes at the Master’s level in various programmes in Education, Counselling, etc; part-time first degree programme for serving teachers, and a number of in-service programmes for teachers, schools and colleges. This was the first contact of the university with Distance Learning and it happened through the instrumentality of this versatile scholar of international repute. It is generally said of leaders that are not known in their home town or country; this is not true in Professor Ipaye who naturally assumes leadership position in times of strategic needs in several organisations he has served. From April 1991 to March 1999, Ipaye moved up the next level in his leadership service to the nation as he accepted his appointment as Provost and Chief Executive, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. For the eight years he served as Provost and Chief Executive of the institution, he helped prepare teachers for the secondary and primary levels of education. Adeyemi College of Education was founded in 1964 and had been a degree awarding college since 1982. During his tenure as Provost, he introduced the Postgraduate Diploma in Education under the auspices of the Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, to which the College was affiliated. Through this programme, employees of the college who had no background training in education were trained at the Postgraduate diploma level in education. All the academic programmes of the college were also accredited during his tenure as Provost. He introduced a number of new programmes, including Computer Education, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Hausa, Igbo and the Pre-NCE programmes. Ipaye’s pro-service oriented lifestyle did not end in the classrooms across the country but also in learned associations. He has been an active member of a number of Professional Associations in Education, Guidance and Counselling, Educational Psychology and Open and Distance Learning. He has participated in the selection panels for Rectors and Provosts of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education at various times between 1999 and 2001. He also played an active role in the selection of staff for the take-off of the National Open University of Nigeria in 2002 and became a Member, Governing Council, National Open University of Nigeria from 2002 to date. He has also served as a Member, Governing Board, National Universities Commission; and Chairman, Committee on Quality Assurance. We salute a teacher of repute; a bridge builder, a professor of professors and an inspirational academic leader of the 21st century! We praise God for his faithfulness in blessing humanity with a man of great wisdom, depth and insights, a great academic and scholar par excellence.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 01:28:06 +0000
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