Dr. Romelle Horton has been inaugurated as Cuttington University's 13th president.

Dr. Horton said her administration is in the process of renewing and redefining the university's strategic plans and cooperation to impact the lives of future leaders of Liberia and the world in her remarks at her investiture on Saturday.

Dr. Horton, the first female president of Cuttington, declared that Cuttington will concentrate on boosting the economy in light of the scarce employment prospects for the expanding Liberian population.

She emphasized the establishment of new initiatives, such as the National and Dental Therapy program at Cuttington's Masters School, as part of her administration's continued contributions to the national economy.

Dr. Horton asserted that she wants Cuttington to take the lead in academic integrity and pledged to "light, nourish, and build Cuttington." She reiterated the administration's goal of starting a doctoral program in do in 2023.

"A substantial lot of work is being done for the actualization of this program," she insisted. "The program is anticipated to debut in January 2023 with two tracks: Doctoral in Ministry (DMin) and Doctoral in Theology (ThD)."

She continued, "We are in conjunction with Trinity Dental at ELWA Hospital. Liberia Dental Therapy School is another program that has started. She added this is another need that they are filling.

The students in this two-year program, which officially began on October 3, 2022, will receive an Associate of Applied Science degree in dental therapy.

The objective, according to her, is to provide dental hygienists to all 15 counties in order to reduce the number of individuals who travel to Monrovia for dental care and even save lives.

We don't want to go back to the time when we used to hang the thread from the door doorknob and yank our teeth out. We are attempting to accomplish this, and we are grateful to be working with Trinity and Dr. Simon Stretton-Downes, who is the idea behind it and a fervent supporter.

Dr. Horton also mentioned the addition of a fifth school, which is known as "The School of Global Affairs and Policy," and whose dean is Elias B. Shoniyin, a longtime employee of the Liberian Foreign Ministry.

"In that School," he continued, "they also award a degree in Sustainable Development, another program that only Cuttington offers in Liberia. At that School, there are tracks for Hospitality Management and Tourism; International Relations; Foreign Service; and Diplomatic Studies, as well as several new programs that were also added to the School of Public Health; MSc. in Maternal Child Health, Public Health Nutrition, and others."

Private institution Cuttington University is based in Suakoko and has campuses there as well as in neighboring counties, notably the School of Graduate and Professional Studies, which is situated in Congo Town next to the CDC's main office.

The oldest private, co-ed, four-year university offering degrees in sub-Saharan Africa was founded in 1889 as Cuttington College and Divinity School thanks to a gift from Robert Cutting of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States.

Dr. Romelle A. Horton's whole biography

Dr. Horton, a Liberian native and ardent supporter of topics relating to education, growth, gender equality, service learning, and refugees, presently serves as the acting president of Cuttington University in Liberia, becoming the first female president in the institution's 133-year existence.

She received her Geographic Information Systems (GIS) degree as Summa Cum Laude (Valedictorian) from Voorhees College, a private Episcopal college in Denmark, South Carolina. Prior to completing graduate education and earning an M.A. with Distinction in International Service and Development at the University of Surrey, now Roehampton University, London, she spent several years working as a Solution Delivery Analyst for the multinational consulting firm Accenture, LTD.

She prepared the prologue for the volume two questionnaire, read and edited the book "Sustaining Liberia's Peace," written by Olubanke King-Akerele, and participated in the 2019 Queens Commonwealth Essay Competition and Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October 2019.

She also serves on the board of EcoBank, Liberia, and was a panelist on human development for the annual Africa Summit at Warwick University in the United Kingdom. She is the author of the 11th chapter (Education) of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Legacy Project, which is currently published. KEEP is an organization that plays a key role in building schools and reading rooms throughout Liberia.

She holds a doctorate in educational administration and leadership (education management) from the University of Botswana. She was called to active duty and served as deputy minister for construction at the ministry of education, chief government nominee for the Liberian West African Examination Council (WAEC), vice-chairperson of the WAEC International, vice president for academic support services at AME University, and an African Women Academics in Research & Development (AWARD) recipient.