American University of Nigeria to hold founders day

By Maryam Garba Hassan

The American University of Nigeria (AUN) has announced that renowned public health don and chair of Tulane University’s Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer, Professor William E. Bertrand, will deliver the keynote speech at its 9th Founder’s Day and 10th anniversary celebrations on November 15.

A statement issued yesterday by the University’s Executive Director Office of Communications and Public Relations, Daniel Okereke, stated that the tradition of American Universities, Founder’s Day at AUN is a time for the university community to celebrate and reflect on the dream, vision, and generosity of its Founder, former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and its mission as a Development University.

The statement said Dr. Bertrand, with extensive experience in Africa and other parts of the world, has research interests in epidemiological methods, institution building, integrated monitoring and evaluation of service delivery systems among others.

A leading authority in public health issues and senior consultant on HIV/AIDS to the World Health Organization, Prof. Bertrand has directed numerous AIDS-related projects in Uganda, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo Democratic Republic, and Vietnam. He is the Wisner Professor of Public Health, Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the statement added.

Bertrand, who is the Vice Chairman of the AUN Board of Trustees, earned a BA in 1966 from Louisiana State University and a PhD from Tulane. Besides English, he is literate in Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Besides more than 400 presentations at professional meetings and conferences, Bertrand has written and co-authored numerous publications one of which is the joint work with Dr. Ensign entitled: “Rwanda: History and Hope”.