A NEW VICE-CHANCELLOR FOR CRAWFORD UNIVERSITY

Crawford university has appointed a new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Isaac Rotimi Ajayi. This was made official at a send forth ceremony organized for three of its administrative members. They are: the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Samson Ayanlaja: the former school bursar, Rev. E.O. Ajayi and the Outgoing School Counsellor Dr. E.O. Aramide. The send-forth was held on the 5th October 2015 at the school's multi-purpose hall.

After serving as the second Vice Chancellor of Crawford University from October 2010 to September 2015, Professor S.A. Ayanlaja, handed the baton to Crawford University’s third Vice chancellor, Prof Isaac Rotimi Ajayi , a seasoned administrator – erstwhile DVC at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State.
 Prof Ayanlaja, a Don in agriculture had completed his tenure of five years as the Vice chancellor of the institution at the end of 2014/2015 session. His adminstration was a commendable one as he, along with other administrative members, further lifted the school higher in the ranks of academic institutions in d nation.
Prof Ayanlaja’s era saw Crawford University obtaining 100% accreditation of all her programmes, the establishment of the Postgraduate College and the establishment of a new department – the Mass Communication Department.

Professor Ayanlaja was a professor of Agriculture with specialization in Soil Science and Environmental pollution Management. He holds a Ph.D degree of the University of Reading, England in 1981 specializing in Soil Chemistry and fertility, a B.Sc Agriculture (Soil Science) with Second Class honours Upper
Division from the University of Ibadan in 1975, a Certificate in Irrigation and Soil Management from the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Bet Dagan Israel in 1988, Certificate in Crop Weather Modelling from the Regional
Meteorological Training Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel in 2003.

The former Vice Chancellor also obtained an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) degree from the University of Ibadan in 1994 with specialisation in accounts and finance.
Professor Ayanlaja was a Senior Research Officer and Head of sub-station of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria before joining Ogun State University ( Now Olabisi Onabanjo University) in 1984 as Lecturer grade 1 and rose to the rank of full Professor in 2001.

He was the head of Crop Production Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University from (1996-1998) and the founding Head of Department of Soil Science1998-2000, the Deputy Provost of the Post Graduate School (2001-2005), Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Production and Renewable Resources (2007-2008), and Provost and Head of Agricultural Campus of the Olabisi Onabanjo University from (2008-2010). He was on sabbatical leave briefly at the University of Agriculture Abeokuta, in the
Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology before being appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Crawford University in May 2010.

He was at the Federal Agricultural Coordinating Unit (FACU) (1992-1993)
as the coordinator of the land management and agro forestry programmes of the World Bank funded Agricultural Development Projects (ADP) in all states of the country.
He was a Technical Aid Volunteer under the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Zambia between 1995 and 1997 as an agricultural Instructor and worked at the National Agricultural Development Centre (NRDC) in Lusaka.

The new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Isaac Rotimi Ajayi is no newcomer to academics in Nigeria. He, before this appointment, was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University and he had served in other academic positions before.


Professor Ajayi a Professor of Radiation and Health Physics was born on the 20th March, 1965 in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. He graduated from the University of Ibadan where he obtained a BSc in Physics (1987), M.Sc. Radiation & Health Physics (1993) and Ph.D (1994).

Professor Ajayi started his academic career as an Assistant Lecturer in l990 at the then Ondo State University and rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Radiation and Health Physics in the Department of Physics and Electronics, Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko. He has published in several academic journals around the world. His primary research interest is in Radiation Dosimetry, Radioecology and Radiation Transport. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles in referenced scholarly journals with 5 books, and more than 20 other publications.

He has also attended more than 40 academic conferences and workshops in Nigeria and abroad. He has supervised a Ph.D thesis and several M.Sc dissertations. He has served as External Examiner to the Federal university of Technology, Akure and the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. As a scholar, Professor Ajayi enjoyed the Federal Government of Nigeria postgraduate scholarship at the University of Ibadan in l988 and was a beneficiary of several International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) training in radiation protection and nuclear reactors.

He was appointed a Regular Associate of the UNESCO International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy in 2006 and served as Visiting Research Scientist to the Centre from 2006 -2013. He was also a visiting Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Germany between 2005 and 2007.

Professor Ajayi was the Coordinator of the National Space Research and Development, Agency (NARSDA), funded research projects in Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba –Akoko. He has also served on the NUC accreditation panel to university programmes.

Professor Ajayi has functioned in the Nigerian university system in several capacities including serving as Chairman of more than 25 committees and member of more than 16 University committees. He was the Head of the Department of Physics and Electronics at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, 2000-2004, and from 2005 to 2008. He was Director, Industrial Training Unit from 2001 to 2008; Director, Information and Communication Technology Application Centre 2010 to 2013 and Dean, Faculty of Science, 2008 to 2010. He was appointed the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University on 10th December, 2010 and served two terms of four years that successfully ended on the 10th December 2014. He was also appointed and served as Acting Vice Chancellor of the University for a period in 2014 . He is a member of the
Nigerian Institute of Physics and the Health Physics Society of the U.S.A. among other learned societies.

Professor Ajayi participated in the Leadership Development Course of the Association of African Universities in Kenya. He also took the 2014 University Management training course in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a graduate of the Management of Higher Education course of the Galilee International Management Institute in Israel and the Harvard University Extension School. He has been happily married for more than 24 years to Dr. (Mrs.) Adeyinka Ajayi, an Economic Historian and the couple is blessed with two children.

Professor Ajayi loves to sing and play table tennis at his leisure. Until his appointment as the Vice Chancellor of Crawford University, Ajayi was a sabbatical professor in the Department of Physics at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria.

He also attended College of Medical Physics, International Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy. A winner of several research fellowship both at home & abroad, Prof. Ajayi was appointed Professor of Radiation & Health Physics in January 2008.

From, crucampus.blogspot.com, We wish you Sir, a happy welcome to our school and we pray for you as we earnestly hope that your tenure would be Great and Worthwhile.