Nigeria can boast of exceptional scholars with an international reckoning in the field of media and communication studies. One of such scholars is Prof. Nnamdi Tobechukwu Ekeanyanwu, who has made his mark in the specialized area of international communication. Prof. Ekeanyanwu is one quiet scholar whose academic and research contributions in the area of international communication are so loud that he is rated among the topmost respected Nigerian academics in this area. His reign as the National President of African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) Nigeria chapter has taken the council to an enviable height with professionally disruptive improvements. He has used visionary leadership qualities and strategies to move the council to the next level, making it one of the most sought-after professional bodies in the field of communication in Africa.
Who is Prof. Ekeanayanwu?
Nnamdi Ekeanyanwu is a Professor of International and Strategic Communications in the Dept of Communication Arts, University of Uyo, Nigeria. He hails from Imo State, Nigeria.
Education
Prof. Ekeanyanwu obtained his First, Second, and Doctorate degrees in Mass Communication, specializing in International Communication from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and Covenant University respectively.
Lecturing Career
Prof. Ekeanyanwu teaches core communication and organizational communication courses at the Department of Communication Arts, University of Uyo, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He was a three-term Head, Dept of Mass Communication, Covenant University and a former Director, International Office and Linkages at Covenant University. Prof. Ekeanyanwu is a SUSI Scholar: a U.S. State Alumni member and winner of the 2011 U.S. sponsored Summer Study of the United States Institutes for Scholars in the area of Journalism and Media Studies. He spent his Fellowship tenure at the Institute for International Journalism, Ohio University, USA. He is also a CIMARC Scholar. By the CIMARC Scholarship, Prof. Ekeanyanwu became a Short-Term Visiting Scholar to the University of Bedfordshire, the UK in 2014. Professor Ekeanyanwu is also a Grantee of TETFUND Institutional-based Research Grant for 2017-2018. He has written over 60 peer-reviewed articles and books and spoken at various international conferences in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Nigeria. He has supervised over 20 Masters Degree dissertations and four doctoral theses. Prof. Ekeanyanwu is the Editor of the University of Uyo Journal of Humanities and the Editor/Chairman Editorial Board, the Nigerian Journal of Communication published by the ACCE
Membership of Professional Bodies
Prof. Ekeanyanwu is a member and current National President of the African Council for Communication (ACCE Nigeria), member of the International Communication Association (ICA), Member, Association of Educators of Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and Member, Global Partners in Education, East Carolina University, USA. He is not just an unknown member of these international organizations but among the scholars making after proud with cutting-edge research findings and paper presentations during annual conferences.
Special Feat as CIMARC Scholar
Prof. Ekeanyanwu is the first CIMARC Scholar from Nigeria. He achieved this feat after winning the 2013-2014 edition of the Centre for International Media Analysis, Research & Consultancy (CIMARC) Scholarship for West African Researchers. He was one of the three West African researchers who benefited from the Scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic session. The Departments of Media and Law of the University of Bedfordshire, Luton, United Kingdom, sponsored the Scholarship. The scholarship made Prof. Ekeanyanwu a Short-Term Visiting Scholar at the University of Bedfordshire between March and April 2014. The Scholarship covered his international and local travels, accommodation, feeding, and subsistence throughout the duration of the scholarship tenure. During the scholarship tenure, Prof. Ekeanyanwu, who was referred to as CIMARC Scholar, delivered a research seminar paper, contributed a workshop to the sponsoring Departments’ Masters programmes in International Journalism and International Human Rights Law and engaged in discussions about possible joint research projects. The CIMARC Scholarship is sponsored by the University of Bedfordshire’s Media and Law Departments to support West African researchers to undertake short-term research on its campus in the broad areas of communication, democracy, human rights and post-conflict resolution.
Prof. Ekeanyanwu also won the 2011 Fellowship from the United States Government for a Summer Study of the United States Institute for Media and Journalism. He spent his Fellowship tenure at the Institute of International Journalism, College of Communication, Ohio University, Ohio, United States of America. The US Fellowship made Prof. Ekeanyanwu a US State Department Grantee, US State Alumni member and a SUSI Scholar.
Giant Strides in ACCE
Prof. Ekeanyanwu became the National President of ACCE in 2017. His inborn passion for communication education in Nigeria saw him champion the introduction of features that moved the council to a position of reckoning in Africa. Ekeanyanwu’s exceptional contributions which changed the face of ACCE began while he was the National Coordinating Secretary the Council from 2013 to 2017. This was a period the council was effectively aligned with the digital world, expanding the membership base with more online contacts, moving the ACCE secretariat into the cyberspace with visible advantages. He then became the National President in 2017 with more policies that made the council much more in line with what obtained in other international communication-based organizations/professional bodies of great reckoning across the world such as the International Communication Association (ICA) and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Today, ACCE operates in divisions, with more organized and specialist-based conferences and paper presentations. The membership base has continued to increase with more participation by Nigerian scholars based in the US and Europe. The Nigerian chapter of ACCE has assumed a more powerful position as one of the most-sought-after communication associations in Africa, a major reason for more participations from Nigerian communication scholars in the diaspora.
Founded in 1974, The ACCE is a non-political and non-profit-making organization concerned with the basic purpose of fostering communication education in Africa. It is the biggest association and forum for media professionals, educators in journalism and cultural studies and associated disciplines in Africa. Prof. Ekeanyanwu has ensured that the vision of the founding fathers of ACCE has only remained aflame but moved to an enviable height necessary for progress in communication education in Nigeria in today’s dynamic, digital world. He has brought his experiences as a refined scholar to the fore with a view to ensuring that scholarship in communication and media studies in Nigeria is at par with what obtains in the Western world. This, he believes could be achieved through a formidable association such as the ACCE.
Finally
Prof. Ekeanyanwu is a confirmed scholar, teacher, and inspirational role model. One contact with him could change a person’s career based on the advice he would provide on the next best way to achieve academic goals. If you ask around you would find that he has actually impacted careers of some of his colleagues through such one-in-a-lifetime contacts. He is among the few communication scholars in Nigeria
In today’s digital world where instantaneous access to information, cash-and-carry online publications and fast-lane promotions have seriously impeded the prevalence of quality communication education scholarship, few scholars in Nigeria still possess qualities that can inspire anyone to take up communication education as a profession. Their honesty, grit, and perseverance are rare virtues that stand them out in Nigeria’s communication education landscape. Among them is Prof. Nnamdi Tobechukwu Ekeanyanwu.
Source: Mass Media https://massmediang.com/prof-nnamdi-ekeanyanwu-meet-the-man-who-moved-acce-to-the-next-level/
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