Dr Damtew Darza Sozo, serving as the Academic Affairs Vice President, has been elevated to the position of President of Arba Minch University by Ministry of Education on March 10, 2016.
The top position in the university fell vacant in the wake of erstwhile President, Dr Feleke Woldeyes, got shifted to Ethiopia Biodiversity Institute as the Deputy Director-General.
Dr Damtew, Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology, was appointed Academic Affairs Vice President on 19th October 2015. He also served as a Special Assistant prior to his elevation to the position.
He has endeared himself to the university community with unassuming style, got schooled from native district Chencha, South Nation Nationalities and People’s Region. He has had first degree in Pedagogy from Bahir Dar College of Teachers Education then under Addis Ababa University (AAU) in 1989. He obtained MA from AAU in 2000 and PhD from Andhra University, India, in 2011.
Spelling out priorities, he said, ‘‘Ensuring quality of education is of paramount importance; it will done by enhancing teachers’ skills through professional trainings and research will remain our prime focus.
Research thematic areas that primarily were engineering and water-centric have now been made more inclusive by incorporating bio-diversity, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary issues and Neglected Tropical Disease etc.
The present incumbent, started as a teacher in Eretria, where he served for a year (1990); thereafter, as Sawla Secondary School director for four years (1991-94). Regional Education Office later appointed him as the Deputy Dean for Arba Minch College of Teacher’s Education (AMCTE) for three years (1995-97).
With Master degree, he rejoined AMCTE as Head of Pedagogy & Psychology Department for four years including a yearlong stint as Administrative Deputy Dean (2000-2004).
He joined AMU as a Psychology instructor in 2004-5 and simultaneously was coordinator for World Bank-funded infrastructure project. He was also a Coordinator for AMU’s College of Distance and Continuing Education for two years - 2005-7.
After three-year hiatus, with PhD, he rejoined AMU as Assistant Professor in Psychology and had the privilege to design curriculum for MA program.
(By Corporate Communication Directorate: Philips Joseph)