Lincoln University loses two Nigerian Professors, Iz Osayimwese and Levi Nwachuku

Two retired professors of Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Iz Osayimwese of the university’s Business & Economics department and Levi Akalazu Nwachuku of the History department died after some illness on February 22 and 28 respectively.

Mr Osayimsese died in his retirement home in Providence, Rhode Island and is survived by his wife, Deneese, and three children while Mr Nwachuku died in his retirement home in Oxford Pennsylvania and is survived by his wife, Ugochi, and six children.

Before moving to Lincoln University, Mr Osayimwese had worked at the University of Ibadan, his alma mater as senior lecturer in the Economics department, after receiving a doctorate in economics at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He later transferred to the University of Benin as professor of economics and later dean of faculty of social sciences. He took his first retirement from Benin to serve for eight years at OPEC in Vienna as senior researcher. After OPEC, he came to Lincoln University as director of Banking & Entrepreneurship Institute where he also taught econometrics. Mr Osayimwese’s writings include Mathematics for Economics & Business with Bade Onimode, Development Economics and Planning: Essays in Honour of Professor Ojetunji Aboyade and several refereed articles co-authored at different times with G. Olusanya, Nurudeen Alao, Deji Ojo, and many others on subjects ranging from econometrics to transportation economics, and economic geography.

Funeral arrangements are to be announced later. Family can be reached on +1(610) 470-3674

Mr Nwachuku, an alumnus of Lincoln University, did his doctoral study in history at Michigan State University and taught at the Flint campus of the Michigan State University system before returning to Nigeria to teach history at the University of Maiduguri, where he served as Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities. He later re-located to the United States with his family as professor of history at Lincoln University and later as director of African American Experience Program. He served for many years as co-editor of Lincoln University Journal of Social Thought with Judith Thomas and as editor of Lincoln University Press till his retirement a few years ago.

Mr Nwachuku’s publications include Exploring the African American Experience co-authored with Niara Sudarkasa, Troubled Journey: Nigeria since the Civil War edited with G. N. Uzoigwe, A Grandmother’s Quest: Aah You Made It, Pride of Lions: A History of Lincoln University 1945-2007 co-authored with Martin L. Kilson and many journal articles.

Both Osayimwese and Nwachuku were two of many Nigerian scholars attracted to Lincoln University under the presidency of late Niara Sudarkasa, and Mr Nwachuku was pivotal to second wave of internationalization of Lincoln University’s faculty and student body about one century after the studentship of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, Kalu Ezera, K. O. Mbadiwe, Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, etc.

Funeral arrangements are to be announced later. Family can be reached on +1(484) 643-8088.