Prof. Aiah Lebbie

Prof. Aiah Lebbie attended the Roman Catholic Primary School in Tongo Field, before completing his secondary education (Form 1 to Upper Six) at Christ the King College in Bo. He went on to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree in Education (Biological Sciences) from the University of Sierra Leone’s Njala University College in 1989. Prior to this, he spent a year working as a Research Assistant on the epidemiology of river blindness (Onchocerciasis). Between 1989 and 1992, he served as Research and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences at Njala University College (University of Sierra Leone). In 1992, he was offered a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue his post graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA), where he obtained a Master of Science (MS) in Conservation Biology & Sustainable Development in 1995. He further pursued a PhD, which he completed in 2001 in the field of Forestry with specialization in Forest and Wildlife Ecology from the same university.

ProfileResearch & Teaching InterestsPublications
Education

Prof. Aiah Lebbie (PhD, COR), attended the Roman Catholic Primary School in Tongo Field, before completing his secondary education (Form 1 to Upper Six) at Christ the King College in Bo. He went on to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree in Education (Biological Sciences) from the University of Sierra Leone’s Njala University College in 1989. Prior to this, he spent a year working as a Research Assistant on the epidemiology of river blindness (Onchocerciasis). Between 1989 and 1992, he served as Research and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences at Njala University College (University of Sierra Leone). In 1992, he was offered a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue his post graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA), where he obtained a Master of Science (MS) in Conservation Biology & Sustainable Development in 1995. He further pursued a PhD, which he completed in 2001 in the field of Forestry with specialization in Forest and Wildlife Ecology from the same university.



Job Experience

Upon obtaining his PhD, Prof. Aiah Lebbie returned to Sierra Leone in January of 2002 to continue his career at Njala University College. He lectured for 3 years, before departing in 2005 to pursue management career as Country Director for the Environmental Foundation for Africa in Liberia. He was responsible for the implementation of a myriad of projects, through support from UNHCR, UNDP and Stichting Vluchteling – The Dutch Refugee Agency (SV), which provided assistance to displaced persons and refugees from Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia. The activities bordered on environmental sustainability, to school rehabilitations and sustainable livelihoods options.

In 2013, Prof. Lebbie returned to Sierra Leone to assume headship of the Department of Biological Sciences at Njala University for a period of 8 years, as well as serving as acting head of the Department of Wildlife, Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation for 2 years. In 2019-2020, he served as Dean of the School of Environmental Sciences at Njala University. Between 2013 to present, he also served on numerous university and national committees, including Faculty Representative to the University Court; Executive Committee of Court member; member of the Committee of Deans; member of the Curriculum Review Committee; Finance and General Purposes Committee; Infrastructure Committee; University Restructuring Committee; Sierra Leone Bio-banking Governing Board, Sierra Leone Ethics and Scientific Review Board, University Statutory Budgetary Committee, Sierra Leone Urban Research Center Board, and presently as Chair of the University Scoring Committee.