UPenn, which is one of the eight private universities known
as the Ivy League in the United States, was initially established in 1740 as a
charity school.
It was later transformed into an academy in 1751 by Benjamin
Franklin, a future founding father of the United States, who also served as the
first president of the Board of Trustees of the University.
According to a statement by Osinbajo’s media aide, Laolu
Akande, the Vice President’s lecture on Monday will be themed around Climate
Change and a Just Transition, and is hosted by the University’s Center for
Africana Studies.
It was founded through the merger of the Afro-American
Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture at
the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. The Center is hosting the Vice
President’s Special Lecture in partnership with other faculties of the
University such as PennCarey Law, Perry World House, Wharton Business School,
Coalition for Equity and Opportunity and Perelman School of Medicine.
Besides the lecture, the VP will also participate in an
interactive session with students and faculty coordinated by Prof. Wale Adebanwi,
Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Prof. Osinbajo, a leading voice and strong advocate for a
Just Energy Transition for Africa and the developing world, is currently
spearheading efforts aimed at creating the African Carbon Market as one of the
pathways of a just and sustainable transition.
Prof. Osinbajo is expected back in Abuja right after his
engagements in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania.