Dear graduates,
It is with immense pride and joy that I congratulate you on reaching this memorable milestone. Your graduation is not merely the culmination of credit hours and examinations, but a testament to your intellectual curiosity, dedication, and profound personal growth. Over the course of your journey at our University, you have transformed from eager learners into thoughtful, skilled professionals ready to make your mark on the job market. This yearbook stands as a record of your collaborative work, late-night reading, and enduring friendships that have defined your time with us.
Preceded by Graduate Admission Test for those in the post graduate studies and concluding with National Exit Exams for the Undergraduate ones, your stay at St. Mary’s has been characterized by a relentless pursuit of excellence and an inspiring capacity for adaptability. Throughout your studies, you have done far more than acquire specialized knowledge; you have learned how to analyze complex societal challenges and continuously refine your approach to problem-solving. This resilience and commitment to high standards are the true hallmarks of your education here. By actively engaging in our academic community, you have contributed to a culture of thinking out of the box and rigorous inquiry that will inspire classes of students for years to come.
As you step beyond our campus to begin and, in some cases, to continue your professional careers, I urge you to carry this spirit of continuous growth and integrity with you. The world you are entering requires leaders who are not only highly capable, but who also act as catalysts for positive, systematic change. Remember that your graduation is not the end of your education, but the commencement of a lifelong journey of learning and leadership.
Congratulations, once again—you will always be part of our University’s legacy, and we look forward to watching you shape a brighter, and a better future.
Wishing you all the best,
Wondwosen Tamrat (PhD, Associate Professor)
President, St. Mary’s University
Welcome to St. Mary’s University (SMU) – a pioneer private higher education institution in Ethiopia with commendable achievements in teaching-learning, research and outreach activities. The driving motto of our institution has always been, “If education goes right, nothing can go wrong; if education goes wrong, nothing can go right.”
Our achievements over the past quarter of a century are a source of pride and motivation for both the institution and the sector at large. So far, we have managed to graduate more than seventy thousand students in the conventional and distance modes. In our continuous quest for improvement, we are increasingly building our institutional profile, strengthening the quality of our provisions, and the support systems created to respond to the ever-augmenting student needs and demands.
Our engagement and achievements in research-related activities are also remarkable, to say the least. The National Conference on Private Higher Education Institutions in Ethiopia, which SMU hosts annually, has been held since 2003. The institution has also been holding annual student research forum exclusively devoted to student researchers since 2007, an annual Multi-disciplinary Seminar since 2009, and an annual Open and Distance Learning Seminar since 2012.
Moreover, the Business Faculty, the Center for Law in Sustainable Development (CLiSD) and the Institute of Agriculture and Development Studies (IADS) regularly publish their journals which have won wide acceptance and accreditation both locally and internationally. Mizan Law Review remains one of the few Scopus indexed journals at a national level. In a similar vein, we run a wide-ranging publication scheme through St. Mary’s University Press (SMUP) which undertakes publication of school textbooks, readers, supplementary materials, and reference books for higher education institutions aside from the regular publications that come out from our International Relations and Communication Office.
SMU’s institutional links with local and foreign institutions are consistently and encouragingly on the rise. Our membership at such for a as the International Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, African Quality Network, International Council for Distance Education, Association of African Universities, International Association of Universities and our partnership with numerous international and local institutions is a clear reflection of our strong commitment to share and learn from others.
We continue to forge close and impactful relationship with the surrounding community, NGOs, neighboring schools, business and industry which in many ways is enriching the training we offer to our students and the social responsibility the SMU community needs to develop through such engagements.
Our faculty, support staff and students are one large family committed to ensure that St. Mary’s cherishes continuous improvement and keeps its vibrancy, transparency and accountability for which we are well known. We feel that we are strategically poised to demonstrate excellence in the years ahead. It is always a pride to be part of such an institution. I invite you to join us in this challenging but rewarding journey.
Wondwosen Tamrat, PhD, Associate Professor
President, St. Mary’s University
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