Fikre Dessalegn Boshe, Ph.D., Professor (born, 08.04.1968) President, Ethiopian Civil Service University Email: [email protected] Education (Diploma and Degrees awarded) Fikre Dessalegn is a Professor of Plant Ecology and Systematics at Ethiopian Civil Service University. He received Diploma in Biology from Kotebe College of Teacher Education (1987), B.Sc. in Biology (1994) and M.Sc. in Botany (1999) from Addis Ababa University, and Ph.D. in Biology (2006) in a sandwich scheme from Universities of Addis Ababa & Oslo. Experience in Teaching, Advising and Mentoring (1998 - 2017) He was Lecturer at Dilla College of Teacher Education & Health Sc., Debub University; Assistant Professor at Dilla University (DU); Associate Professor at Dilla & Hawassa Universities; served as a Professor at Hawassa University and currently serving at Ethiopian Civil Service University (Nov. 2016 to date). He has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses since 1998. Courses taught include: Tropical (Ethiopian) Ecosystems, Advanced Plant Ecology, Classification and Phylogeny, Advanced Plant Physiology, Cell Physiology, Cryptogamic Botany and Seed Plants. He has been advising several post graduate students for their Master theses. The graduate researches have broadly been focused on the Plant population structure and dynamics, Reproductive Biology, Conservation of Botanical diversity and Ethnobotany. He has also been mentoring female academic staff in her research carrier development through AWARD (African Women in Agricultural Research and Development) since 2013. Experience in Academic Leadership (Administration) Prof. Fikre has served at various academic leadership positions for more than a decade. He was a Registrar (for 2 years) and Vice President for Academic and Research (for 5 years) of Dilla University, Vice President for Academic and Research of Hawassa University (for 5 years). He has also been serving as a President of Ethiopian Civil Service University since Nov. 2016. Experience in Project Design and Management He has been involved in designing, coordinating and also served as a contact person for various international and local collaborative and consultancy projects, namely, Project 1: Building capacity of Universities in Ethiopia to enhance efforts to manage the country’s Natural Resources (Institutions involved: Hawassa University and University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Norway). Project 2: Conservation of Yams and yam bio-cultural knowledge in south and south west Ethiopia (Institutions involved: Hawassa University, Addis Ababa University, Arbaminch University and Royal Botanical Garden, Kew). Project 3: Ph.D. and Master Programs in Mathematical and Statistical Modeling - a partnership project (Institutions involved: Hawassa University and University of Science and Technology, Norway). Project 4: Children, young people and local knowledge in Ethiopia and Zambia (Institutions involved: Dilla University, University of Zambia and University of Science and Technology, Norway). Project 5: Situational Survey of Women and Children in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (Institutions involved: Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region – Bureau of Women and Youth, Hawassa University and UNICEF, Ethiopia). Key Memberships He was a member of Institutional Transformational Council and Curriculum Council of Public Universities of Ethiopia; Dilla University Senate and Administrative Council; Hawassa University Senate and Administrative Council; and member, Advisory Board for Institute of Technology at Hawassa University. He has also been a member of Wolayta Development Association (WDA) and participated in various development initiatives of the community since 2007. Prof. Fikre has been serving as a Board member of the following public institutions and professional society: Wolayita Soddo University; Kotebe Metropolitan University; Ethiopian Management Institute; Addis Ababa Melese Zenawi Academy; and Biological Society of Ethiopia. He is currently a Chairman of Ethiopian Civil Service University Senate and Administrative Council. Major trainings, workshops and conferences participated He attended Leadership and Management Skills training for Senior Education Officers, at L.T. Associates in Washington DC, USA, (2012); AWARD (African Women in Agricultural Research and Development) Mentoring Orientation Workshop, Uganda (2013); Aloes of the world workshop held in Pretoria, South Africa, (2008). Conference on Ethiopian studies held in Trondheim, Norway (2007); Conference organized by the Ecological & Taxonomic Association of Tropical Africa held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, (2006); Conference organized by the Ecological & Taxonomic Association of Tropical Africa held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, (2003). Distance Education Material (Module) Development Training Workshop organized and conducted by Educational Media Agency in Collaboration with USAID, BESO, UNICEF, the British Council, IICB – UNESCO and SIDA, at MoE, Addis Ababa (2000); Training of Tutor Trainers Workshop organized and conducted by Educational Media Agency in Collaboration with USAID, BESO, UNICEF, UNDP and the British Council, at MoE, Addis Ababa (2000). Major professional contributions Prof. Fikre served as an external assessor of academic works for Professorship of the following scholars: Dr Debela Hunde, Jimma University; Dr Admasu Tsegaye, Addis Ababa University (report not submitted); and Dr Tilahun Teklehymanot, Addis Ababa University. He has also been involved in design and appraisal (review) of different Masters and PhD curriculum in his field of specialization; namely Master curriculum in Botany; PhD curriculum in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem services, and PhD curriculum in Natural Resource Management. He has also served as internal and external examiner for several post graduate theses in different Higher Education Institutions of Ethiopia., Publications (1999 – 2016) Prof. Fikre has about twenty five publications including journal articles, review papers, books and book chapters mainly in the area of Population Ecology of the Monocots in the flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea. His current research interest broadly focuses on the Plant population structure and dynamics, Conservation of Botanical diversity and Ethno- botany. Reference Prof. Sebsebe Demissew, staff at Addis Ababa University (Address: e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]; PhD supervisor and external assessor of academic works for Professorship. Prof. Sileshi Nemomissa, staff at Addis Ababa University, (Address: e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]; PhD dissertation examiner and external assessor of academic works for Professorship. Prof. Barbara Stoecker, staff at Oklahoma State University (OSU), USA (Address: e-mail: [email protected]; Tel: 405 744 5040). Partner .