How I got 17-month suspension for fighting ASUU’s cause –Ushie, UNIUYO English professor The Punch Published 10 July 2021 Prof Joseph Ushie is the Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and an award-winning poet. He talks to GODFREY GEORGE about his life and career You recently became a professor of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts in your university. What do these mean to you? First, thank you very much for the recognition. Well, ‘professor’ is a title. Being a professor without the knowledge to back it up is bad news. A professor is supposed to contribute solutions to the problems in society. As far as I am concerned, what matters to me is not the title, but how much funds I can put into the bank of knowledge, so when anyone wants to withdraw from that bank, there will be something in the account. What this means for me, ultimately, is that I must keep working as if I were still working towards the title. I should not begin to think that as a professor, I have already reached the peak of knowledge with nothing else to learn. The title is not in my head; it is in my record. What is in my head is the need to keep working to justify that title. For me, the real recognition is the extent to which my existence has impacted on human lives.