On July 28, the Office of International Affairs hosted the Liberian Ambassador to the United States, George S. W. Patten and several members of the Liberian community in Columbus to discuss partnerships. Agriculture and higher education were the main topics of the discussion.
Ohio State leadership involved in the meeting included Vice Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs Gil Latz and Associate Vice Provost Fernando Unzueta along with Adélékè Adéẹ̀kọ́, Interim Chair, Department of African American and African Studies, Humanities Distinguished Professor at Ohio State and Kaitlyn Witsaman, Global Gateways. Natalie Doe, a graduate student in the College of Medicine from Liberia, also attended.
The interests of the large Liberian community in Columbus were represented by Alpha Tongor, president of Liberians in Columbus, Inc., Emmanuel Wettee, elder, chairman for All Liberian Dual Citizenship and Joseph Sawo, Federation of Liberians in Ohio.
A career diplomat with more than two decades of experience in the Liberian Foreign Service, Ambassador Patten, Sr. has served in various capacities at the Liberian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Liberia to the United States of America, Ambassador Patten served as Charge d’affaires, a.i at the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations in New York, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Liberia to Ethiopia and Kenya.