Prof. Stephen Kiama, has been officially installed as the eighth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, taking over from Prof. Peter Mbithi. During his installation in Taifa Hall, Main Campus on June 5, 2020, Prof. Kiama promised to institute reforms and steer the ship in the turbulent waters.
“The University of Nairobi faces tough times and we must act decisively. We need to institute reforms,” he said in his inaugural speech. “We need to institute financial reforms, governance reforms even as we make key decisions based on data. We need a data management system. We need to re-engineer our business processes.”
The Vice-Chancellor promised to take a three step approach to fix the leaking ship; trim our coat according to our size and grow the bottom-line. He said he will eradicate internal wastage, attract best students and the best minds. “We shall trim our coat according to our size, even as we negotiate with the government to increase funding,” he added.
On internationalization, the Professor of Veterinary Medicine, pledged to attract the best students from abroad and the best minds in academia. He promised to grow the staff and students exchange programs with the best universities in the world.
In regard to the current COVID-19 pandemic that has made physical classroom learning impossible, the newly installed Vice Chancellor, challenged staff and students to embrace the new normal which is online teaching and learning. “We cannot sit and wait for the virus to disappear to resume normal learning. We may wait forever,” he cautioned.
The Vice- Chancellor urged staff to embrace teamwork and promised to lend a listening ear and with the staff support, he said the University will reach the Promised Land. “Let us retreat to our stations of work, embrace teamwork: Unitate et labore,” he said.
As a strong family man, Prof. Kiama paid tribute to his wife and children. He paid tribute to his parents, who persevered greatly to see him through school.
Education Cabinet Secretary, Prof. George Magoha, recommended the Vice Chancellor saying that he has a good track record in fundraising and building wonderful infrastructure. He cited the Wangari Maathai Institute as an example of the good work, the incoming Vice Chancellor had accomplished during his tenure as the Director of Wangari Maathai Institute. He urged him to take good care of the teaching faculty.
The Chancellor, Dr. Vijoo Rattansi, challenged Prof. Kiama to build a university for the people, by the people as advised by the First President of the USA, Abraham Lincoln. Despite the daunting challenges, she challenged Prof. Kiama to be a dealer of hope.
Chair of Council Prof. Julia Ojiambo, urged the Vice Chancellor to embrace teamwork. She challenged the Vice Chancellor to re-engineer university systems and processes. She pledged to support the Vice Chancellor.
Prof. Kiama was installed as the 8th Vice Chancellor in a ceremony that was witnessed by his three precursors: Prof. Francis Gichaga, Prof. Crispus Kiamba and Prof. Peter Mbithi.
During the installation process, several instruments and symbols of authority were passed down to the Vice Chancellor, these being : the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Universities Act No. 42 of 2012, the University of Nairobi Charter, 2013, the Universities standards and guidelines, 2014, the Code of Conduct and ethics for Public Universities, 2009, the University of Nairobi Statutes, the Seal of the University of Nairobi, the University of Nairobi Logo, the Professor Yajnik Fountain aka Fountain of Knowledge, the Custody of records and finally the University of Nairobi Mace. The Mace represents the authority of the University of Nairobi as an institution of higher learning.
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