Rosalind Mutua - First VC of Kenya's Only Women's University

In 2002, Prof Rosalind Mutua became the first Vice Chancellor of Kiriri Women's University of Science and Technology (KWUST). This is a private university and the first in East Africa that caters specifically for women.

Female students comprise a mere 20% of Kenya's university student population and less than one-fifth of female students are enrolled in science-based courses. KWUST hopes to change this scenario by bridging the gender gap in science and technology courses, with an initial focus on mathematics, computer science and ICT (information, communication and technology).

Before joining KWUST as one of its founding professors, Rosalind Mutua was the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Production and Extension at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Prof Mutua currently serves as the Vice Chair of Kenya's Commission for Higher Education, the body that is charged with accrediting universities and other institutions of higher learning in the country.

Though the KWUST website still has her listed as the Vice Chancellor, my recent email enquiry to the university revealed that she has since retired as VC and the position is now held by Prof Monica Mweseli.

I haven't yet been able to get more specific details from KWUST or Prof Mutua on her educational background and rise through the academic ranks, but I shall edit this post with the updates once I do.

Olive Mugenda - First Woman Vice Chancellor of a Public University in Kenya

In March 2006, Prof Olive Mugenda of Kenyatta University (KU) made history in Kenya by becoming the first woman to be appointed the Vice Chancellor (VC) of a public university. What is also notable about Prof Mugenda’s feat is that she was selected through a competitive open recruitment process and beat three male professors to clinch the post, demonstrating that in some cases a woman may just be the ‘best man for the job’!

Olive Mugenda has built an impressive track record of quality leadership through her professional contribution towards improving the quality of education in Kenya. Prior to her appointment as VC, she was KU’s Deputy VC in charge of Finance and Planning for four years.

After she received her PhD in Family and Consumer Studies from Iowa State University in 1988, Prof Mugenda taught in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, rising to become the head of department and later the Dean of the Institute of Applied Human Sciences. She also served as the Director of KU’s International Students’ Summer Program.

In the course of her teaching career, Olive Mugenda specialized in women’s education, home economics, statistics and research methodology. She also contributed towards the restructuring and diversification of the home economics curriculum at KU, placing greater emphasis on emerging topics such as environmental sciences, public health and HIV/AIDS management.

She has led several programs in support of girls’ education in Kenya at primary, secondary and university levels, and has received several awards in honour of her efforts in this regard. These include the 2007 Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute MBA Meritorious Award, the 2006 Elder of the Burning Spear presidential award, the 2002 KU Exemplary Service Award, the 2000 Atlas Alumni Award and Iowa State University’s 1982 Phi Kappa Phi Achievement Award.

KU recently made two noteworthy achievements under Prof Olive Mugenda’s watch as VC. In May 2008, the university was recognized as the best performing state corporation in the 2006-07 performance contract evaluations. In the same month, KU received ISO 9001:2000 quality certification for its excellence in accountability and operations. Of the seven public universities in Kenya, KU is the only one so far to receive an ISO certification.

KU’s star is shining brightly under Prof Olive Mugenda’s leadership and I believe that she can and will do even more to lead further improvements in quality of education and service delivery at the institution.

Olive Mugenda’s accomplishments are a source of inspiration to Kenyan women to strive for excellence in their careers, aim high and not shy away from competing for top-level jobs, especially in the public sector.

Kudos Prof Mugenda!

Leah Marangu - Kenya's First Woman Vice Chancellor

While Wangari Maathai is renowned as Kenya’s first female professor, having attained associate professorship in 1977, Leah Marangu bears the distinction of being the first woman in East Africa to be named a full professor.

Leah Marangu is also the first Kenyan woman to serve at the helm of a university, following her appointment in 1996 as the Vice Chancellor of Africa Nazarene University (ANU), a position she holds to date.

Prof Marangu received her MSc in Family Environment (1969) and PhD in Home Economics (1975) from Iowa State University. She went on to teach in several universities in the United States as a visiting professor and then returned to Kenya in 1977.

She taught Home Economics at Kenyatta University (KU), rising to become the head of the Department of Home Economics in 1988, which is also the year she was appointed a full professor. The following year, she won a Fulbright Scholarship which saw her return to the US as a visiting international professor until 1995.

In the course of her teaching career, Prof Leah Marangu has built a wealth of research expertise on women’s health, the role of women in food production, and science education for the girl child.

Through links with her alma mater, Prof Marangu has enabled several of her female students at KU to pursue higher degrees at Iowa State University, the most notable of whom is undoubtedly Prof Olive Mugenda, the current vice chancellor of KU. Talk about coming full circle!

More about Olive Mugenda in the next post. But suffice it to say here that through this one example, Prof Leah Marangu has laid a strong foundation for a lasting legacy of provision of quality higher education to Kenyans, and especially Kenyan women. This also lends credence to the saying “Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a nation.”

Prof Marangu has received several awards in recognition of her efforts to improve the quality of education in Kenya. In 2001, she received the Iowa State University Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest alumni award, in honour of her pacesetting achievements in the field of education.

Today’s Standard newspaper quotes Prof Marangu speaking at ANU’s 11^th graduation ceremony held last week: “Time has come for us in Africa to invest in a different type of education, Christ-centred education that produces individuals who are committed to servant leadership. At Africa Nazarene University, we are on the journey to transform Africa to economic prosperity.”

With a vision like that, one can only look forward to a future marked by yet more great achievements by Prof Leah Marangu and her students at ANU.

More grease to your elbow, Prof Marangu!

Miriam Were - Winner of Inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize

Next on the honour roll of Kenya's women professors is Miriam Were, in light of her recent award of the inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Services on 28 May 2008. The prestigious award was presented in recognition of her efforts to bring basic medical services and health care to women and children in the villages of East Africa.

Indeed, Prof Miriam Were’s efforts are a testimony of her commitment to community-based approaches to the delivery of health care in Africa. She is well known nationally in her present capacity as Chair of Kenya’s National AIDS Control Council (NACC), the organization that coordinates the activities of national and international stakeholders involved in Kenya’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Miriam Were’s excellence in the medical field can be traced back to 1973 when she graduated as the best overall medical student at Uganda’s Makerere University. She went on to specialize in community public health and received her Master of Public Health (1976) and Doctor of Public Health (1981) from Johns Hopkins University. Between 1974 and 1985, she taught Community Health at the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Medicine and was the Chair of the Department of Community Health from 1982 to 1985.

Aside from the local academic scene, Miriam Were has also distinguished herself as a medical professional of international repute and boasts over 10 years’ work experience in high-level international postings. She has served as the Chief Health and Nutrition Adviser to UNICEF (1985-90), World Health Organization Chief of Mission to Ethiopia (1990-93) and Director of the United Nations Population Fund Country Support Team in Ethiopia (1993-2000).

In addition to her work at the National AIDS Control Council, Prof Were is currently a member of the board of trustees of Uzima Foundation, a charitable organization she co-founded in 1995 that seeks to empower the youth through improved health, including prevention of HIV infection and malaria.

Additionally, she sits on the international board of AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation), an international African NGO with 50 years’ experience in providing poor communities in Africa with improved access to basic health care.

Wangari Maathai - Kenya's First Woman Professor

I believe it's only fitting to begin by paying tribute to Wangari Muta Maathai, an indefatigable achiever who bears the honour of being a woman of many firsts. Indeed, she holds pride of place for being Kenya's first woman professor and the first African woman to receive the coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1971, Wangari Maathai became the first woman in East and Central Africa to get a doctorate degree when she was awarded her PhD from the School of Veterinary Medicine, University College of Nairobi (present day University of Nairobi).

She later taught in the University's Department of Veterinary Anatomy, rising to become the head of department in 1976 (again, the first Kenyan woman to achieve this) and associate professor in 1977.

The story of Wangari Maathai's life is marked by trials and triumphs - personal, professional as well as political - which she talks about candidly in her autobiography Unbowed .

Of note is her struggle (together with colleague Vertistine Mbaya) against gender discrimination in the university in the 1970s. At the time, married women lecturers did not receive benefits like house allowance, insurance or pension as did their male counterparts. Reason? They were married so their presumably employed husbands were assumed to be receiving those benefits!

Prof Maathai acknowledges that the situation has since improved. She writes:

Since then, things have changed quite a lot. Now there are quite a few women members of the academic staff at the university and the terms of service have greatly improved for everyone, including women.

Here's more about Wangari Maathai from the blurb of Unbowed:

Born in the Kenyan Highlands, Wangari Maathai was educated in the US before returning to Nairobi to become the first woman in East and Central Africa to gain a doctorate, in 1971. During the mid-seventies she became involved in politics, founding the Green Belt Movement, Kenya's famous environmental and human rights campaigning group. In 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of her campaigns for democracy and environmental reform during the dictatorship of Daniel arap Moi. Now a leading politician, she lives in Nairobi.

In the disputed General Elections of December 2007, Prof Maathai was unsuccessful in her bid to defend her Tetu parliamentary seat. I believe that the main reason for her defeat was that she chose to stick to a principle-based campaign and not ride on the popular PNU-Mwai Kibaki wave that swept across the Central Kenya region.

But all is not lost. Frankly speaking, I think that because of her international acclaim as a Nobel peace laureate, Wangari Maathai is destined for much greater things and should set her sights on further enhancing her image of quality, principled leadership in international forums.

Wangari Maathai has made her mark in history and continues to be a source of inspiration in Kenya, Africa and beyond.

Tribute to Kenya's Women Professors

This blog is a tribute to Kenya's women professors -- Kenyan women who have scaled the academic heights and attained the status of either 'associate professor' or 'full professor'.

The idea for this blog came while I was recently reading Prof Wangari Maathai's autobiography, Unbowed: One Woman's Story. The book is a moving story of her work with the Green Belt Movement that she founded in the 1970s and her numerous struggles in the fight for democracy and good governance in Kenya. It's a good read and I highly recommend it.

I decided to take a look at the lives of Kenyan women professors and briefly document their life experiences as a source of inspiration and encouragement to young Kenyan women (like myself) to aspire for greatness -- not just in academia but in whatever career fields we have chosen.