Mary Abukutsa-Onyango: Professor of Horticulture

Prof Mary Abukutsa-Onyango
(Photo: AWARD News and Views blog)

The mention of research on African indigenous vegetables immediately calls to mind the work of an indefatigable Kenyan woman professor, Prof Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, who is well known in Kenya for her long-standing research on conservation of African indigenous vegetables and food crops.

Prof Abukutsa-Onyango is a full professor of horticulture at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) specialized in agronomy and plant physiology and with over 20 years of university teaching and research.

She holds a PhD in Horticultural Physiology and Nutrition from the University of London (1995) and an MSc in Agronomy from the University of Nairobi (1988). She was previously an Associate Professor at Maseno University in western Kenya.

She is widely published with some 100 peer-reviewed publications to her name. She has also received several national and international awards in recognition of her research work, the more recent of which include the presidential award of Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear and the top prize in the African Union Regional Woman Scientist in Earth and Life Sciences, both of which were awarded in 2010.

In addition to her work on African indigenous vegetables, Prof Abukutsa-Onyango is involved in conservation of medicinal plants and research on New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a rice cultivar that was developed by the Africa Rice Center to improve the yield of African rice varieties.

An astute leader, she has held five senior leadership positions within the university system including Director of the School of Graduate Studies at Maseno University and Coordinator of the Resource Mobilization team at JKUAT. She is also actively involved in developing university curricula, serves as an external examiner for universities and acts as a reviewer for several high profile scientific journals.

Linked to her teaching and research career, Prof Abukutsa-Onyango is playing an active role in nurturing the next generation of African women scientists by serving as a mentor with the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).

AWARD is a project of the Gender & Diversity program of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) that offers two-year fellowships designed to fast-track the careers of African women scientists and professionals delivering pro-poor research and development that benefits rural communities, especially women. AWARD is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Source: http://ke.linkedin.com/pub/mary-abukutsa-o-o-ph-d-ebs/19/b44/40

Florida Karani - Chancellor of Maseno University

On 17 December 2008, President Kibaki appointed Prof Florida Amakobe Karani the Chancellor of Maseno University during the institution’s eighth graduation ceremony. With this appointment, Prof Karani makes history as Kenya's first ever female Chancellor of a public university.

Prior to her new appointment, Prof Karani was the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs at the University of Nairobi, a position she held from May 1994 to June 2004.

Prof Florida Karani has a long-standing academic career in the University of Nairobi. She started out as a lecturer in 1969 and over the years rose through the ranks to attain the position of associate professor of educational communications and technology in 1988. She later went on to become a full professor of education in 1996.

Prof Karani has also held senior administrative positions at the University of Nairobi's College of Education and External Studies. She was the College Principal from 1988 to 1994 before being appointed DVC Academic Affairs. Additionally, in 1988 she became the founding Dean of the Faculty of External Studies.

Florida Karani is an accomplished author and presenter with several peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations to her name. On the international arena, she has been involved in training of trainers for the UN Economic Commission for Africa and UNICEF. In 2002 she was appointed a member of the Africa Regional Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge.

Closer home, Prof Karani has held membership positions in the Inter University Council of East Africa and Kenya's Commission for Higher Education. In 1994 she received the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) presidential award in recognition of her contribution towards improving the quality of higher education in Kenya.