Jacqueline Oduol: Professor of communication and gender expert

Prof Jacqueline Oduol is a well known Kenyan gender expert. She is also specialized in child protection and children's rights, leadership, peace building and conflict resolution. She has played key roles in developing gender policies to increase women's participation in development activities in Kenya, and was among the first members of the National Gender and Equality Commission when it was set up in 2003.

Prof Oduol holds a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics, English and Literature (1979) and a Master of Arts in Linguistics and African Languages of Education (1981), both from the University of Nairobi. Her PhD in Linguistics (1990) was researched at both the University of Nairobi and Bayreuth University in Germany.

She taught at the Department of Linguistics and African Studies at the University of Nairobi and rose through the ranks to the position of senior lecturer. In 1994, she joined the United States International University (USIU) as a lecturer in comparative linguistics, critical thinking, intercultural communications and gender studies. It was at USIU where she was appointed a professor.

Prof Oduol has undertaken several consultancies on gender for a number of reputable international agencies such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UN-DAW).

She has also prepared policy papers for the UN gender agency, UNIFEM, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD).

In 2007, Prof Oduol quit her teaching post to vie for a parliamentary seat in Alego-Usonga constituency but her bid was unsuccessful. However, in April 2008, she was appointed the Secretary for Children Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, a position she held until May 2013.

In 2008, she received a Head of State Commendation, the award of Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS), in recognition of her work on gender mainstreaming.

Source: Ng'ang'a N. (2002, December 2). Gender agenda in politics. Sunday Nation. Retrieved from http://www.nationaudio.com

Naomi Shitemi: Professor of linguistics and Kiswahili studies

This blog post pays tribute to a renowned Kiswahili scholar, the late Professor Naomi Shitemi of Moi University, who passed away recently after an illness.

Today's Saturday Nation featured a moving tribute by Prof Kimani Njogu, the executive director of Twaweza Communications and the chairman of Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (CHAKITA). Here is the link to the feature article, Prof Shitemi: Unsung heroine who fought hard for Kiswahili language.

Rest In Peace, Prof Naomi Shitemi.

Lucia Omondi: Professor of Linguistics

Lucia Omondi is a professor of Linguistics and African Languages at the University of Nairobi. She holds the distinction of being the first Kenyan to obtain a PhD in linguistics; this she achieved in 1975 from the University of London. Her doctorate dissertation was on the syntax of the Dholuo language.

Prof Lucia Omondi has a long-standing career in research and academia, starting out as a research assistant at the University of Nairobi in 1971, then as a research fellow and later head of department at the Institute of African Studies, University of Zambia from 1975 to 1978.

In 1978, she was appointed to the position of lecturer at the Department of Linguistics and African Studies, University of Nairobi and later rose through the ranks to become associate professor in 1986 and full professor in 1991.

Prof Omondi also served as head of department between 1989 and 1994. Later, from 1994 to 2004, she was appointed the principal of the College of Education and External Studies of the University of Nairobi.

Between 2004 and 2007, Prof Lucia Omondi was a member of the Commission for Higher Education, the body that is mandated to oversee the quality of higher education in the country.

Source: http://profiles.uonbi.ac.ke/lomondi/files/cv_prof_lucia_omondi.pdf