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

Wangari Maathai named UN peace messenger

From page 6 of the Daily Nation, Wednesday 16 December 2009

Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai yesterday earned the title of United Nations Messenger of Peace. The honour will be conferred at the UN-sponsored climate talks in Copenhagen by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Messengers of peace are internationally known figures, who work to raise awareness of UN ideals and activities. Prof Maathai will be focusing in this capacity on climate change and environmental conservation.

Congrats to Prof Maathai on yet another honour!

Miriam Kinyua: Plant Breeding Researcher

Prof Miriam Kinyua is a well-known Kenyan plant breeder. She is an associate professor of biotechnology at Moi University, Eldoret. Before her appointment to Moi University she was a Centre Director at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).

Earlier this year, the Standard newspaper ran a story on a research project by a team of Kenyan scientists led by Prof Kinyua that has successfully bred a new variety of wheat – Njoro BW1 – using nuclear technology. The new wheat variety is resistant to drought and disease, and also produces high quality flour. Wheat is Kenya’s second most important crop after maize.

Below, reproduced from the Standard online, is the side bar of the feature article which gives some more insight into Prof Miriam Kinyua’s passion for her work in agricultural research.
All I can say is: More grease to your elbow, Prof Kinyua, and keep up the good work!

Scientist leads effort to green Kenya’s drylands

By Harold Ayodo

Her expertise in plant breeding has won her international accolades in the last 13 years. But never before has Prof Miriam Kinyua’s skills been more relevant than know, in the wake of global food crisis.

Recently, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) invited her to speak on nuclear plant breeding technology to decision makers at an international conference in Rome.

For the last five years, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has engaged her for several assignments and other international organisations have funded 13 of her research projects in 17 years.

"At work, I don’t see myself as a woman but as a competent professional," Kinyua says. To-date, she has published more than 30 papers in peer reviewed journals and presented 40 papers in international conferences.

President Kibaki awarded her with the Order of Grand Warrior for her contribution to national agricultural production through research two years ago.

Encouraging girls to embrace science, the mother of two says the course is not gender-based. With 20 years’ work experience, the biotechnology lecturer at Moi University was interested in science since she was a girl.

"My father encouraged me to follow my heart – science —, and he kept reminding me that I am a child and not a girl," she says.

She topped her class in sciences in high school and joined University of Nairobi for a Bachelor of Science degree course. She holds Master’s and PhD degrees in plant breeding from the same university.

The Alliance Girls High School alumni taught at Egerton University in 1987 before she delved into research. She coordinated wheat research in Kenya between 2000 and 2005 and now teaches postgraduate students.

She has supervised seven PhD and 23 Master of Science students in public universities since 1999. The seasoned scholar has been involved in several international scientific assignments that won her awards.

"The Government of Mozambique invited me last year to assist in formulating a biotechnology strategy for the country," she says.

She won the best project award at the KARI in 1996 and a certificate of excellence for outstanding scientific performance and contribution to agricultural research.

The American Biographic Institute included Prof Kinyua in its International Directory of Distinguished Leadership for her expertise in 1998.

"I aspire to make discoveries that respond to the needs of farmers," Kinyua says.

Credit
Ayodo H. 2009. Breakthrough on wheat. The Standard. Thursday 8 January 2009. http://eastandard.net/agriculture/InsidePage.php?id=1144003489&cid=465&. Accessed 15 July 2009.

Ayodo H. 2009. Scientist leads effort to green Kenya’s drylands. The Standard. Thursday 8 January 2009. http://eastandard.net/agriculture/InsidePage.php?id=1144003487&cid=465& Accessed 15 July 2009.

Patricia Kameri-Mbote: Accomplished Professor of Environmental Law

Patricia Kameri-Mbote is an Associate Professor of Law, an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and Chair of the Department of Private Law, University of Nairobi.

She has served as Acting Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi, Acting Executive Director and Director of Research and Policy Outreach, African Centre for Technology Studies, Nairobi. She was also a member of the Committee of Eminent Persons appointed by His Excellency the President of Kenya in February 2006 to advise the government on the way forward for the stalled constitution review process.

She has also been identified by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as a renowned thinker in the global environment and sustainable development field and served as a Policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Prof Kameri-Mbote studied law in Nairobi, Warwick, Zimbabwe and Stanford and currently teaches Biotechnology and the Law, Patents Law, International Environmental Law, Law, Science and Technology and Feminist Jurisprudence at the Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi.

She has also taught international environmental law at the University of Kansas; Trade, Environment and Law at the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa; and Women, Access to Resources and the Law at the Women's Law Centre, University of Zimbabwe. She has been invited to teach a January Term Course on Biotechnology and Law at the University of Ottawa in January. She serves as external examiner to the Faculties of Law at the Universities of London, Makerere and Dar es Salaam.

She is a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law and the Kenya National Academy of Sciences and a board member of the Kenya Copyright Board, the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE-Uganda); Resources Conflict Institute (RECONCILE) and Women and Law in East Africa (WLEA).

She has consulted for many international and national agencies including the UK Department for International Development, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Government of Kenya.

She has published widely in the areas of international law, environmental law, women's rights and property rights and participated in international, regional, national and local conferences. Patricia also chaired the Kenya Nile Discourse Forum from 2003 to 2005.

Her research interests include environment and natural resources law and policy, human rights, women's rights, land rights, intellectual property rights, biotechnology policy and law and economic law.

Source: http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/faculties/SOL/cvs/Kamerimbote.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2009

Another First For Prof Wangari Maathai

Congratulations are in order to Prof Wangari Maathai on yet another first.

Prof Maathai has made history yet again by being the first ever Kenyan to receive Japan's highest honour, the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.

The Japanese Government has conferred the highest decoration -- The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun -- to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2004) Wangari Maathai.

A statement from the Japan Embasy in Nairobi said the conferment was in honour of Prof Maathai's significant contribution for raising people's awareness on environmental protection.

"This is the first official decoration ever conferred to a Kenyan citizen by the Government of Japan," read part of the statement.

Maathai's 'Mottainai' campaign, which stressess the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle and repair for environmental protection, has made her popular in Japan.

Source: Page 4 of The Standard, 30 April 2009

Celebrating International Women's Day

As we commemorate International Women's Day today, I'd like to pay special tribute to Kenyan women professors for their noteworthy achievements in the field of academia.

You are an inspiration... hats off to you!

And to my fellow Kenyan women: Let excellence be our constant goal, whatever career paths we may have chosen, and let us always work towards making a positive, lasting impact in our respective spheres of influence in society -- be they great or small.

Wanawake hoyee!

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.

Top French Honours for Prof Miriam Were

Congratulations are in order for Prof Miriam Were on being awarded the title of "Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour" by the French President.

"Head of the National AIDS Control Council Miriam Were has once again been honoured for her contribution in fighting HIV and AIDS. A letter obtained by The Nation says France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy had signed a decree conferring upon Prof Were the title of Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour. The letter was signed by Mr Alain Joyandet, a top French government official. This award is considered the highest decoration in France. "

Source: Daily Nation, Thursday 18 December 2008

Monica Mweseli - Literature Professor and University Vice Chancellor

As the current Vice Chancellor of Kiriri Women’s University of Science and Technology (KWUST), Prof Monica Wanambisi Mweseli joins the company of Leah Marangu, Olive Mugenda and Mabel Imbuga – Kenyan women professors who are serving at the helm of universities (respectively, Africa Nazarene University, Kenyatta University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology). 

KWUST is unique, however, in that it is Kenya’s only university that caters specifically for women and focuses on developing the capacity of female students in the fields of science and technology.

A literature don and former Fulbright scholar, Prof Monica Mweseli has over 20 years’ teaching and research experience in literature and linguistics both in Kenya and USA. Her career in academia began at the University of Nairobi where she earned her BA degree in English in 1979, majoring in literature in English with minors in History and Religious Studies. She then proceeded to Atlanta University in Georgia, USA where she obtained her MA (1981) and PhD (1987) in English.

Between 1984 and 1988, Prof Mweseli taught Composition and Literature at Daytona Beach Community College in Florida, USA. She then returned to Kenya and joined the University of Nairobi’s College of Education in July 1988 as a lecturer in the Department of Literature. Five years later, she rose to the position of senior lecturer and in September 2000 she was appointed associate professor of literature, a position she holds to date.

While teaching at the University of Nairobi, Prof Monica Mweseli also held various senior administrative roles. In 1990-91 as chair of the postgraduate students’ committee in the Department of Literature, she was responsible for reviewing both Masters and PhD thesis proposals in the department. 

Later, as acting chair of the Department of Literature and Linguistics (1994/95), she headed committees that were responsible for introducing new academic departments, such as the Department of Music, the Centre for Performing Arts and the Department of Arts and Design. She also chaired the planning and budgeting committee for the proposed 10-year literature and linguistics syllabus.

Prof Mweseli has supervised several Masters and PhD theses at the University of Nairobi and a number of her former students are now lecturing at various universities in Kenya. She is a prolific author with a host of publications to her name, ranging from literary analysis articles, poems, anthologies, short stories and books. She has also presented several papers on drama, prose, poetry, oral literature and African literature at various local and international forums.

Outside the university arena, Prof Monica Mweseli is an active member of the Kenya Oral Literature Association (KOLA) and the Kenya Chapter of AAWORD, the Association of African Women for Research and Development. She is also a reputable drama festival adjudicator and has adjudicated at various district and national drama festivals in Kenya over the years between 1992 and 2005. She is also a devoted member of the Church of God, Nairobi and co-director of a non-governmental organization Aged, Children and Women Organization.

Ruth Oniang’o – Parliamentarian & Nutrition Professor

If there’s one Kenyan woman professor who has made an indelible mark on the development of nutrition training, research and development in Kenya and much of Africa, it is Honorable Prof Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o.

Prof Oniang’o also holds the distinction of being Kenya’s first professor of nutrition and she is probably the first woman nutrition professor in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

Academic career
Her career journey in the field of food science and nutrition began at Washington State University, Pullman USA where she received her BSc in Food & Nutrition (1972) and MSc in Human Nutrition (1974).

From 1977 to 1978, she worked as a Tutorial Fellow at the University of Nairobi, where she was also registered for her PhD in Food Science & Nutrition. She received her doctoral degree in 1983.

Between 1978 and 1988, Prof Oniang’o taught at Kenyatta University (KU) and rose steadily through the academic ranks of assistant lecturer, lecturer and senior lecturer. From 1988 to 1990, she served as associate professor of nutrition at KU.

She then moved to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and became the university’s first woman professor. Prof Oniang’o later attained the position of full professor of food science and nutrition in 1996 and also served as JKUAT’s founder Director of Graduate Studies.

Prof Oniang’o has served as external examiner for a number of universities in Africa and, in the process, assisted them to develop or revise their food science and nutrition curricula. These include: Kenya’s Moi, Egerton, Maseno and Kenyatta Universities; Tanzania's Sokoine University of Agriculture; University of Namibia; University of Zimbabwe and Malawi’s Bunda University College.

Locally, she has also served as a board member of the Egerton University Council, the Private Sector Governance Trust, the national policy think-tank Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

Internationally, Prof Oniang'o has attended and given plenary addresses to international congresses of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) and Crop Science meetings.

She has also authored numerous publications, many of which have been presented in local, regional and international forums.

Parliamentarian
In 2003, Prof Oniang’o took leave of absence from JKUAT following her nomination to Kenya’s ninth parliament by the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party. She served as a nominated MP from January 2003 to December 2007.

In her new-found capacity as an MP, she was able to address a wide spectrum of policy and governance issues that affect the common mwananchi.

For example, she brought a Bill before the House to address drought and famine, and supported the use of modern technologies, including biotechnology, by African scientists and policymakers.

She also supported a Bill to professionalize Kenyan nutritionists and dieticians. In addition, she used her experience as a trainer, researcher and development philanthropist to champion the cause of the youth, peasant farmers and women at the grassroots level.

Journal Editor

In addition to her university and parliamentary stints, Prof. Ruth Oniang’o wears an additional cap of Editor-in-Chief of the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND).

She started the journal in 2001 to provide young African university scholars with an avenue through which they could publish scholarly works related to food, agriculture, nutrition and development. AJFAND also serves as a capacity-building effort for budding academics from across the globe. Some of these young scholars also serve as interns in her NGO - Rural Outreach Program.

In this way, Prof Oniang'o is actively involved in mentoring and developing the next generation of African scholars by offering them an opportunity to participate in action research, present papers at scientific meetings, learn the art of writing research proposals, develop their skills in critical thinking, and gain experience in editing of scientific manuscripts.

Rural Outreach Program

Prof Oniang’o founded the Rural Outreach Program (ROP) in 1993 and is its first Executive Director. ROP is a non-profit community development organization whose establishment was triggered following the findings of an action research project by JKUAT. ROP’s main goal was to harness the intellectual resource of the university and connect it with the various capacities within communities to try and improve the livelihoods of the rural poor.

Through ROP, Ruth Oniang’o has literally transformed the lives of many rural poor families in the Butere-Mumias district of western Kenya and its environs. One of the things Prof Oniang'o is passionate about is the need for Kenyans of all walks of life to be able to obtain access to affordable health care.

Her innovative and top-notch leveraged interventions that have cut across the board have addressed a variety of issues including: nutrition and food security, wealth creation, women economic empowerment, environment, health and sanitation -- including HIV/AIDS, housing, education and poverty.

The Kenya Government awarded issued ROP with a certificate of recognition in acknowledgement of the organization's community-based development efforts. Farther afield, ROP has also been awarded special recognition by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Local and International Awards

For her outstanding service to her country in community development through action research and rural development activities, Prof Oniang’o has been awarded two national honours: the Silver Star in 1995 and the Distinguished Service Medal in 1998.

Internationally, Ruth Oniang'o won the Woman of the Year 2000 award granted by the American Biographical Institute.

Additionally, in 2006 she was granted the award of Fellow of three prestigious professional bodies: the International Union of Nutritional Sciences, the International Union of Food Science and Technology and the World Academy of Science and Art.

In 2007 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kenya Coalition for Action in Nutrition (KCAN) for recognition of her contributions to the advancement of nutrition and development initiatives in Kenya. In the same year, she was also successfully nominated Corresponding Member of the Medical and Natural Sciences Section of the Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences in Belgium.

Consultant

In Kenya, Prof Oniang'o has served on a number of national committees and commissions such as the Poverty Eradication Commission, the National Food Policy Committee, the World Food Summit and International Conference on Nutrition Committee, the National Standards Board, the Early Childhood Development Committee, and the Task force on Laws affecting Women and Children.

She has also worked as a professional consultant for organizations such as FAO, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a number of international and local NGOs and universities.

She currently sits on the Boards of the International Rice Research Institute, International Fertilizer Development Centre, and the HarvestPlus Program Advisory Committee.

She is always at the forefront of debate when it comes to matters of health care, agricultural research, nutrition and food security. She has participated in consultations at the international level and helped to generate decisions that have shaped global food security and nutrition.

Her grasp of African food and nutrition issues has often enabled her to be Africa’s voice at many international forums such as the World Nutrition Conference in 1992 and the World Food Summit in 1996.

In her political position, Ruth Oniang’o is a trainer with the International Republican Institute and a consultant with the Club of Madrid, a Club of about 74 democratically elected past heads of State and Government.

Prof Oniang'o is keen to see a Green Revolution for Africa that can enable the continent move from a position of 'beggar of food' to 'exporter of food'. She is a strong believer in restoring Africa’s dignity by ensuring that this transformation takes place. To this end, she soldiers on tirelessly in her academic work and through her NGO, often using minimal financial resources but always driven by her vision of a better Africa.

Prof Ruth Oniang'o is married with five children and three grandchildren. She presently works as a consultant, based in Kenya. She vied unsuccessfully for an elective parliamentary post in last year's General Elections and though her NGO suffered from the effects of the post-election violence, she was thankfully not physically harmed.

Prof Oniang'o remains committed to sharing her experiences with those who wish to learn from them. She can be contacted on oniango@iconnect.co.ke