Members of the university Community
Ladies and gentlemen,
Once again it is a great moment to reconnect after the short break that we took to participate in the general elections. As
good citizens, we did our civic duty with honour and we hope that in due course the new government will settle in office as soon as practicable. We look forward to engage the incoming government on pertinent issues that affect the higher education sector in the country. I take this opportunity to congratulate all our Alumni who contested and got elected to serve in various leadership positions. We are indeed very proud of them and hope that they will continue to inspire other members of the University Community through transformative leadership.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In 2020, we identified five pillars that will anchor the university moving forward namely, prudent financial management,
appropriate governance aligned with our core mandate, refocusing our curricular offering, gathering of relevant data to
inform decision making and being people focused. We have since then made significant progress on finance, curricula,
governance, on data and also launched a number of initiatives focusing on the people. Going forward we focus our attention on people reforms - because it is the ‘software’ that drives everything that we do. People are the most important assets of any organization. The university is about people! We are who we are because of the contribution of our members of staff, our students, our alumni, our suppliers, and our partners both local and international. There is no doubt that if we want the University to continue benefitting the present and future generations; to provide the
highest quality learning and teaching for our students; to lead in research, innovation and entrepreneurship; we must make targeted strategic interventions that focus on people. The people reforms is going to be guided by the philosophy for the need to inspire and connect with the Kenyan community, to provide leadership and stewardship and to give hope and faith to the Kenyan society that it can excel in whatever it chooses to do with passion, moral responsibility, and a strong sense of patriotism. As the University aspires to remain faithful to this philosophy and to fulfill its mission, it behooves on us as a community to occasionally pause to reflect and reinvent ourselves in order to remain relevant and impactful. “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails” Bertha Calloway.
I want to reiterate that the people’s reforms shall be anchored on the national values and principles of governance as
expounded in article 10(1&2) of the constitution of Kenya and the University of Nairobi values. The national values include inclusiveness, professionalism, good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability, equity, and sustainable development. The core values of the University include Freedom of thought and expression, innovativeness,
commitment, trust, and care. We have identified the following areas of interventions under
people reforms:
On students
- We are going to implement comprehensive Work-study
- programs for both undergraduate and postgraduate
- students
- To develop and mount new common courses aligned with
- the current needs of society.
- To develop strategies to enhance students’ graduation
- rate in all our programs
- To nurture and promote students’ skills and talents
- To promote a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation
- among students.
On Staff
- We are going to organize a mandatory Induction training
- for all members of staff appointed to management
- positions
- We are going to spotlight and profile the research and
- researchers in the University
- To develop and implement a result focused staff
- performance appraisal system.
- We are going to review the staff designations and align
- them to best practice
- We are going to promote development and
- commercialization of intangible assets
- We intend to eliminate all redundancies and optimize
- institutional output
- To develop and implement motivation strategies for all
- cadres of staff
- To develop and implement strategies to increase research
- activities by academic staff
On Corporate
- We are going to put more efforts to proactively enhance
- the Brand of the University
- We are going to develop and equip the disability resource
- centre
- We are going to implement digital transformation
- We are going to Name buildings and streets to recognise
- and honour our heroes
- We are going to develop and implement strategies for
- enhanced Internationalization and postgraduate students’
- admissions.
Alumni/Convocation issues
- We are going to develop strategies for engaging the
- Alumni and all members of the convocation in supporting
- University activities and programs.
- To recognize the Alumni who have made transformative
- contribution to the development of the University of
- Nairobi, or have made significant contributions to the
- industry or society.
- To involve alumni and members of the convocation in
- structured mentorship of students
- Partner with alumni to enhance endowment
The University has embarked on the preparation of the 67 the Graduation ceremony which is slated to take place on 23rd September 2022. I encourage all those graduating this year to make the necessary clearance on time and avoid last minute rush.
I want to conclude by thanking all members of staff and students for the unequivocal support. American author, Lawrance Bossidy, once said; “ I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you can bet on people, not on strategies’’.
Thank you and God bless you.
PROF. STEPHEN KIAMA GITAHI, PHD
VICE CHANCELLOR.