By James Wakahiu
Mount Kenya University (MKU) installed its second Vice Chancellor, Prof Deogratious Jaganyi, at a colourful ceremony held in the main campus in Thika town on Friday.
Prof Jaganyi is replacing founding VC Prof Stanley Waudo who has retired after more than a decade at the helm.
Government officials led by Education Ministry Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Zack Kinuthia attended the ceremony.
“As the second Vice-Chancellor, you have Prof. Waudo’s standards that he has set for you to not only attain and maintain but also to surpass,” Kinuthia said.
The university chairman and founder Simon Gicharu announced that Prof Waudo had been appointed a council member at MKU and will be the chairman of the proposed Mount Kigali University of Technology based in Rwanda.
Prof Jaganyi promised to drive MKU forward in the new era of digital technology amid a global pandemic.
The new VC holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London, England.
A National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa rated researcher, Prof Jaganyi has won over $1 million in grants for his competitive research proposals.
He rose from Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture to Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science (DVC- HoC CAES)) at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa.
