University of Nairobi announces managers in newly-formed faculties

The University of Nairobi towers. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

University of Nairobi has kicked off the restructuring process after announcing new management in the newly formed faculties.

The university announced that all the academic activities have been reorganized and placed under Faculties of Art, Law, Business and Management Sciences and Social Sciences after abolishing all five colleges in July 9 reforms.

“The academic activities for the faculty of social sciences will continue to be managed at the Education Building in the Main campus where we have students,” read an internal communication by the faculty’s Executive Dean Professor Mohamud Jama.

The communication indicated that Mr Jama will head the faculty with five chairpersons heading the individual departments under the faculty and two administrators.

Professor Anthony Wambugu was named as the chairman of departments of Economics, Population and Development Studies, Professor Fred Jonyo will head political science, diplomacy and public administration department.

Professor Ndeti Ndati will head Journalism and Mass communication department, while Professor Charles Nzioka and Professor Onyango Ouma will head the Sociology, social work, and African Women Studies and Department of Anthropology, gender and African studies respectively.

Faculty of Social Sciences formerly known as the College of Humanities and Social Sciences will have two administrators- Leonard Musyoka and Philip Kivati.

“The changes to the naming of the departments remain in force as approved by the senate. The faculty will now have two governing boards to oversee the management of teaching, learning and research,” said Jama.

The management board consists the executive dean, all chairmen of departments and the faculty administrators while the faculty academic board will have all the academic staff within the faculty and student representatives- one for each year of study.

Already the High Court has halted implementation of some of the reforms announced by the Senate on July 9 but the Vice Chancellor Professor Stephen Kiama said the changes in the faculty are a result of Senate decisions that are not affected by the court orders.

“The communication does not touch on issues in court by unions. They are purely Senate decisions which are not in court. Even then we are also still in talks with the union over the issues," said the VC.