The official appointment of Prof Isaac Ongubo Kibwage as the 6th Vice Chancellor of Egerton University closes the door on the era of former Vice-Chancellor Prof Rose Mwonya who vacated her office on 12th January 2021.
Kibwage who has been in an acting capacity as vice-chancellor of Egerton University now becomes the sixth VC of the financially troubled institution after a competitive recruitment exercise by the Public Service Commission (PSC) on August 24.
Prof Mwonya a village girl who beat all odds to become Egerton’s first ever Vic chancellor was born in a remote village in Ndenga-Aboke West Ugenya at a time girls were not allowed to go to school. She attended local Ndenga primary school and was the only girl in their class. Rose’s father was a government driver while her mother was a peasant farmer. However Rose was determined to achieve her dream although during her time as a student, women who pursued education sacrificed marriage and motherhood. She recently revealed how she sacrificed the first years of her marriage for a PhD. Rose went to do her her PhD at Iowa State University in 1987 leaving behind one and two year old young children with her husband who was willing to support her career growth.
During her tenure which began in January 2016, Prof Mwonya has presided over key reforms at the university managing to oversee crucial reforms and diversify Egerton University’s funding base. This year, Egerton University has once again topped the charts in Kenya, Africa, and in the world in the January 2021 webometrics ranking that scored universities on ‘Impact’, ‘Openness’, and ‘Excellence’. In the most recent rankings, Egerton University is presented as high-flying and is ranked as the best university in Kenya and 5th in Africa in the area of Impact.
Rose Mwonya was a student in my child development class at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA. I would like to reach her. Can you kindly help me locate Rose? Does she have an email address? I am located in the US.
Thank you so much.