Kabale University Guild

We had a joyous event today at Kabale University as we celebrated Prof. Joy Kwesiga’s 21 years of service to the institution. Prof. Kwesiga, who was the first woman to serve as Vice Chancellor in the country, retired in June. Before joining @kabuniversity, Prof. Joy Kwesiga had served in several positions @Makerere, including being the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences. Like her name, through her service, she brought joy to the people of Kigezi and the nation at large. Through her dedication to transforming the university, she helped build an institution that has given Abayankigezi strong roots and wings to fly, compete, and serve the world. We are grateful for her distinguished service. At a time when she could have pursued other opportunities, she chose to return home and take a risk on a young institution started by the visionary elders of Kigezi. She joined a university that was still in its formative stages and helped nurture it into a public university of national significance. She transformed Kabale University into an institution that many admired and a model for transforming community-owned institutions into public universities. We are grateful to @KagutaMuseveni and Mama @JanetMuseveni for their unwavering support for the university. As Maya Angelou reminds us, when you learn, teach; and when you get, give. Prof. Kwesiga embodied this principle throughout her decades of service. She learned, she taught, she gave, and, above all, she inspired. I challenged the university leadership to build on her legacy by remaining relevant to the needs of our people. The university should also use its research capacity to help address the challenges facing the Kigezi sub-region, including poverty and malnutrition, and provide practical solutions that can improve the lives of our people.