President William Ruto has appointed Equity Bank boss James Mwangi as the inaugural chancellor of Kenya’s fully-fledged virtual university, the Open University of Kenya (OUK).
The appointment comes just days after Dr Mwangi’s term as the chancellor of Meru University lapsed on July 20, having served in the position for two five-year terms.
The revelation was made on Thursday during the ceremony to award a charter to the university graced by Dr Ruto.
“I would like to thank you (Dr Ruto) for giving me the opportunity to serve as the first chancellor of this new university. I’m humbled that you have given me a responsibility to provide this service for this country on your behalf which I humbly accept,” Mr Mwangi said in his acceptance speech.
“You have bestowed on me the trust to perform the function of a chancellor just when my service as the chancellor of Meru University has just ended having served from 2013 to 2023. I can assure you that I will bring the insights that I’ve learnt to this new university.”
The appointee is a certified accountant, a career banker and an entrepreneur who currently serves as the group managing director and Ceo of Equity Holdings.
Mwangi also previously served as the founding chairman of the Kenya Vision 2030 delivery board from 2007 to 2019, charged with ensuring Kenya is a middle-income country with decent living standards by 2030.
The Open University is set to admit its first batch of students next month, opening the higher education doors to millions who wish to study remotely.
The government targets to enrol 7,100 students in the first intake.
The issuance of the charter on Thursday granted authority to the facility to commence operations.
Among the programmes lined up for offer include Bachelor of data science, Bachelor of economics and statistics, Bachelor of science in business and entrepreneurship, Bachelor of science in cyber security and digital forensics, Bachelor of technology education, Post-graduate diploma in leadership and accountability and Post-graduate diploma in learning, design and technology.
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