The CEO of Equity Bank, James Mwangi, has been named by President William Ruto as the first chancellor of Kenya’s fully accredited online university, the Open University of Kenya (OUK).
The appointment was made just a few days after Dr. Mwangi’s two five-year stints as chancellor of Meru University came to an end on 20 July. The information was revealed on Thursday at the university’s chartering event, which was attended by Ruto.
“Dr. Ruto, I want to thank you for providing me the chance to lead this brand-new institution as its first chancellor,” said Mwangi.
“I am honored that you have given me the duty to do this service for this country on your behalf, which I sincerely accept.
“You have given me the responsibility to carry out the role of a chancellor at a time when my tenure as the chancellor of Meru University, which spanned from 2013 to 2023, has just come to an end. You can be sure I’ll use the lessons I’ve learned at this new university.”
Mwangi is a certified accountant who has worked as a banker for most of his career and is also an entrepreneur. He is currently Equity Holdings’ group managing director and CEO. He has, also, previously served as the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board’s founding chairman from 2007 to 2019, with the responsibility of ensuring that Kenya achieves middle-income status with respectable living standards by the year 2030.
Next month, the Open University will admit its first class of students, allowing millions of people who want to study online access to higher education.
The institution was given permission to start operating after receiving the charter on Thursday. In the initial intake, the government hopes to enroll 7,100 students.
Among the programs scheduled to be offered are bachelor’s degrees in data science, economics, and statistics, business and entrepreneurship, cyber security and digital forensics, technology education, post-graduate diplomas in leadership and accountability, and learning, design, and technology.
