Mary Jossy Nakhanda Okwakol (born 1951) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

university professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

community leader Community leader is a designation, often by secondary sources (particularly in the media), for a person widely perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the communit ...

. She is the current

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Uganda National Examinations Board Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) is a national assessment body in Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the ...

. Before that, from October 2006 until May 2017, served as

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

Busitema University Busitema University (BU) is a university in Uganda. It is one of the eight public universities and degree-awarding institutions in the country. BU has its main focus on the instruction of agricultural sciences, agricultural engineering, agricult ...

, one of the nine public universities in Uganda.

Background and education

She was born in Namunyumya Village,

Iganga District Iganga District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Iganga is the site of the district headquarters. Location Iganga District is bordered by Kaliro District to the north, Namutumba District to the northeast, Bugweri Distri ...

Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in s ...

, circa 1951. She attended ''Namunyumya Mixed Primary School'', for her elementary schooling. Mary Okwakol attended

Mount Saint Mary's College Namagunga Mt. St. Mary's College Namagunga is an all-girl boarding secondary school located in Mukono District in Uganda. The school is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lugazi. Location The school is on the Kampala–Jinja Highway, approxima ...

for her high school education. She holds the degree of

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

) in

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, obtained in 1974, from

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, the oldest university in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. She also holds the degree of

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

( MSc), in Zoology, obtained in 1976, also from Makerere University. Her degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

) in Zoology was also obtained from Makerere University, in 1992.

Career

After graduating from Makerere in 1974, Mary Okwakol was invited back to the Faculty of Science as an assistant lecturer. She immediately embarked on her Masters studies and graduated in 1976. She was appointed

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

. In 1988, she became a senior lecturer. She enrolled in the

program at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in the United Kingdom, but was unable to continue due to family responsibilities in Uganda. She transferred to Makerere and graduated in 1992. She has since been awarded full professorship by Makerere. At the formation of

Gulu University Gulu University (GU) is a university in Uganda. It is one of the nine public universities in the country, as of September 2016. Location , GU has three campuses. (a) The main campus is approximately , by road, north-east of the central business ...

in 2004, she was appointed deputy vice chancellor, serving in that capacity until her appointment as

vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

in 2006. In 2019,Mary was appointed as the Executive Director of National Council of Higher Education, a position she holds as of 2021.

Other responsibilities

Professor Okwakol is a member of the

Forum for African Women Educationalists The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) is a pan-African non-governmental organization founded in 1992 by five women ministers of education to promote girls’ and women’s education in sub-Saharan Africa by making sure they have acc ...

, a pan-African

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

, founded in 1992, that is active in 32 African countries. The forum aims to empower girls and women through gender-responsive education. Its members include human rights activists, gender specialists, researchers, education policy-makers, university vice-chancellors and ministers of education. The organisation maintains its headquarters in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, and has regional offices in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. Professor Okwakol has published widely in professional journals and has written chapters in scientific books pertaining to her fields of specialization. In May 2014 she was appointed to serve as the chairperson of the Uganda National Examinations Board.

References

External links

Website of Busitema University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okwakol, Mary Living people Makerere University alumni People from Iganga District Ugandan Christians Vice-chancellors of universities in Uganda 1951 births Iganga District Ugandan women academics People educated at Mount Saint Mary's College Namagunga Fellows of Uganda National Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Busitema University

Background and education

Career

Other responsibilities

See also

References

External links