Dorothy L. Njeuma is a Cameroonian academic and politician.

Early life and education

Born Dorothy Limunga Effange in June 1943, Njeuma comes from southwestern Cameroon. There were no secondary schools for girls in Cameroon during her childhood, so she attended Queen's School, Enugu, in Nigeria from 1955 to 1962. She attended Brown University from 1962 to 1966, having won an African Scholarship Programme for American Universities award, and obtained a degree in biology. From 1966 to 1970, she attended the University College of London and earned a PhD in Zoology.

Academic career

From 1970 to 1975, Njeuma served as an associate professor of Genetics and Embryology at the Federal University of Yaounde,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. From 1988 to 2005 she worked at the

University of Buea University of Buea (UB) is found in Molyko, Buea, in the southwest region of Cameroon. It was founded as a university centre in 1985 and became a full-fledged university in 1992, following a government decree that re-organized state universities ...

, first as Director General of the Buea University Centre (1988–93) and then as Vice-Chancellor (1993–2005). She was then appointed Rector of the

University of Yaoundé The University of Yaoundé (french: Université de Yaoundé) was a university in Cameroon, located in Yaoundé, the country's capital. It was built with the help of France and opened in 1962 as the Federal University of Yaoundé, dropping the "Fe ...

from 2005 to 2008. Njeuma is the Vice-President of the Executive Board of the Association of African Universities.

Political career

Njeuma was vice minister of national education from 1975 to 1985, and served as a technical adviser to the Minister of Scientific and Technical Research, from 1986 to 1988. During her time in that position, she oversaw the introduction of GCE exams in Cameroon. In 2009, she was appointed a member of the electoral board of the Cameroonian Institution for Referendums and Elections.

Personal life

She was married to historian Martin Njeuma (1940–2010), by whom she has two daughters. Her daughter Christine Njeuma became the first female

airline pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

in Central Africa.

Publications

*Dorothy L. Njeuma, "An Overview of Women's Education in Africa" in ''The Politics of Women's Education: Perspectives from Asia, Africa, and Latin America'' (1993).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Njeuma, Dorothy L. Living people 1943 births Cameroonian politicians Academic staff of the University of Yaoundé Cameroonian women Brown University alumni Alumni of University College London Academic staff of the University of Buea