Busitema University Launch A Search Committee To Find Two Deputy Vice Chancellors, All Ugandans Free To Apply

By Gad Masereka

Busitema University has launched a search committee consisting of five people who are going to help the university find the right people to fill the positions of Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration.

As stipulated in accordance with Section 31 of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001, this Act provides for the positions of search committee members, which are two members from the University Council and three members from the Senate.

Rosemerry Mutyabule, the Busitema chairperson of the university council, introduces the five-man committee to the media.

” And so here today we are launching a five-man committee that is going to support the university in finding the right people to fill the positions of Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration,” said Namutyabule.

 
According to Namutyabule, the university voted for Professor William Bazeyo to chair the search committee.

Professor William will be working with Mr. Gideon Oboe, who is the second member that initially presented counsel on the search committee, Professor Maria Musoke, Dr. Annabella Habinka, and Professor Julius Wandabwa, who are members of the Senate.

According to Rosemerry Mutyabule, the five-member committee is tasked with completing the whole process within the next two months. ” I expect them to have run through the process because we are going to advertise in both print and electronic media, and these positions will be advertised for all Ugandans who qualify”, she added.

Namutyabule also said that the search committee will then go through the process of interviewing these people using approved guidelines. ”And we hope that within the next two months, we should have finished the process and have the two positions”, she noted.

She also noted that the university is looking for someone who is an academician and has the qualifications to be in the university. ”So, we do not expect somebody who has just finished university with a first degree to apply, and even if he applies, that applicant will be disqualified immediately, said Namutyabula.

So we are looking for leadership, and I call upon people who have experience leading in the different disciplines, either as deans or as professors, and who have those qualifications to lead the university to apply.

My university has been ranked first in this country, and you know, you cannot lead a university where you train PhDs, you have PhD holders, you have lecturers who are PhDs, and you bring somebody with an undergraduate degree to come and lead; that is not possible. So we are looking for somebody with caliber-wise leadership skills, who has academic qualifications, and also for mature people.

These positions are being reserved for only Ugandans, whether they are living here now or outside the country.

So, even if somebody has these qualifications and is from the East African Community, he does not qualify if he’s not a Ugandan.

Previous Years

It should be in mind that Prof. Paul Waako was appointed as the new Vice Chancellor for Busitema University, replacing Prof. Mary Okwakol, whose term of office ended on April 31, 2019.

Prof. Okwakol has been the Vice Chancellor since 2006.

The university public relations officer, Ms. Peace Balala, said Prof. Waako was recommended by the University Council that met on February 21, 2019.

“The appointment of Prof. Waako as the Vice Chancellor of Busitema University was a recommendation of the University Council based on the Universities and Tertiary Institutions Act 2000,” she said in an interview.

Ms. Balala said Prof. Waako will be officially installed as the new vice chancellor on May 1, 2019.

She said the university council considered Prof. Waako because of his outstanding competence and performance at the institution.

“He ranked as the most suitable candidate against the other candidates for the position,” she said.

The other candidates included Dr. Samuel Baker Kucel, the deputy vice Chancellor of Busitema University in charge of academics and research, and Prof. Fabian Nabugomu, the acting deputy Chancellor in charge of finance and administration at Kyambogo University.

Prof. Waako, when contacted, confirmed receiving the appointment letter.

“I am not surprised that the University Council and the Senate found me fitting for the job, and I am sure they could have considered my hard work,” he said.

He applauded the outgoing Vice Chancellor for pushing the University from scratch to its current position, where it’s now ranked among the best universities promoting innovation in the country.

Who is Prof. Paul Waako?

He was born on February 20, 1967, at Mukuta, Mayuge district, and he holds a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, an MSc [Pharmacology], and an MBChB Degree from Makerere University.

He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Uganda Management Institute.

He chaired the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Makerere University for ten years before becoming the founder and Dean of the Busitema University Faculty of Health Sciences.

He has attended short courses and managed a number of International collaborative research projects, mostly focusing on strengthening Pharmaceutical systems.

He is a member of many expert committees, both national and International. He has published extensively in the areas of traditional medicines, drug discovery and development, rational use of medicines, and medicine supply systems.

He is a Senior Research Fellow at Queen Mary University London and a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, among others.