The Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs)-DVCAA on Wednesday 26^th February 2020 hosted the Inaugural Deans’ Forum at a half-day workshop held at Grand Global Hotel, Makerere. The Forum which brings together Deans from 29 Schools of Makerere University has its origins in the series of training and sensitisation workshops for academic leaders organized by the DVCAA and Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DRGT) starting mid-2019.

The Dean Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) and Inaugural Chair of the Deans’ Forum, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze thanked attendees for taking time off to learn from each other and together, contribute to academic excellence of students at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

“As we move towards being a research-led university, it is important that we position ourselves to collectively be part of negotiating changes for better support to students, especially at graduate level” she explained.

Prof. Wanyenze then introduced other members of the Deans’ Forum as: Dr. Aaron Mushengyezi-Languages, Literature and Communication, Dr. Gilbert Maiga-Computing and Informatics Technology, Dr. Robert Tweyongyere-Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, Dr. Ronald Naluwairo-Law, Dr. Edward Bbaale-Economics and Dr. Grace Kibanja-Psychology. The DVCAA Dr. Umar Kakumba is the founding Patron of the Deans’ Forum.

In his address, the DVCAA noted that whereas the Makerere University Senate has been in existence for a long time, Deans seldom get the opportunity to interact outside these sessions. He therefore thanked the Inaugural Chairperson and Executive for embracing the idea and developing guiding documents such as a draft constitution and an annual work plan.

Dr. Kakumba then made a presentation on “Delivering on the roles as Dean in Makerere University”, based on his experience as Dean, School of Business, College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) for eight years. This was followed by a presentation by the Director Quality Assurance, Dr. Vincent Ssembatya on “Academic Process: Teaching, Examination and Student Supervision”.

Other presentations on the day were made by; the Deputy Registrar (Senate Division), Ms. Patience Mushengyezi on “Academic Polices and Senate Roles” and the Director Human Resources, Mr. Andrew Abunyang represented by Mr. Richard Mugisha, Manager Performance and Appraisal on “Roles on Deans in Human Resource Management (Performance Management)”. The last presentation of the day was delivered by the Senior Performance Officer, Directorate of Human Resources, Mr. Julius Lebo on “Labour Relations and Conflict Resolution”.

Some of the presentations lined up for future workshops of the Deans’ Forum will cover the role of Deans in attracting and managing grants.

Article by Public Relations Office.