General
HERS-EA Sixth Academy – A Call to Rise
The HERS-EA Sixth Academy officially kicked off on 3rd July 2023 at the Grand Global Hotel, Makerere Kikoni, based on the Maya Angelou-inspired theme ‘And Still I Rise’. This year’s theme is aimed at challenging participants to rise above and beyond institutional and personal barriers to women leadership. Launched in 2014, the Higher Education Resource Services, Eastern Africa (HERS-EA) is a non-profit organisation affiliate of HERS, established in the USA in 1972. The goal of HERS-EA is to raise the proportion of women in leadership and management positions in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Eastern Africa through intensive leadership and management training and mentorship.
The Sixth Academy due to be held until Friday 7th July 2023 has attracted 42 aspiring women leaders from universities and organizations across East Africa, with Gulu University sending a ten-strong contingent of participants. The hybrid nature of the academy will allow both participants and facilitators to join the training virtually.
Delivering the welcome remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe congratulated HERS-EA’s Founder and Board Chair, Prof. Margaret Khaitsa as well as the Co-founder and Executive Director, Ms. Naomi Lumutenga on their persistence that has seen organization empower tens of women since its founding in 2014.
“Recently while appointing Deans (of Schools) it was pleasant to note that five (5) out of seven (7) of them were women… we intend to continue like that because we now have a revised policy on Gender Mainstreaming, and we are really thinking about even putting quotas in the policies” remarked Prof. Nawangwe. The quotas, explained the Vice Chancellor, will offer clear guidance on what is deemed as fairness when it comes to percentage of women appointed as leaders.
In the same breath, Prof. Nawangwe congratulated Prof. Khaitsa on being nominated for the 2023 Excellence in Community Partner Engagement Award by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium for her work with HERS-EA. The Award will be presented in October this year. “All the research we do will only be meaningful when we bring in the community because we should be doing research in order to improve the conditions of our people.”
Prof. Nawangwe equally thanked Prof. Maggie Kigozi, also a long-term supporter of HERS-EA, for accepting to deliver the keynote address. He observed that the work that HERS-EA is doing in mentoring women leaders is extremely important and encouraged the organisation to conduct a tracer study of its alumnae.
The keynote address by Prof. Maggie Kigozi was a heart-to-heart from a medical doctor turned businesswoman, who had been through many highs and lows including two flights into exile. She awed her audience when she shared that she was only two days shy of celebrating her 73rd birthday (on 5th July), despite her youthful appearance and agility.
Describing an eventful career peppered with many turning points, Prof. Kigozi couldn’t help but appreciate the pivotal role that her parents’ reassuring love and her medical degree played in her life.
“’You are wanted, you are enough. I don’t need any other daughter’” she said, quoting her parents’ reassuring words. “When your parents tell you this, you grow up with that confidence, you take that into any room and don’t let people overlook you,” added Prof. Kigozi. As an only girl and a middle child with two elder and two younger brothers, this reassurance, she said, was all she needed to avoid feeling overshadowed by her equally outstanding siblings.
“I truly believe that education is the foundation for everything” she continued, before saying of her alma matter, “There is no way I would be standing here talking to you if Makerere had not taken me in, if I did not have my medical degree”.
“And for seventeen years I was a doctor. In those years of political turbulence here, I was able to take my famous Makerere University Medical School degree, wave it in Zambia and come out with a job the next day… three years later I went to Nairobi and again I just went into the Ministry of Health with this famous degree of mine and I was employed so education is power” she emphasised.
Prof. Kigozi equally urged participants to define the big and small fights and stop fighting the latter. “I have worked with men and women and I find we do tend to worry about the small things, as women, by nature.” Additionally, she urged the women to take part in sports to stay healthy and forge friendships, accept people for their various religious beliefs, volunteer their time and expertise to the various NGOs in need of board members and not limit their networks to their professions, education or economic levels.
In line with the Sixth Academy theme, ‘And Still I Rise’, Prof. Kigozi said that whereas many would regard 72 as the age to slow down, she still rises, not for herself but to effect change for others that are not doing so well as well as many other causes. One of these causes is the Makerere University Endowment Fund (Mak-EF), where she serves as the Board Chairperson.
“When I was asked to join the Makerere University Endowment Fund last year, I didn’t even take one minute to think about it. Yes I’m tired, yes I’m overworked, but I can make a difference and so I’m going to do this because if I can raise money to get scholarships and get research done and get buildings put up, I will drop other things and do it but we need your help” remarked Prof. Kigozi. She therefore urged the alumnae to sign up on the Endowment Fund Platform and give back to their alma mater.
As a mother and grandmother, Prof. Kigozi stressed the need for fellow women to prioritise their children’s school activities over their own professional engagements, noting that this would greatly encourage and motivate them.
On a motivational note, Prof. Kigozi introduced Ms. Jackie Nansubuga, a Makerere alumna and co-founder of Quality Management Services, a business that has been in operation since 2002. Ms. Nansubuga urged participants to always choose great partners when starting up businesses, have a personal vision and equip themselves with a growth mindset that allows other people in the team, particularly the younger ones, to communicate freely. She equally urged them to never compromise on honesty, integrity and excellent service, always work hard, accept criticism and always persevere.
In her remarks, Ms. Naomi Lumutenga thanked the Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe for being a dependable and long-term supporter of HERS-EA as well as Prof. John David Kabasa for his ardent backing of the organisation’s vision. She equally thanked Prof. Kigozi for her keynote address and generosity towards HERS-EA, as exemplified by her bringing along Ms. Nansubuga and many other inspiring professionals at previous academies.
Ms. Lumutenga shared that the training programme will be woven around the three core themes of (1) Personal Development, (2) Institutional Development and (3) Networking. She said that participants had received one template for a leadership project and another to prepare participants to pitch about collaborative interests of their respective universities to fellow participants.
Particularly addressing herself to the impact that past leadership projects have had, Ms. Lumutenga said, “The fact that we are here today running this workshop in-person is part of an outcome of last year’s alumni who worked with us and sought a small grant that has managed to cover registration for most of you or subsidize it at the very least.”
Furthermore, on the impact of presentations by participating teams on future institutional collaborations, she cautioned, “Don’t underestimate that because previous pitches by other universities have led to faculty exchange and student exchange programmes, just because somebody did a good pitch during those ten minutes.”
The HERS-EA Sixth Academy sessions will cover topics such as; Gender Mainstreaming, Navigating gender stereotypes, Grants Management, Grant Writing and Budgeting for Grants. Other sessions will cover; Mentorship, Collaborative Opportunities, Navigating the Political Environment, Developing a Career Map and Evidence-based Community Engagement. The academy will officially close on Friday 7th July with a certificate award ceremony presided over by the President and Executive Director of HERS, Dr. Gloria Thomas.
Zoom Link for the Closing Ceremony
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89133216548?pwd=ZEVnRFhldmdOK1NEU0h2M2orRzFOQT09
Meeting ID: 891 3321 6548
Passcode: 197775
Makerere University staff have been urged to embrace servant leadership, integrity and compassion as they prepare to welcome students for the 2026/2027 Academic Year.
The call was made during the Makerere University Staff Prayer Breakfast held on 31st July 2026 at St. Francis Students Centre Upper Hall under the theme “Faithful Stewards: A Servant Heart with Integrity and Wisdom,” drawn from Colossians 3:23–24 and Mark 10:35–45.
The prayer breakfast brought together members of Council, University Management, academic, and administrative staff to dedicate the new academic year to God while reflecting on their responsibility of serving students with excellence, humility and integrity.
A Call to Seek God’s Wisdom
Host Rev. Dr. Lydia Nsaale Kitayimbwa reminded staff that no amount of professional experience or academic expertise can replace God’s guidance.
She noted that the University’s mission can only be fulfilled when staff continually seek God’s wisdom in serving students and one another.
“There is no amount of experience or expertise that can replace God’s wisdom.”
Rev. Dr. Kitayimbwa observed that students remain the reason universities exist and challenged staff to approach their work as a calling rather than merely employment.
“Without students, there is no university,” she said, encouraging members of staff to remain united, avoid unhealthy competition and trust God as they begin another academic year.
She further urged staff to become faithful stewards who work together in harmony, which she summed up as, “United we stand; divided we fall.”
A Community, Not Just a Centre of Research
In her remarks, Dean of Students Dr. Winnie Kabumbuli welcomed the Council Chairperson, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Members of Management to the breakfast, and reminded staff that a university’s value cannot be measured by research and innovation alone.
She described Makerere as a community held together by the spiritual as well as academic wellbeing of its people, and called on staff to renew their commitment to one another as much as to the institution they serve.
Draw Inspiration From Stewardship
Representing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) Prof. Sarah Ssali told staff that this year’s breakfast carried special significance.
“This is the first prayer breakfast we are having ever since we launched our strategic plan,” she said, referring to the University’s new Strategic Plan, launched on 2nd July 2026.
She encouraged staff to hold on to the morning’s reflections as a guide for implementing the plan over the next five years, describing Makerere as an institution many families choose above all others for the vision and training it offers their children. She urged staff to see themselves as stewards of that trust rather than simply employees carrying out a job.
Compassion and Discipline Must Go Together
Delivering her remarks, Makerere University Council Chairperson Dr. Lorna Magara challenged staff to strike a balance between compassion and discipline when dealing with students.
She observed that many students face different personal and academic challenges, making encouragement and timely support essential throughout their university journey.
“A word of encouragement can restore hope and prevent costly mistakes,” she noted.
Dr. Lorna encouraged lecturers and administrators to respond promptly to students’ concerns, explaining that delays, insensitive decisions and abuse of authority can discourage students and negatively affect their academic experience.
She reminded staff that students often remember how they were treated long after they have forgotten what was taught in class.
“Students may eventually forget what we teach them, but they will always remember how we treated them.”
She added that education goes beyond transferring knowledge.
“Education is more than knowledge. We communicate life, character and values.”
Quoting Mark 10, Dr. Lorna called upon staff to embrace servant leadership by exercising authority with humility, integrity and accountability.
She encouraged members of staff to ask themselves whether they would treat every student the same way ashey would treat their own child.
“We may not always have all the answers,” she said, “but we can communicate honestly, take responsibility and treat every student with dignity.”
She concluded by urging different colleges and administrative units to work together instead of operating in isolation, noting that unity strengthens the University community.
Referring to Galatians 6:2, she reminded staff to carry one another’s burdens and remain faithful stewards of the responsibility entrusted to them.
Servant Leadership Begins with Faithfulness
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. James Magara, husband to Dr. Lorna Magara, called on members of staff to embrace servant leadership grounded in humility, faithfulness and service to others.
Drawing from Mark 10:35–45, Dr. Magara reflected on the account in which James and John asked Jesus for positions of honour in His kingdom, prompting discontent among the other disciples. He observed that despite walking closely with Christ, the disciples continued to struggle with the desire for status and recognition. He noted that such competition remained evident even during the Last Supper, where concerns over positions and prominence persisted.
Dr. Magara said that Jesus responded to these human tendencies by redefining leadership through service rather than authority. He described Christ’s act of washing the disciples’ feet as the ultimate demonstration of servant leadership, explaining that genuine leaders are willing to undertake even the humblest responsibilities in service of others.
Referencing Philippians 2, he urged staff to emulate Christ’s humility and selflessness, contrasting it with the pride and self-exaltation illustrated in Isaiah 14. He emphasised that lasting influence and greatness are not measured by titles, positions or recognition, but by one’s willingness to serve faithfully and put the needs of others before personal ambition.
Drawing on his own leadership journey spanning several decades, Dr. Magara challenged leaders across the University to cultivate humility, integrity and a servant heart in the execution of their responsibilities. He cautioned that leadership driven by pride and personal ambition undermines both individual effectiveness and institutional progress, whereas servant leadership strengthens organisations and fosters lasting impact.
The prayer breakfast concluded with a call for unity and collective commitment as Makerere University prepares to begin a new academic year. Organisers noted that the reflections on stewardship, integrity and servant leadership would provide a strong foundation for the University community as it advances the implementation of the Makerere University Strategic Plan 2025–2030.
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