Speech by Egerton University Alumni Association during the 44th Egerton University Graduation Ceremony

The Chancellor,

The Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

The Principal Secretary for the State Department for University Education,

The Chairman of the Egerton University Council and all Council members present,

Chairmen of other university councils present,

The Vice-Chancellor of Egerton University,

Vice-Chancellors of other universities present,

The Deputy Vice-Chancellors of Egerton University and other universities who are present,

Members of the Egerton University Management Board,

Egerton University staff, 

Dear Graduands present here and those following virtually, 

Parents and guardians,

Invited guests,

Ladies and gentlemen.

It gives me great pleasure to be back to our Alma Mater as we celebrate yet another great achievement of our graduands. It is a great moment to reflect with nostalgia, on our past and the journey we have braved to this day. On behalf of the Egerton University Alumni Association (EUAA) Board Chairman, Board members and all Egerton University Alumni, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your graduation. From today onwards, you have rightfully earned yourselves the prestigious title of becoming Egerton University Alumni. Welcome to the club. We are excited to have you join those of us who came to Egerton before you.

We, the Alumni, and everyone else here understand that the road to this success was not without challenges. However, you remained resilient despite changing markets, challenging enrollment trends, questions about the value of university education in Kenya, concerns about academic rigor in course offerings, declining financial aid, and the disruptions of occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr. Chancellor, Sir

Throughout human history, we have learned that crises generate important lessons and can bring forth major transformations. The challenges we have experienced ought to be a turning point to drive change towards a more sustainable development for our University. For example, the Covid-19 pandemic has tested the response and adaptation capacity of public and private institutions the world over. However, it has also created an unprecedented opportunity to identify the capacities needed to build resilient institutions that can withstand the challenges of the present and future, by leveraging on modern digital technologies.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is our resolve and commitment as the alumni, through the Alumni Association, to join our Alma Mater in this journey of recovery and soaring into   greater heights as we envisage a World class University for Advancement of Humanity. The Alumni Association has put mechanisms in place to upscale its activities by revising The EUAA Strategic Plan. During the 2020/2021 Academic Year, various Alumni members supported needy Egerton University students with bursaries and scholarships to assist them complete their studies. In particular, we loud the Class of 1990 which donated bursaries to needy first-year students in the Faculty of Education and Community Studies in June 2021. These students will be supported until they clear their final year. 

Mr, Chancellor, Sir, the Association is mobilising resources to bring to fruition it's proposals to put up a hostel on the Njoro Campus to host post-graduate students and to allocate some funds towards supporting research grants for graduate students. By so doing, the Association hopes to play a part in supporting transformative education and research for our future Alumni.

We also appreciate the ARC Hotel at Njoro Campus which has agreed to offer a negotiated package to Egerton Alumni groups which opt to hold their reunion activities on the Njoro Campus. We encourage all Egerton Alumni to take advantage of this package and tour their Alma Mater, including the Botanic Garden, The Lord Egerton Castle, The Nakuru National Park and The Menengai Crater, among other attraction sites around the new Nakuru City. This will help us to cultivate a mutual relationship with the many Egerton Alumni which will bolster our resource mobilisation efforts from this segment. 

Finally, Mr. Chancellor, Sir, the Alumni Association and all Egerton Alumni wish to congratulate Prof. Isaac Ongubo Kibwage on his appointment on 5^th October 2021, to be the 6^th Vice-Chancellor of our esteemed University. We pledge our support towards building a strong Egerton University brand.

In the same breath, ladies and gentlemen, the Association pays its tributes to the founding Vice-Chancellor of Egerton University, the late Prof. Richard Sylvester Musangi, who died on 27 August 2021. May God rest his soul in eternal peace.

To our newest Egerton University Alumni members, I say hongera sana and may God ordain your paths and bless you with abundant resources. When you are blessed, please consider blessing those who will still be studying at Egerton University through the EUAA. 

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2022.