Leading the pack was Prof. Gituro Wainaina from the Department of Management Science, who was recognized for his efforts in impacting knowledge to students in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

Speaking during the event, the Chancellor, Prof. Patrick Verkooijen called on the University of Nairobi staff members to double down on research, eradicate debts and eradicate illegal court cases. “You are the captain of this ship,” he said, calling on staff members to double their efforts.

University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Prof. Margaret Hutchinson noted that it is good to recognize top performing departments and directorates. “Staff performance awards are based on performance appraisals, “she said.  

Chair of Council, Prof. Amukowa Anangwe,  noted that members of staff are key to the success of the University. “We celebrate achievements and also focus on challenges facing us. Such issues like ; declining student enrollment, declining student completion rates, high complaints from students, decline in rankings that affects our global competition and declining research output”, he said.

Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Brian Ouma observed that as the University of Nairobi, we have hit many milestones, despite the challenges. “Today, we take time to celebrate excellence, through staff recognition. We recognize relentless passion for excellence,’ he said.

Among the awards given were; community service, academia industry linkages, innovation and creativity, top researchers award, lecturer of the year, innovators award and special category award.  

During the event, staff members who have served for over 40 years were also recognized.