Meet The Successful Women Who Have Held Top Positions In Our Universities

Working as a vice-chancellor in a University must be difficult enough, however, it is even more difficult if you are a woman.
Speaking last week during a leadership and networking workshop for women vice-chancellors in Africa. Prof Imbuga, a former vice-chancellor at the JKUAT said, “No one prepares a woman to take the vice-chancellor position at a university. This, plus their family responsibilities, a judgmental society and the notion that these positions are a preserve of men, make a woman’s term in office an arduous ask.”
It is a forum where women VCs share their experiences and challenges they face as  Vice Chancellors  as they encourage each other.
Unlike male vice-chancellors, many women vice-chancellors still find it hard to be accepted as university chief executives, forcing them to work even harder to prove their leadership ability.

Here are some of their stories

The community considers me a role model
Maasai Mara University Vice-Chancellor Mary Walingo who was appointed in 2014 had to struggle with the local community’s notion that a vice-chancellor must be a man.
Elderly men came to her office and requested to see the VC. When she told them she was the one, the men thought she was lying.
“They could not believe the vice-chancellor was a woman. They kept insisting that they wanted to see the VC, who to them, was supposed to be a man.
The elderly men were eventually satisfied with my leadership skills and started allowing their daughters to go to school. Others even wanted to snatch their daughters from their husbands and take them back to school,” says Prof Walingo.
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I fought many court battles for being a woman vice-chancellor
“I fought a lot in 2013 when I was looking to serve my second term in office as JKUAT VC. Out of the six vice-chancellors who were looking to have their terms renewed, only two of us were women.
While the men went on to occupy their positions without any hindrance, my female colleague and I were taken to court by individuals who were questioning our second terms in office,” says Prof Mabel Imbuga.
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They thought I was only interested in plating flowers
I began my 10-year term as Kenyatta University (KU) vice-chancellor by doing small things like planting flowers. The surrounding community was angry and wanted to know why they had been given a vice-chancellor who was only interested in planting flowers.
But I knew the importance of students studying in a clean environment. Back then, KU looked like a high school.
By the time I was leaving, I had overseen a number of projects including the building of new hostels, a business center, an amphitheater, a central administration block, a library, a hospital, and a mall.
I even left behind a funeral home for the community. Student enrolment rose from 15,000 to more than 70,000.
Finally,
What you can learn from these women is that you will always face challenges even if you are the most qualified. Whether you are male or female there will always be people who don’t want you to succeed.
You should, therefore, be ready to deal with the challenges because giving up will not enable you to achieve your career goals.
Source: The Standard