EDUCATION | MOON UNIVERSITY | APPOINTMENT

The Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) Chancellor, Prof. Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo, has appointed Prof. Dr. Pius Coxwell Achanga as substantive Vice-Chancellor (VC) and Prof. Dr. John Massa Kasenene as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Outreach) of MMU as a Public University.

In a memo dated October 4, 2022, to all staff, students, and other stakeholders of MMU signed by Dr. Edmond Kagambe, the University Secretary (US), it was stated;

"On behalf of the University Council, Top University Management, and the MMU fraternity, we welcome and congratulate these top leaders of the university and pledge to offer them our full support as we develop and grow MMU."

The President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, appointed Prof. Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo as Chancellor of MMU on August 18, 2022, for a four-year term.

, Located in Fort Portal Tourism City MMU is Uganda's tenth public university. It was established on July 1st, 2022, under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act and Statutory Instrument (S.I.) No. 2 of 2022 by the Parliament of Uganda.

Who is Prof. Dr. Pius Coxwell Achanga, Vice-Chancellor, MMU 

Achanga is the Head of Institutional and Programme Accreditation (IPA) at the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the Higher Education Regulator in Uganda.

His current role involves overseeing the licensure and establishment, planning, development, and strategic guidance of all higher education training institutions (universities, other degree-awarding institutions, and other tertiary institutions) in the country.

These include institutional and curriculum accreditation; monitoring and evaluation; and coordination and mentorship of the leadership and governance of over 250 accredited higher education training institutions (both public and private).

Prior to joining NCHE, Achanga was a Research Associate at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) in the School of Engineering, University of Cambridge (UK).

Achanga holds a Ph.D. in Manufacturing Systems (process optimization using fuzzy logic) and a Master of Science Degree in Manufacturing Management and Information Systems, both from Cranfield University (UK); a Bachelor of Business Information Technology from the University of Hull (UK); and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Canterbury Christ Church University (UK).

Achanga has attended a number of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training sessions that include the Fellowships in University Administration Support Program by the International Research and Exchanges (IREX) Board, Washington DC (2014) and the Education USA Leadership Institute, North Carolina State University (2017).

On November 3, 2014, Achanga was appointed and commissioned as an Honorary Tennessean by Governor Bill Haslam of the State of Tennessee.

He was also the winner of the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, 2007 for the most outstanding and highly commended paper in the 2006 Series.

Achanga is a member of the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA), the East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN), and the Ugandan Universities Quality Assurance Forum (UUQAF).  

Achanga is a Visiting Professor of Higher Education Studies with a special focus on Research & Innovation in University Systems for Socio-Economic Development at the Institute for Post-School Studies, the University of the Western Cape, October 2017–current.

 He is also the National Focal Person for the National Planning Team for Developing the Nuclear Human Resource Strategy under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda.

Achang has a number of scholarly publications, with the latest being, Higher Education Systems, and Institutions: Uganda, Springer Science Business Media Dordrecht 2018.

Who is Prof. Dr. John Massa Kasenene-Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Outreach), MMU  

Prof. Dr. John Massa. Kasenene was the Vice Chancellor of Mountains of the Moon University from 2011–2022. He was the Principal Academic and Administrative Officer of the University (CEO).

He provided leadership, academic, and administrative functions to the whole university. Before joining MMU, he was a Professor of Forestry Ecology, at the Department of Botany at Makerere University, and a Senior Research and Training Fellow at Makerere University Biological Field Station in Kibale Forest National Park.

Kasenene holds a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA; a Master of Science in Plant Ecology, a Bachelor of Science, and a Diploma in Education, all from Makerere University, Uganda.

He also holds a Certificate in Primatology from Front Royal College, Virginia, USA; a Certificate in Field Methods, from Costarica, Virginia, USA. 

Kasenene has been a lecturer for Higher Education since 1982 to date in the areas of specialty of Conservation Biology, Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Natural Resource Ecology and Conservation, Plant Energy, and Ecological and Environmental Assessment Methods and Techniques.

Kasenene has served in various sectors as a chairperson: Board of Trustees Planning and Monitoring Committee of Uganda Wildlife Authority, 2003-2009; Member Technical Committee Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, 2000-2003; Chair Review Conservation Agreement Committee Uganda Wildlife Authority, 2004; Coordinator Research Funding and Research on Natural Resources, NORAD Programme, MUK, 1998-2001; Member of National Examination Board [UNEB], 2013 to date; Chairperson Board of Governors Ruteete SSS, 2012 to date; and Member of Governing Council Uganda Technical College, Kichwamba, 2010 to date.