UCU’s children reunite at Easter dinner

By Mathias Mazinga

So, what is the relationship between a university and its alumni?

According to the Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll, the chancellor of the Uganda Christian University (UCU), Mukono, a university is the foster mother of its alumni, who become its adopted children when they join it.

For that matter, the alumni must not lose contact with their former university, their “Alma Mater.”

This observation by Prof. Noll explains why the alumni of UCU had no other alternative, but to come together for their first ever Easter dinner at Hotel Africana on Saturday.

The alumni did not comprise only those who joined the university after its inauguration in 1997, but also the veteran clerics, who went through it when it was still Bishop Tucker Theological College.

This is why, according to Noll, “UCU has the oldest Alma Mater in Uganda.”

So, in the midst of ecstatic interaction and feasting, Prof. Noll asked the alumni to love the university.

This love, he said, could be implemented by recruiting talented students for the university, encouraging local sponsorship of needy students and contributing towards the development of the university.

Speaking on behalf of retired Archbishop Mpalanyi Nkoyooyo, Bishop Eliphaz Maari urged the alumni to work hard and to support the university.

Uganda Clays chief executive officer John Wafula, the guest of honour, encouraged the university to develop a new niche of “integrity and hard work,” to consolidate its mission — being the ‘Centre of excellence at the heart of Africa.”

Wafula contributed sh2m towards the construction of Ham Mukasa Memorial Library. Another sh1m was raised from the auctioning of a Bible and an art piece.

The alumni were treated to sensational Christian country and jazz music by Andante Band, an ensemble comprising students and the university alumni.