MARCH
2004
KENYA
CALLING!
STRATHMORE
UNIVERSITY E-NEWSLETTER!
As Spring draws near, it is time again to report on
good things happening at Strathmore.
I.
Professor David
Sperling to visit
USA
in March
II.
Strathmore wins ISO 9001 honors
III.
New land for Strathmore’s Madaraka campus
IV.
Strathmore begins development planning
process
V.
Strathmore participates in
Harvard
Business
School
conference
IV. Email
Addresses are not enough! Send us all your contact
data!
I.
PROF. SPERLING TO VISIT
USA
In March David
Sperling will be visiting the
United
States to attend a high-level
conference on Africa hosted by the U.S. State
Department. Enroute to
Washington, he will be
visiting New York City,
Philadelphia, and
Washington,
DC.
(Professor Sperling will also return in May for a
longer visit to more cities. Stay tuned for that!)
Please join us next week in
Philadelphia or
Washington,
DC.
A.
PHILADELPHIA EVENT
(Tuesday, March 23,
2004)
Please join us in welcoming Professor Sperling to
Philadelphia and
gathering together local friends and alumni of the Strathmore
family.
Event:
Reception for Professor Dave Sperling
Date:
Tuesday, March 23,
2004
Time:
7:00 pm
Place:
Jones Restaurant, 700 Chestnut
Street, Philadelphia,
PA
Tel: 215 223 5663
Cost:
$25 per person. Cash bar.
Convener:
Mr. Sumeet Bhullar
RSVP:
Tom Pyle, tel: 609-688-1022 email:
suf@verizon.net
B. WASHINGTON,
DC EVENT (Wednesday, March 24,
2004):
Event:
Drinks and Chinese Dinner with Dave
Sperling
Date:
Wednesday, March 24,
2004
Time and Places:
6:30 pm:
Drinks:
President’s Sports Bar,
Renaissance Washington
D.C. Hotel
999 9th Street
NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel:
202-898-9000
7:30 pm: Dinner:
Tai Shan
622 H St
NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-639-0266
Metro Stop:
Gallery
Place/Chinatown
Cost:
$25 per person. Cash bar.
RSVP:
Tom Pyle, tel: 609-688-1022 email:
suf@verizon.net
II.
STRATHMORE WINS ISO 9001 HONORS
The Kenyan Bureau of Standards
recently awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 certification to
Strathmore University, the first school in
Kenya to qualify for the designation. The
certification culminates a rigorous program of measurement,
assessment, and determination of world-class management practices,
signifying that Strathmore's management practices are among the
highest standards in the world.
To see a photo of Professor
John
Odhiambo
receiving the award, click: http://www.strathmorefoundation.org/NewsaboutStrathmore.html
III.
NEW LAND FOR STRATHMORE’S MADARAKA
CAMPUS
Strathmore
University took a big
step forward for its development future last month when it purchased
25 acres of land adjacent to its current Madaraka campus in
Nairobi. The purchase,
which will expand the campus size over five times, secures the
future for the University in the Madaraka area and enables new
building of much-needed additional classrooms, administrative
quarters, sports fields, and other facilities. Planning is now
beginning for the land’s ultimate use. The land purchase will be a
lynchpin in the University’s overall development
strategy.
IV.
STRATHMORE BEGINS DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS
In March the University began internal processes for
the formulation of a long range development campaign. Further
extending its campaign working theme, “What Does Kenya Need
Strathmore To Be?”, University planners have embarked on several
fronts, examining and planning for all its needs and prospects.
Among many subjects, the University is considering how
best to establish and organize its development efforts within the
management structure outlined by parliamentary requirements for
university status. Also being considered are new internal policies
better to define and delineate development functions.
Also emerging is a new list of long-term University
development priorities. Needs and initiatives are currently being
considered within five major development themes:
- Facilities: All great universities must have
great facilities to attract great faculty and great students. Thus
the University will soon complete its new Library and undertake
work to build a new administration block, as well as provide for
more classrooms and lab space.
- Faculty: A world-class university is best
known for world-class faculty. Thus Strathmore plans to help
faculty upgrade their credentials by encouraging further education
and faculty exchanges. New initiatives for new faculties and
programs are also being considered.
- Students: Strathmore wants to attract more of
Kenya’s
best students. The surest way to do this is to find ways and means
to fund more student assistance. The University wants to explore
new ways to create affordable student loans and work study
programs. New programs of study are also contemplated, such as
Entrepreneurship, Microfinance, and Multilateral Funds Management.
- Systems: A superior school needs a superior
computer system to manage its affairs in a superior way.
Strathmore plans to upgrade its systems to achieve
this.
- Endowment: Great institutions like
Strathmore must do great things. But doing great things costs a
great deal of money. To do yet more and to be yet more for
Kenya,
as well as to diversify its revenue dependence upon tuitions,
Strathmore is contemplating a campaign to increase its
endowment.
By summer the University expects to have prepared a
draft of its plan. The University looks forward to discussing it
with alumni and friends.
V.
STRATHMORE PARTICIPATES IN HARVARD
CONFERENCE
Alumni and staff from
Strathmore University both were participants in the 6th Annual
Harvard Business School African Business Conference, held in
Boston, Massachusetts from February 27 to 29,
2004. Entitled "The Way
Home: Cultivating Opportunities in Africa", the conference, with over 800
attendees, was organized by the HBS Africa Business Club.
One of the Club leaders was
Denis Koome
Imathiu, a Strathmore graduate and
currently a second year MBA student at Harvard. Moderating a panel
on large scale investment in Africa was
Tom
Pyle,
Executive Director of Strathmore University Foundation. Also
participating from Kenya were senior business leaders from
Kenya, including Mr. Titus Naikuni, CEO of Kenya
Airways and Mr. Vimal Shah, CEO, Bidco Refineries, as well as Ms.
Mary Okelo, Founder, Makini School and Mrs. Susan Mudhune, Chairman, Kenya
Commercial Bank.
For further information on the
conference, see http://www.strathmorefoundation.org/NewsaboutStrathmore.html and http://www.hbsafricaconference.org/panels.htm.
VI.
E-MAIL ADDRESSES ARE NOT ENOUGH!
SEND US YOUR OTHER CONTACT DATA!
Good things are happening at Strathmore. We very much
want to include you in them. But for many of you, we only have email
addresses. Yet these change often. When they do, we lose touch with
you.
Help us help you get involved! Please send us all your
contact details, including work and home addresses and phone
numbers. In that way, we can ensure that you get the word!
Contact:
KENYA: Dr. David Sperling, Strathmore University Office of
Development and External Relations,
Strathmore University, Ole Sangale
Road, Madaraka Estate,
Nairobi, Kenya Tel: 254-020-4606155 x275; Email:
dsperling@strathmore.edu.
USA: Mr. Thomas H. Pyle, Strathmore University Foundation,
20
Nassau Street,
Princeton, NJ 08542 USA. Tel: 609-688-1022 Email:
suf@verizon.net.
+++
January 2004
HELLO FROM
STRATHMORE
UNIVERSITY! A
NEWSLETTER!
Strathmore
University extends warm
New Year’s greetings to all its alumni and friends. Many good things
are happening at Strathmore, and we want very much to include you in
our good news.
I.
Alumni Events in North
America, January 2004
II.
World Bank Globalization Debate Features
Strathmore’s Terry Ryan
III.
Strathmore
University Forms A New
Foundation
IV.
Strathmore Alumni! Let Us Hear From
You!
I. ALUMNI EVENTS IN
NORTH AMERICA:
Strathmore
University is pleased to
announce two major events for its alumni and friends in
North America, as part of the forthcoming
U.S.
visits of two of its distinguished leaders. Please join us at either
or both!
A.
BOSTON EVENT (Friday,
January 15)
Drinks with:
The Honorable TERRY
RYAN, Ph.D.
Professor, Economics
Former Economic
Secretary,
Kenya Ministry
of Finance
Chairman,
Board of Trustees,
Strathmore
University
Director,
African Centre for Economic Growth,
Nairobi,
Kenya
One of
Africa’s eminent economists, Professor Terry
Ryan of Strathmore
University will be
visiting Boston this
week on his way to Washington,
DC to speak at an important World
Bank Group conference on investment in private higher education.
Strathmore
University graduates and
other Kenyan friends in the
Boston area are invited
to a reception for Professor Ryan, who will update us on
Strathmore’s recent successes as a new university, its bold
ambitions, and the current education and economic situation in
Kenya
at this very important time in its history.
Please join us in
welcoming Professor Ryan to
Boston and gathering
together local friends and alumni of the Strathmore
family.
Event:
Reception for Professor Terry Ryan
Date:
Friday, January 15,
2004
Time:
6:00 pm to 7:30
pm
Place:
The Grill, Spangler Hall (next to Baker Library),
Harvard
Business
School, Soliders Field,
Boston,
MA
Cost:
Cash bar
RSVP:
Denis (Koome) Imathiu, HBS Class of 2005, tel: 857-928-2508,
dimathiu@mba2005.hbs.edu
B.
WASHINGTON,
DC EVENT (Thursday, January
22):
Strathmore
University invites you to
join…
A CELEBRATION DINNER
WITH:
Professor JOHN ODHIAMBO,
President
Professor TERRY RYAN,
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Professors Odhiambo and
Ryan are making an important visit to
Washington,
DC to participate in an important
global conference sponsored by The World Bank group, entitled Investment in Private Higher
Education Forum, January 22 and 23. The Profs are among 80
invited delegates from around the world to help The World Bank
consider and debate the role of private schools of higher education
in world economic development. Professor Ryan is one of the
conference’s key speakers.
Strathmore
University is honored to
be invited to take part in such a prestigious event. Come greet our
distinguished Profs and help us welcome them to the
United
States. They will discuss
Strathmore’s expansion as a new university, its pivotal role for
Kenya
and East Africa, and the school’s ambitious
development campaign, entitled “What Does Kenya Need Strathmore To
Be?”
Please join us and share
this exciting moment with fellow alumni and friends of
Strathmore.
Event:
Dinner with Professors John
Odhiambo and Terry Ryan
Date:
Thursday, January
22, 2004
Time:
7:00 pm to 9:00
pm
Place:
Guapos Mexican Restaurant, 4515
Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington,
DC Tel: 202-686-3588
Location:
Just atop Tenleytown/American University Metro Station (Red
Line)
Parking:
Free parking (with validation) at Fresh Fields garage behind
the restaurant
Menu:
Buffet style Mexican food (fajitas, enchiladas, salsa,
refried beans, etc.) and soft drinks. Cash bar for beer, wine,
cocktails.
Cost:
$20 per person ($10 for currently enrolled students). Those
able and willing to contribute further are most welcome to do
so.
RSVP:
Strathmore
University Foundation,
suf@verizon.net, or call Tom Pyle, tel:
609-688-1022.
II.
WORLD BANK GLOBALIZATION DEBATE FEATURES
STRATHMORE’S TERRY RYAN
Strathmore University Board of Trustees Chairman
Terry Ryan will debate the effects of globalization
on international higher education at a World Bank education
conference to be simulcast around the world on the internet. His
counterpart will be former Australian Minister of Education, Mr.
John Dawkins. Check out http://home.learningtimes.net/ifc.
The debate will take place on Friday,
January 23, 2004 as
part of an inaugural International Investment Forum on
Private Higher Education of the World
Bank's International Finance Corporation.
Focusing on private higher education investment in developing
countries, the event will bring together investors, senior managers,
and leading professionals from over 50 private sector organizations
in 30 countries to address important issues facing higher education.
Discussions will focus on how the private
sector can strengthen the role it plays in the financing and
delivery of good quality higher education in developing economies
and the need to share ideas about best practices. For conference
details, see http://ifcln1.ifc.org/ifcext/che.nsf/Content/EducationConference.
The debate will take place before the live
audience of the conference on Friday, January 22 at 8:30 am
EST (1:30 pm
GMT) and will also be
simulcast worldwide over the World Wide Web. Members of the public
are invited to participate via the Web through simulcast services
being provided by Learning Times (www.learningtimes.net) in
partnership with the World Bank. To learn more about the simulcast
and to register for participation, please see further details at
http://home.learningtimes.net/ifc. Also
check out: www.strathmorefoundation.org.
III.
STRATHMORE
UNIVERSITY FORMS A
FOUNDATION
In light of its
expanding role as a major private university in
Kenya,
Strathmore
University has formed a
new foundation.
In June 2003
Strathmore University Foundation was established as a 501(c)3
not-for-profit corporation in the
United
States. The Foundation's purpose is to consider,
create and cultivate opportunities for development and advancement
of Strathmore University in
Nairobi, by way of
philanthropic projects in areas in which Strathmore and its alumni
are interested and active in the
United
States and
Kenya.
Located in
Princeton,
NJ,
USA, Strathmore
University Foundation’s work is in three areas. It will develop
academic and program linkages between
Strathmore
University and academies
and institutions in the
US, the
UK, and elsewhere. It will help
Strathmore University graduates worldwide in its work with and
participate in the Strathmore University Alumni Association. And it
will cultivate material and financial resources among
corporations, foundations, agencies, and individuals in support of
Strathmore University's advancement.
For further information,
see www.strathmorefoundation.org, or call 609-688-1022,
or email to suf@verizon.net.
IV.
STRATHMORE ALUMNI! LET US HEAR FROM
YOU!
As Strathmore now
embarks on a new and bold path, we want to hear from our alumni! Let
us have the benefit of your thinking and real-world experience. Let
us help you connect with your schoolmates! Let us know where you are
and what you are doing!
Please send your contact
details to us. Include your name, work and home addresses, phone
numbers, and email addresses. Let us know in what and when you
graduated and what you are doing now.
We look forward to
helping our alumni organize wherever they and in serving them in
whatever way we can.
Contact:
Dr. David Sperling, Strathmore University Office of
Development and External Relations, Tel: 254-020-4606155 x275;
Email: dsperling@strathmore.edu
Mr. Thomas H. Pyle, Strathmore University Foundation,
20
Nassau Street,
Princeton, NJ 08542 USA. Tel: 609-688-1022 Email:
suf@verizon.net.
