Professor Stephen Kiama Gitahi, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, has returned to teaching at the institution where his academic career began 36 years ago.
Kiama shared the milestone on social media, noting that his journey at the University of Nairobi started in September 1990 when he joined the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant Lecturer.
“Thirty-six years ago this month (September 1990), I began teaching Veterinary Anatomy as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Nairobi, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching my students go on to excel in academia and practice over the years,” he wrote.
From Assistant Lecturer to Vice-Chancellor
That early appointment marked the beginning of a long climb through the academic ranks; from lecturer to senior lecturer, then associate professor, and eventually full professor.
Kiama earned a PhD in Structural Biology from the University of Bern in Switzerland, and his research has appeared in publications including Nature Communications and Nature Immunology and Cell Biology.
He was appointed the university’s 8th Vice-Chancellor in January 2020.
His tenure, however, ended under difficult circumstances when the university council suspended him in August 2024, sparking a prolonged dispute over his leadership of the institution.
Back in the Classroom
With that chapter behind him, Kiama has re-engaged with students in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Photographs shared alongside his post showed him in a white lab coat, standing before a lecture hall of attentive students.
He described a recent session with the university’s newest Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine intake as particularly rewarding.
“Yesterday, it was incredibly gratifying to meet and teach the newest Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine class. There is hope for the profession,” he said.
The return positions Kiama squarely in the role that first drew him to academia more than three decades ago; mentoring the next generation of veterinary professionals from the front of the classroom.
