Prof. Margaret Jesang’ Hutchinson is the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Nairobi. She is first ever female to hold the position of a Vice Chancellor since its inception in 1970. Prof. Hutchinson, who assumed office in Acting Capacity on Monday, August 5, 2024 is also the Substantive Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Enterprise) and Immediate Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance, Planning and Development) at the University of Nairobi.

In an opinion piece featured in Newsweek, the Chancellor, Prof. Patrick Verkooijen, delves into the critical need for increased investment and entrepreneurship within the realm of African higher education. Drawing from his recent immersive experience at the University of Nairobi with students and Faculty members, Prof. Verkooijen paints a vivid picture of the vibrant atmosphere pulsating through the campus—a testament to the burgeoning demand for tertiary education among the continent's youth.

This UM/UoN Collaboration began in 1980, when Dr. Herbert Nzanze, head of the department of medical microbiology at the University of Nairobi, invited Dr. Allan Ronald, a University of Manitoba research pioneer in the field of infectious diseases (now a distinguished professor emeritus), to Nairobi to study sexually transmitted chancroid infections.