Magazine
Permanent URI for this collection
Welcome to Magazine collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
- ItemThe Update ( Committed to Excellence)(Tangaza University College, 2017-10) Tangaza University CollegeT he past month has been loaded with events that continue to enrich our mission and vi- sion. We had well attended Faculty Development workshop, ERP training, Youth Symposium, Conference on Social Transformation, and the Commission for University Education curriculum approval inspection visit. All these among others had a very positive impact on our Tangaza family because they were successful. Such continuous engagement facilitate the exchange of ideas and visions as well as stimulating our scholarly acumen. We continue to encourage you to attend such functions because I particularly found them enriching and very informative and challenging to what we are as academicians, transformative agents, and witnesses of the Kingdom of God. We have continued to experience the drought which has devastated our greens on campus. We pray for some rains to give a relief to the current sauna. This is a special month for all of us. We have the presidential elections on October 26. It is a special time for us Tangazanites to actualize our transformative agen- cy by praying for peace and being instruments of peace as championed by St Francis of Assisi. This has necessitated the change of dates for our mid-semester break, of which we thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We thank the Library staff for their continued updates on the new books, journals and other informa- October 2017 tion that facilitate our academic growth. We ask our students to take advantage of the same provisions so that they can continue to be the cutting edge in areas of academics, innovation and growth. In a world that is quickly changing, such evolution of ideas and world views require the capacity to adapt. If not, we shall become stale and not able to cope with the new realities. I wish thank you for your continued dedication as faculty, staff and students in maintaining our high standards of academic, spiritual and good wit- ness to one another. This makes us a wonderful family where everyone is recognized, appreciated, and becomes self-actualized. Let us sustain this momentum and pray that God energizes us to achieve our potential.
- ItemThe Update (Welcome)(Tangaza University College, 2017-09) Tangaza University CollegeMay I take this chance to welcome our new students to Tangaza University College. We are glad that you have chosen this serene and wonderful institution as your tertiary education destination. Tangaza follows the Catholic tradition that provides a holistic education of the mind, soul and spirit. You will enjoy the good environment and technology that enhances learning and other scholarship. Our global face is rep- resented by the staff from various parts of the world, as well as different charisms expressed through our work and lifestyle. The many collaborations with universities overseas and locally will also give you an exposure to appreciate various approaches to learning and work. We have received over 380 new students by now and more are continuing to register. Our small numbers facilitates some individualized approach to learning and a sense of family. You will also enjoy the community outreach programmes that make Tangaza stand out as a place that practices partnerships and a positive working alliance aimed at improving our world view and the life of others. We shall continue to journey with you as you actualize your potential. We ask you to maintain our outlook of excellence of mind and spirit and to use our September 2017 human and material resources to prepare for your future professional life. Be a good student, observe moral and spiritual standards provided on campus for your good. Intelligence and goodness are great assets of influencing others in the family and work place. Mawell states that “Enthusiasm and goodness are contagious, they are difficult to remain neutral or indifferent in the presence of a positive thinker”. This is what we all aspire to be in order to have an impact on our lives and the lives of others. To our members of staff and the continuing students, we thank you for the rigor with which you undertake the academic, spiritual and personal excellence attributes. Tangaza shines among other tertiary institutions of learning because of your effort, and the contribution you offer to the society. Mbiti states that “I am because we are”. This is the same case with you. Your diverse gifts and talents constructs the mountain of our goodness. May I wish you all a good and a fruitful academic year, 2017/2018.
- ItemThe Update (August 2017)(Tangaza University College, 2017-08) Tangaza University CollegeI wish to thank all of you for the great support accord- ed me during my first two weeks in office. The transition has been very good. The DVC Designate, Prof Selvam, has been very good due to his institutional memory. As Toler states, a good leader will not know the answer to every question, but knows where to get the answer. You are all the great resource from which the answers to our progress will be derived. I wish to thank Fr Steven Payne, my predecessor, who has been very supportive during the handing over. He is a wonderful team player and was very upbeat on my settling down. We wish him well in his sabbatical and hope that he may join us thereafter. We have been pursuing the issues of the Charter. First, we have formed a consortium of the University Colleges that do not have the requisite size of land to be chartered. The good news is that the guidelines on the land requirements are being revised. We are very confident that Tangaza will meet the threshold after the promulgation of the amendments. This is the only hitch to granting of Charter. The Board of Trustees and the Governing Council are very supportive on our obtaining a Charter. We count on all your prayers so that soon we shall celebrate the Tangaza University’s Birthday. It will be a wonderful occasion. As we prepare for the Charter, we have had a few meetings, and the Directors as well as leaders of various institutes and schools are working towards forming a great synergy and front for our institution. We count on your active participa- tion in this endeavor. We may be calling you to serve in various committees as needs arise. I believe and have experienced your good potential and abilities to be very involved in the transition to full university. We shall then be in the league of world universities, having our niche through our strength in academics as well as the prowess of our charism. August 2017 We recently visited our Kisanju land and we had some discussions on the possibilities about its use. Good proposals were raised and I am following them up with our Tangaza family members. I am sure that something will be realized there not far from this time. We are also looking forward receiving our first-years for admission into various levels of training. Let us be proactive in making them comfortable and fitting into our family. I always remember my first days at campus and how useful everyone was in adapting to the new place and to the academic and spiritual culture of the place. You will be remembered for this when our graduates move on after completing their studies. We have had various innovations in our University College. Media technology in teaching has been much enhanced. We are using the state of the art technology which is second to none in the region. This is the way to go and it is very fulfilling to be at Tangaza.
- ItemThe Update (Behold, I am doing something new)(Tangaza University College, 2017-06) Tangaza University CollegeOne of my final tasks as the outgoing Principal is to introduce my successor, a responsibility I am happy and honoured to fulfill. Rev. Prof. Stephen Mbugua Ngari is a Catholic priest of the diocese of Nakuru. He earned his doctorate in Educational Psychology from Egerton University in 2000, and before that had attended St. John Fish- er College and the Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary right here in Lang’ata. He has been on the staff of Egerton University for over 20 years, serving in many different capacities: as lecturer, department chair, Catholic chaplain, dean of students, and most recently Director of University Welfare Services. Over the years he has also worked closely with the Commission for University Education, and was a panel member for many university visitations. Fr. Stephen’s appointment is innovative in many ways. He will, I believe, be Tangaza’s first Kenyan-born head. According to the decision of the Board of Trustees and Governing Council, he will not be called “Principal” but “Vice Chancellor Designate”, as an indication of how close we seem to be to full recognition as a Kenyan university. Yet judging from the questions I have been asked, per- July 2017 haps what members of the Tangaza family find most surprising is that Fr. Stephen, a diocesan priest, will now be heading an institution that began as the “Theological Centre for Religious”. All of his predecessors have been from one of the member congregations! But although he is not a religious himself, he is very committed to helping Tangaza maintain and en- hance its original mission, vision and values, and the special synergy that arises from the interaction of so many religious charisms. Indeed, after interviewing him extensively, the Board of Trustees and Governing Council became convinced that he is the right choice for this particular moment in Tangaza’s history. With his extensive knowledge and experience of Kenyan tertiary education, and his close relationship with the Commission, he should be able to guide us effectively through the concluding stages of our transition to university status. Thus the Lord is doing “something new” and creative at Tangaza with the appointment of Fr. Stephen. I encourage us all to give him our full support and prayers. Fraternally,
- ItemThe update(Asanteni Sana!)(Tangaza University College, 2017-06) Tangaza University CollegeA s I come to the end of nearly five years as Principal of Tangaza, I am first of all filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. To be able to dedicate yourself to a cause greater than yourself is one of life’s greatest blessings, and I am deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees for having giving me such an opportunity. I am also thankful to the Governing Council and my administration team, especially the Deputy Principal Academic (Dr. Beatrice Churu), the Deputy Principal Student Life (Dr. Andrew Lujuo), the School of Theology Dean and all of the Directors. Like- wise, we wouldn’t have accomplished anything had it not been for the middle management and other staff, the lecturers, the superiors and formators, and of course the students themselves. I want to say “thank you” to each and every member of the Tangaza family, and I am confident that you will continue to offer the same support and encouragement to our successors, the new VC and DVC Academic. I began in August 2012 with the reassurance that my term would likely be uneventful, since we were not expecting any big changes or crises. The BOT just told me to focus especially on promoting the unity of Tangaza. So I did my best during my first year to meet as many Tangaza family members as possible and to be present at every Tangaza gathering in every Tangaza institute, whenever I could. In November 2013, however, everything changed when the Commission for University Education (CUE) gave us an ultimatum, either to apply for a university char- ter or else to hand over Tangaza to become a campus of CUEA. The Board of Trustees chose the charter path, and since that moment the process of transition to university status has become nearly all-consuming. I am grateful to the Transition Coordinator (Dr. Joseph Mwangi) and the Transition Committee for their tireless work. Even the failed merger negotiations with Marist were a blessing in their own way, because Tangaza and the Marist International University College got to know and understand themselves and each other much better in the process. At the same time, I recognize my many shortcomings as Principal and I apologize to anyone whom I might have disappointed during the past five years. Thanks to the combined efforts of so many of you, many positive changes occurred. But of course we never manage to achieve all that we hope for. The biggest disappointment is that, despite our best efforts, we have not yet obtained the university harter. As I prepare to step down, I have often joked that I feel a bit like Moses on Mount Nebo, able to see the Promised Land close at hand but not allowed to lead the people into it. Still, I truly believe that the charter will come soon. Finally, I feel honoured to have served Tangaza as a member of the Discalced Carmelites. We are not the largest or most influential among the 22 corporate member congregations, but we are proud that you have entrusted our members, including myself, with various roles of service to the college. Our friars hope to continue as lecturers, student leaders, and sponsors of the Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation for many years to come. Meanwhile, I will be taking a sabbatical for some months. My provincial has not yet said where he will assign me afterwards. But whether I continue in some other capacity at Tangaza or return to the USA, Tangaza will al- ways be in my thoughts and prayers. I truly believe that Tan- gaza is a work of God, and that therefore it will continue to go from good to better in the years ahead. Asanteni sana to the extended Tangaza family, and may God bless you all!