In Kenya, Adventist University of Africa Installs New Vice-Chancellor

The Adventist University of Africa (AUA) held the installation ceremony of its new vice-chancellor on the school’s main campus in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 20, 2021. Vincent Injety, an experienced Seventh-day Adventist academic, has become the third person to hold that position in the university’s history.

The installation event, which was held in conjunction with the 10th graduation ceremony of the school, was attended by 200 people, following COVID-19-related regulations in Kenya. Additionally, more than 300 guests attended by Zoom videoconference, including church officials from the Adventist Church headquarters and the North American Division (NAD), both in Maryland, United States. 

Mwenda Ntarangwi, commission secretary and CEO of the Commission for University Education in Kenya, delivered the keynote address. NAD president Alexander Bryant preached during the consecration service.

Ntarangwi commended AUA “for its commendable and steady growth.” He said, “Congratulations for continuing to graduate post-graduate students who will soon reach the 800 mark.” Part of that steady growth has to do with good leadership from the sponsor organization, the school administration, faculty, students, and support staff, Ntarangwi said.

Ella Simmons, a general vice-president of the Adventist Church and AUA Council chair, oversaw the installation service. Simmons reminded those attending the ceremony that AUA was conceived and established for a distinctive purpose. “In times such as these, it is ever more important that it remains true to its original purpose while addressing needs that are unique only to these last days,” she said. “Today, we move forward in the confidence of God‘s guidance and benevolence for present and future challenges.” 

Simmons charged the new vice-chancellor to “avail himself as an instrument of righteousness” and “carry out his responsibilities with diligence,” relying entirely upon God.

Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, Adventist Church education director, congratulated the new vice-chancellor and prayed that God would grant him “a wise and discerning heart, as He did for Solomon in an earlier time,” according to the story recorded in the Bible. “We at the General Conference Department of Education wish for Dr. Injety every success,” she said.

Blasious Ruguri, East-Central Africa Division (ECD) president and AUA chancellor, presented Injety with several symbols of office such as the university charter, seal, logo, and mace, to publicly affirm him in his new position.

From the Adventist Church headquarters, General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson and associate treasurer George Egwakhe attended through a Zoom link. They were joined by regional education directors, church administrators, and dozens of special guests on the videoconference call.

About the New Vice-Chancellor

Vincent R. Injety, a professor and researcher in management, brings to AUA 30 years of experience in higher education, including 10 years of lecturing and 20 years of academic leadership. He spent 10 years at Spicer Adventist University in India as a lecturer in the Faculty of Business. In 1999, he accepted a call to Solusi Adventist University in Zimbabwe to serve as the Master of Business Administration program director. Later he was elected the school dean and eventually became the pro-vice-chancellor.

In 2008, he was elected dean of the Faculty of Business at Helderberg College of Higher Education in South Africa. Later, he became the vice-president of Academic Administration. In 2013, Injety was elected the school president, a position he held till 2020. In 2015, he was ordained as an Adventist gospel minister by the South African Union Conference.

Injety holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Spicer Memorial College; a Master of Business Administration from Andrews University; a doctorate in management from the University of Pune; and a post-graduate Diploma in Higher Education from the University of South Africa. His teaching, research, and publications are in strategic management, leadership, finance, and general management. 

He is married to Lynda, who currently serves at AUA as Quality Assurance director. Both are children of Adventist pastors and have been serving in Africa for the past 22 years. They have two children, Sahana, who lives in Canada, and Steven, a student at Andrews University in the United States.

New Vice-Chancellor’s Remarks

Injety commended the service of his predecessors, Brempong Owusu-Antwi and Delbert Baker, who, he said, laid a solid foundation. “Owusu-Antwi was like Abraham, who, not knowing where he was going, took up the challenge and worked towards the accreditation of the university,” Injety said. “Baker was like Moses, who took up gigantic projects focusing on advancement and infrastructural development.”

The new vice-chancellor then paralleled himself to Joshua, who took the mantle from Moses. He committed himself to work to develop leaders, solve societal problems, and facilitate a moral transformation. Injety also mentioned establishing accredited research journals as an impetus to research and sharing research findings, as well as expanding AUA’s academic programs and offerings to new territories, making post-graduate education accessible and affordable.

In his dedicatory prayer, Wilson asked God to “lead Dr. Injety as He had led His people in the past.” He charged Injety to be of good courage, fulfilling the great commission recorded in the Bible (Matthew 28:19, 20). Wilson also prayed for Injety “to instill in the hearts of students the magnificent commission that God has given to us, so that like Isaiah they can say, ‘Lord, use me.’ ”

About the Adventist University of Africa

AUA is one of the General Conference institutions (educational institutions managed by the Adventist Church headquarters) offering post-graduate education in preparing global leadership and educators to support the mission and strategic goals of the Adventist Church. Established in 2006, the university primarily serves the three African divisions: East-Central Africa, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean, and West-Central Africa.

It currently offers nine master’s degrees in the areas of theology and religion, business administration, health, and computer sciences. It also offers three doctoral degrees, including a PhD in Leadership.

AUA received initial accreditation by the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges and Universities (AAA) in 2005 and has retained that accreditation ever since. AUA’s enrollment is currently at 576 students, with 794 graduates from 33 African countries since its inception.