Lorna Magara is the first woman to be elected

chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Makerere University Council, since the founding of the university in 1922. She was elected to a renewable four-year term, effective 20 December 2018. The Council is a 27-member body that serves as the supreme governing organ of Uganda's largest and oldest

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Background and education

She was born to Hezron and Catherine Kakuyo in 1966 and spent most of her childhood in Jinja. After attending Victoria and Berkley primary schools, both in eastern Uganda, for her primary education, she then joined

Gayaza High School Gayaza High School is the oldest all-girls boarding secondary school covering grades 8 to 13 (Secondary 1 to 6) in Uganda. The school is Church of Uganda, Church-founded, government of Uganda, government-aided and accredited by the Ministry of Ed ...

for all six years of her secondary education Ms Magara was admitted to

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

in 1985, where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree with a concurrent

Diploma in Education The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Overview The diploma can build on the ...

, in 1988. Her second degree is a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Organizational Leadership and Management, awarded by

Uganda Christian University Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a private church-founded university administered by the Church of Uganda. It was the first private University in Uganda to be awarded a charter by the Government of Uganda. Location UCU's main campus, with a ...

, in

Mukono District Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono serves as the district headquarters and is home to the district's main commercial center. Location Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the nort ...

. In addition, she has several certificates in leadership and education from local and international institutions.

Career

During the first six years of her career, from 1989 until 1995, Ms Magara was a human resource officer at Uganda National Social Security Fund (NSSF). In this capacity, she was part of the team that established the training department and manpower planning unit at NSSF. After that, she went into private consulting and serves as the Director at ''Destiny Consult Limited'', a private consultancy that provided leadership training programs. This phase of her career lasted 12 years, until 2008. In 2008 she became a faculty member at ''African Kingdom Business Forum'' (AKBF), a personnel development consultancy that provides leadership training programs. She also started working as a member of the faculty at ''Sundolous African Leadership Training Program'' (SALT), another human resources and training consultancy. She is expected to serve a renewable four-year term as Chairperson of Makerere University Council and will be deputized by

Daniel Kidega Daniel Fred Kidega is a Ugandan politician and former Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, in office from December 2014 until June 2017. As of August 2020, he served as the chairman of Atiak Sugar Factory, in Amuru District, in wh ...

, the former speaker of the

East African Legislative Assembly The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms. History Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...

Other considerations

Ms Magara is the founder and Principal of ''Vine International Christian Academy'', a school with grades from Pre-School to Grade 12, located in Kungu,

Kira Municipality Kira Town, a municipality in the Wakiso District of the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda, is the country's second most populous city. It is administered by the Kira Town Council, an urban local government. Location Kira town coun ...

Wakiso District Wakiso District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda that partly encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The town of Wakiso is the site of the district headquarters. Kira Town, Kira, the count ...

, Buganda Region, Uganda. She is a Director at ''Jubilee Dental Limited'', a company that operates three dental clinics in Uganda and one in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. She is the Africa Representative of Accelerated Education Enterprise, Uganda Chapter; Team Leader of Education Accelerators Uganda Limited. She is the Uganda Coordinator for International Certificate for Christian Education.

Personal life

Lorna Magara is married to Dr. James Magara and the couple has four children between them, three boys and one girl. She is also sister to

Allen Kagina Allen Catherine Kagina is a Ugandan administrator and corporate executive. She was the executive director of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). She was appointed to that position on 27 April 2015 and was made redundant on 23rd December ...

, Jocelyn Kyobutungi Rugunda (wife to Uganda's Prime Minister

Ruhakana Rugunda Ruhakana Rugunda (born 7 November 1947) is a Ugandan physician and politician who was Prime Minister of Uganda from 2014 to 2021. He held a long series of cabinet posts under President Yoweri Museveni beginning in 1986. He served as Uganda's M ...

) as well as Caleb Kakuyo, the former Chief Commercial Officer at the

National Housing and Construction Company National Housing and Construction Company Limited (NHCC), is a Ugandan construction and real estate management company, partly owned by the Uganda Government. The Company’s mandate is to increase the housing stock in the country, rehabilitate t ...

, among others

References

External links

Website of Makerere University

Lorna Magara Elected New Chairperson Of Makerere University Council

Succession table as Chairperson of Makerere University Council

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magara, Lorna 1966 births Living people Ugandan educators Ugandan women educators 21st-century Ugandan businesswomen 21st-century Ugandan businesspeople Makerere University alumni Uganda Christian University alumni People educated at Gayaza High School People from Kiruhura District