Ag. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Planning and Institutional Advancement (Ag. DVC APIA)

Dr. Kirira is the acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Planning and Institutional Advancement since 1st August 2022. Professionally, he is a Pharmaceutical Chemist and holds an MSc in Organic Chemistry from Kenyatta University and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Nagasaki University, Japan. In addition to his PhD, he undertook a 2-year post-doctorate fellowship programme in Synthetic Chemistry at Kyoto University, Japan. He joined Mount Kenya University in 2013 as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Pure & Applied Sciences. Prior to his engagement by MKU, he served as a Senior Scientist at Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Traditional Medicine & Drug Research. Since his appointment, he has served under various capacities including as a Deputy Director, Research & Development, founding Director, Mount Kenya University Foundation, and lately as the founding Principal, College of Graduate Studies and Research.

Dr. Kirira is an accomplished researcher with interest in drug research with a focus on malaria and cancer. In addition, he has taken a leadership role in the implementation of individual and consortium projects on community engagement, entrepreneurship, innovation and graduate employability.  He is the chairperson of the Institutional Scientific & Ethics Review Committee (ISERC).  Dr. Kirira has over 30 peer reviewed publications, holds three patents, and has won over 10 individual and consortium grants with the latest being the Engaged Faculty Scholar Research Grant 2022 by the Open Society University Network (OSUN) Civic Engagement Initiative and the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities. He was featured in the 2022 AD Scientific Index of the Kenya Top Scientists. In the course of his career, Dr. Kirira has successively supervised several postgraduate students. He is a peer reviewer with scientific journals as well as an external examiner of postgraduate students from various Universities in Kenya.

Overview of the role of the DVC APIA's Office

Welcome to the Administration, Planning and Institutional Advancement (APIA) division. The division is mandated to discharge functions of managing the University’s human resources, information and communication technology, physical infrastructure and security services.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor APIA, is responsible for supporting the Vice- Chancellor on all matters of administration, leadership and institutional advancement geared towards full realization of the University’s Vision, Mission and Objectives as articulated in the strategic plan. To this end, the DVC-APIA is mandated to support in mobilizing the division to come up with and implement prudent administrative plans, policies and operational guidelines that operationalize the realization of the universities dreams and aspirations.

 

Specifically the key functions of division include;
i) Overall administration and management of University resources.
ii) Implementation of university plans, policies, strategies and programmes.
iii) Human resource management and development.
iv) Management of Information management Systems.
v) Planning and coordination of university development.
vi) Development and provision of quality services.
vii) Coordination of security services.

In order to facilitate the smooth running and coordination the division is organized into four directorates; Human Resource, Institutional Planning and Administration, Information Communication Technology and Security directorates. The division is committed to create a conductive work ecosystem that supports our highly competent dedicated and professional staff to provide exemplary services to our students, faculty, support staff and other stakeholders.