Bishop Yemba named chancellor for Africa University
Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo (left) congratulates Bishop David
K. Yemba as the newly elected chancellor and chairman of the board of
directors of United
Methodist-related Africa University. A UMNS photo by Linda Green. |
By Andra Stevens*
Dec. 19, 2008 | MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)
United Methodist Bishop David Kekumba Yemba, a founding member of
Africa University’s department of theology, is the school's new
chancellor and chairman of its board of directors.
Yemba was named Dec. 6 to help lead the United Methodist-related
school in Zimbabwe, effective immediately. He will remain bishop of the
church's Central Congo Area.
Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo, the outgoing chancellor and board
chairman, described Yemba's election as an "important and strategic
decision" that comes at a defining moment in the university’s history.
"In these difficult times for Zimbabwe and for institutions that are
operating there, we have in Bishop Yemba someone who understands and
believes in Africa University," said Ntambo, bishop of the North Katanga
Area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "He is returning to lead an
institution that he was intimately involved with from the beginning and
his passion for its development and future is evident."
In addition, Yemba was elected a vice president of the All Africa
Conference of Churches during its Dec. 7-12 general assembly in Maputo,
Mozambique. He and four other regional vice presidents will assist
Archbishop Valentine Mokiwa, the conference’s new president and the
fifth Primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.
The bishop’s association with Africa University began in 1991 as the
founding dean of the faculty of theology. He was the institution’s first
international staff member and served the faculty for more than 13
years. Yemba resigned from the university following his election as a
United Methodist bishop in 2005.
"My primary objective in this new role is to continue to work for
excellence in all facets of university life, taking into consideration
the economic environment," Yemba said. "Africa University is on track.
It has been in good hands with the church, the board and the staff, and
this is giving me confidence as I look at where the university stands
right now and what it needs to move forward in its ministry."
Leadership transition
Yemba’s election as chancellor is part of a leadership transition
that began in December 2007 with the departure of the university’s
second vice chancellor, Rukudzo Murapa, and Ntambo’s announcement of his
desire to place the university’s top job into new hands. A 12-person
search committee worked with Washington D.C.-based Academic Search Inc.
to screen and recommend candidates for both posts.
While the search for a new vice chancellor continues, the board was unanimous in its choice of Yemba as chancellor.
"As interim vice chancellor, I am grateful to the board members for
their wisdom in choosing Bishop Yemba," said Fanuel Tagwira. "His
election as the new chancellor is a proud moment for Africa University. …
He will certainly add value to the university as it moves into its next
phase."
“My primary objective in this new role is
to continue to work for excellence in all facets of university life,
taking into consideration the economic environment.”
–Bishop David Kekumba Yemba
Yemba begins his new job at a time when Africa University is
operating under intense pressure due to socio-economic turmoil in
Zimbabwe. In response to these challenges, the school is taking
extraordinary steps to ensure its fiscal health and sustainability.
At its Dec. 3-6 meeting, the board approved new measures aimed at
retaining faculty and other staff and maintaining the quality of its
service delivery.
"I have never been more hopeful for Africa University, even in the
midst of this terribly deficient economic situation," said the Rev.
Jerome King Del Pino, top executive of the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry, which oversees the university.
"We have been blessed with a new chancellor who already understands
the challenges of the Zimbabwean context and the utter necessity of the
university going from strength to strength, even in this time of
adversity," Del Pino said.
As the chief administrator of the United Methodist Church in Central
Congo, an area that encompasses six annual conferences, Yemba brings
significant experience to his new role.
A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemba began his
professional life and ministry in 1970 as chaplain of the United
Methodist secondary school at Katubwe in Kasai Province.
He joined academia in 1972 and served in numerous capacities at
higher education institutions in the Congo, attaining a professorship
with the Protestant University of the Congo in 1990. Yemba later became
head of that university—a role he served in until appointed dean of the
faculty of theology at Africa University in 1991.
Yemba and his wife, Henriette, have five children and four grandchildren.
*Stevens is director of information and public affairs at Africa University.
News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related stories
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Africa University’s Yemba becomes Central Congo bishop
Africa University copes with Zimbabwe’s economy
Africa University's chief executive to step down
Resources
Africa University
Africa University Development Office
Board of Higher Education and Ministry
Episcopal Areas--Africa |