Simeon Ominde (1924 - 1995)

Dr. Ominde was appointed Professor and Chair of the Geography Department at the University of Nairobi in 1964, becoming the first African professor in East Africa and putting an end to the myth that academic departments in East Africa could not function unless headed by non-Africans. The following year Ominde was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He was integral to restructuring the Kenyan system of education post- independence and led the efforts for the commission to review the education system which resulted in the Education Commission Report of 1964 which laid the groundwork for education reform in Kenya and the removal of the segregationist colonial legacy as well as the racial system of schools. Professor Ominde was the Founder and Director of the Population Studies and Research Institute at the University of Nairobi – a forum for the multidisciplinary approach to population studies and research – and he would guide the research of the institute for over a decade. He has authored monographs, articles, and reports and has presented papers in forums in Kenya and abroad. Dr. Ominde was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Britain.