Ruto appoints Patrick V. Verkooijen as UoN Chancellor
Prof Verkooijen has served as the chair of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi since September 23, 2022.
President William Ruto has appointed Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) CEO, Prof Patrick V. Verkooijen, as Chancellor of the University of Nairobi for a five-year term.
Prof Verkooijen has served as the chair of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi since September 23, 2022.
He was appointed to the position by UoN Vice Chancellor, Prof Stephen Kiama.
He takes over from Dr Vijoo Rattansi whose tenure has ended.
Prof Verkooijen, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Centre on Adaptation, becomes the institution’s first Chancellor from outside Africa.
He will formally assume the role on February 1, this year.
President Ruto said he was joyed that Prof Verkooijen will be leading the institution.
“He brings a wealth of experience that will help stimulate the University of Nairobi’s growth,” said the President.
A Dutch national, Prof Verkooijen holds a PhD from Wageningen University, an MPA from Harvard, a masters in philosophy from the University of Amsterdam and an environmental engineering degree from the University of Utrecht Applied Sciences.
On September 28, 2023, President Ruto joined the GCA advisory board.
"President of the Republic of Kenya and Chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change has accepted an invitation from Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and CEO Professor Patrick Verkooijen, to join the GCA Advisory Board," a dispatch said.
"During a high-level official meeting which took place today at the State House in Nairobi, Professor Patrick Verkooijen and President Ruto discussed a roadmap to guide the mobilization of the financial commitments for adaptation which were made at the Africa Climate Summit hosted by the President in Nairobi earlier this month."
The Global Center on Adaptation describes itself as an "organisation working as a solutions broker to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector, to ensure we learn from each other and work together for a climate-resilient future".
