When Prof Sarah Ssali walked into the ivory towers of Makerere University more than two decades ago as a young lecturer, few would have imagined that she would one day rise to occupy one of the institution’s highest offices. Last month, Prof Ssali etched her name into the 100-year history of Uganda’s oldest university as the new deputy vice chancellor for academic affairs (DVC-AA), replacing Prof Umar Kakumba, whose tenure was not renewed.
Her appointment not only signals a new phase in Makerere’s leadership but also reinforces a long-overdue conversation about gender and representation in higher education, as she is only the second woman in a century to sit among the institution’s top three administrators, after the vice chancellor and deputy vice chancellor in-charge of finance and administration. ‘It is interesting that in 100 years I am only the second female Deputy Vice Chancellor.
This shows that while we’ve made some gender gains, progress is still much slower than it should be.’ Prof Ssali said in an interview with Daily Monitor. Following her announcement, the news reverberated not only through the corridors of Makerere but across the region. But the journey to this appointment was neither quick nor straightforward.
The position of DVC-AA carries with it enormous responsibility, and Makerere, true to its tradition, subjected applicants to a demanding and rigorous vetting process.
Candidates had to present evidence of outstanding academic scholarship, a strong record of administrative leadership, extensive research output, proof of mentorship at postgraduate level, and broad international networks. For many, such requirements would have been overwhelming, but for Prof Ssali, the process became both a test of patience and a journey of rediscovery.
She recalls that it took her several months to put together her application, combing through past records, old research projects, and student supervision reports, only to realize that she had accumulated far more achievements than she had ever stopped to celebrate. It was a reminder, she said, of how important it is for scholars to keep meticulous records and to remain conscious of the networks and partnerships that enrich their academic careers.
She is convinced that many women, despite being equally qualified, hesitate to apply for such positions because they fear stepping out of the safe zone and competing with men at the very top. In her case, she decided to take the risk, and her courage has now paid off.
Appointment, gender representation
Her appointment carries immense symbolism not just for Makerere but also for women across the country who aspire to leadership.
In her own words, it is both a privilege and a burden, saying she is acutely aware that as one of the very few women in such a position, her performance will be judged through a harsher lens than that applied to her male counterparts.
‘When a man fails, he is simply described as a bad manager; but when a woman fails, people are quick to generalize it as evidence that women cannot lead,’Prof Ssali Noted.
For this reason, she carries the appointment as a trust, not only for herself but also for the many young girls and women who see in her story a possibility for their own.
It is this realisation that has made her deeply humbled by the flood of congratulatory messages she has received from across the globe, many of them accompanied by reminders that she must keep academic standards high, defend merit, and do her very best.
Her plans for the university
The office of DVC-AA is at the very heart of Makerere’s identity as a university. It is here that teaching, research, curriculum development, graduate training, quality assurance, and student welfare converge.
Prof Ssali believes that education is not only about the content delivered in classrooms, but also about the environments in which learning takes place. She argues that the difference between a graduate of Makerere and one from Oxford is not always the curriculum itself but the conditions of study.
‘A student who spends three or four years in broken lecture rooms, with malfunctioning projectors, inadequate chairs, dirty washrooms, and no access to clean drinking water, cannot emerge with the same sense of dignity and seriousness as one who has studied in a carefully maintained and stimulating environment, ” she said.
To remedy this, she said that is slated to work hand- in -hand with management and the strategic plan of the institution to introduce a Lecture Room Essentials Checklist, a tool that will track whether basic requirements in teaching spaces are available and functional. She said while such details may appear minor to outsiders, she insists that they are critical in shaping how students perceive their learning experience and how much they respect the knowledge being imparted.
Alongside improving the physical environment, she is also committed to deploying technology as a means of enforcing accountability and enhancing academic standards. She explained that the biometric system, which has long been used to track administrative staff attendance, is being extended to lecture rooms to ensure that lecturers are present and punctual, while students will use the Student Attendance Management System app to register their own attendance.
This, she believes, will create a culture of mutual accountability between lecturers and learners, explaining that the two have been pin-pointing figures against each other over absenteeism. Additionally, she indicated that they are going to strengthen the Student Evaluation of Courses and Teaching tool, which allows students to assess their lecturers in structured ways. This, she notes, is a better alternative to the often uncoordinated complaints and casual social media commentary that have previously shaped perceptions of teaching quality.
Prof Ssali’s vision is not confined to undergraduate teaching. She is deeply concerned about the imbalance between Makerere’s undergraduate and postgraduate output. Currently, she points out, 87 percent of Makerere’s graduates are at undergraduate level, while only thirteen percent are postgraduates. For an institution that aspires to be research-led, such figures are unsustainable.
Her strategy is to strengthen graduate training by improving supervision, instituting mechanisms that minimize the time students spend lingering in incomplete programs, and ensuring that academic programs are re-accredited to meet current global and local needs.
She also intends to make better use of Makerere’s more than seven hundred Memoranda of Understanding with international universities and research institutions, which, beyond financial benefits, often carry opportunities for equipment, technical support, and visiting scholars.
For her, MoUs should move from being ceremonial documents to instruments of real academic growth. Having served on committees that dealt with student affairs and quality assurance, she has seen first-hand the struggles many students face, whether it is financial stress, mental health challenges, or the lack of meaningful mentorship.
She laments that many students end up looking to celebrities and social media influencers as role models, often with problematic consequences. She believes universities must reclaim their responsibility in shaping students’ intellectual and social lives.
As part of this, she plans to strengthen counselling services and reduce the stigma that surrounds seeking mental health support. She is also passionate about sports, which she regards as an integral part of holistic student development. Reflecting on her own student days, she recalls how sports anchored and balanced them, yet today, despite Makerere having excellent facilities, student participation remains low. She wants to revive a vibrant sports culture, not just for competition but for the discipline, resilience, and community it fosters.
Challenges encountered
Balancing such an expansive vision for the university with her personal life is not without its challenges. Beyond her academic persona, Prof. Ssali is a wife, a mother of two, a grandmother, and guardian to seventeen children whose welfare and education she supports. She admits that she, too, grapples with the same issues that many parents face school fees, responsibilities, and the daily challenges of family life.
Yet she believes these experiences ground her and make her more empathetic, especially towards students struggling with similar pressures. Her story, she insists, should inspire young girls, particularly those who doubt themselves because they did not attend elite schools. She is quick to remind them that she did not go to Uganda’s most celebrated secondary schools. She studied at Tororo Girls and later Fairway in Mbale, and yet through commitment and persistence, she has risen to one of the highest positions at the country’s premier university.
Who is Prof Ssali?
Prof Sarah Ssali is an accomplished scholar in the field of social sciences. She has taught and conducted research for decades, producing influential work on issues of health, governance, and women’s empowerment. As a professor, she is admired for her mentorship of young academics and her dedication to advancing scholarship that speaks directly to Uganda’s socio-economic realities. Her academic credentials speak for themselves. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, a Master’s degree in Gender Studies, and a PhD in International Health and Development.
Over the course of twenty-three years, she has lectured, researched, and administered at Makerere, serving as Director of the Institute of Gender and Development Studies, editing five international journals, participating in thirty-eight research projects, and publishing forty-six peer-reviewed articles alongside eight book chapters. She has supervised twenty-seven graduate students, including PhDs, and has sat on the University Council since 2010, chairing committees on quality assurance, student affairs, and staff development. Beyond her academic contributions, she has served in various leadership roles within the university, demonstrating the competence, resilience, and integrity that prepared her for her new appointment.
Beyond Makerere, she sits on boards such as the National Curriculum Development Centre Governing Council, the Uganda Institute of Bankers’ Senate, and previously chaired the advisory board of the Carnegie-funded Next Generation Social Science in Africa programme. For her, success will not just be measured in policies passed or buildings constructed but in the young people whose lives are transformed within the university’s walls. She carries the quiet but firm conviction that women can, and must, lead in spaces that have long been male-dominated.