There are moments in the life of a university when it pauses, not to rest, but to remember who it is.

The 2026 Academic Staff Week at Strathmore University was one such moment. As the July Cohort stepped into their study break ahead of examinations beginning Monday, March 9, the University’s faculty gathered for their annual workshop, a deliberate pause from the demands of teaching to reflect, recalibrate, and renew their shared mission. Anchored in the theme of Personalised Attention, the week invited academic staff to reflect not only on what they teach but also on whom they are forming and becoming.

The highlight of the week was the keynote address delivered by Prof. Luis Ravina, Director of the Navarra Center for International Development and Professor of International Economy at the University of Navarra. Prof. Ravina offered both encouragement and challenge to a university in motion.

Having first visited Strathmore in 2009, he spoke warmly of its remarkable growth but reminded staff that, while necessary, growth is never neutral. “It is no easy task,” he noted, “to remain faithful to the spirit of the beginnings… and at the same time to adapt to new times with both quantitative and qualitative growth.”

Drawing from the intellectual tradition of the University of Navarra, Prof. Ravina reflected on what it means to preserve a cultured and respectful academic environment, one that fosters dialogue between faculty and students, in freedom and trust.

Universities, he said, must continue to do what they have always done. Provide quality teaching, develop relevant research, transfer knowledge to society, and govern effectively.

In an era shaped by artificial intelligence, hybrid learning systems, and global knowledge networks, he acknowledged that structural shifts are inevitable. “AI is already transforming classrooms, research practices, and institutional scale,” said Prof. Ravina.

But technological acceleration, he cautioned, must be matched by moral depth. According to him, research and teaching are never morally neutral. They participate in a broader human story.

The antidote to fragmentation, he argued, lies in intellectual integration. A strong Core Curriculum preserves the unity of knowledge and restores depth in a culture prone to dispersion

“From its inception, curriculum was linked to humanistic formation, to the conviction that education must cultivate not only technical competence but depth of judgment,” said Prof. Ravina.

Without such integration, universities risk producing competent professionals but incomplete persons. Borrowing from contemporary academic discourse, Prof. Ravina reframed flourishing as the search for meaning through developing one’s talents, learning to dialogue, and living coherently

In the words of St. John Paul II, he challenged the university community to ask whether, amid progress, the human person truly becomes “more spiritually mature, more aware of the dignity of his humanity, more responsible, more open to others.”

For Strathmore, whose identity is rooted in Christian values, this question is not abstract. It shapes pedagogy, governance, and institutional culture. Education here is not value-neutral. It is ordered toward the formation of the whole person, intellectually, morally, and spiritually.

Speaking during the workshop, Strathmore University Vice Chancellor, Dr. Vincent Ogutu, reminded faculty that the University’s ambition is not simply to be the best, but to shape individuals who, in turn, shape society. True transformation, he noted, begins at the level of belief.

“Where you truly transform people is at the level of belief. We are here to touch students’ hearts and minds. You will be surprised at what people remember,” said Dr. Ogutu.

He urged faculty to move beyond content delivery and performance metrics, encouraging them to truly see their students, listen attentively, and discover what ignites their passions.

As Academic Staff Week drew to a close, the faculty found themselves united around a shared conviction that education begins with the disciplined act of listening, sustained by a genuine commitment to dialogue, and fulfilled in the daily choice to see each student as a person.

Throughout the week, faculty immersed themselves in focused reflection and professional renewal. Through plenary sessions, departmental workshops, and dynamic discussions, they explored personalised attention, AI-driven pedagogy, research integrity, and the strengthening of Strathmore’s Core Curriculum. It was a week of shared insights, fresh thinking, and renewed commitment to dialogue, mentorship, and academic excellence across disciplines.

In an era of accelerating change, Strathmore’s future may lie in striving for excellence while steadfastly placing the human person at the center of its mission. For in the end, a university flourishes only when its people do.

Article written by Stephen Wakhu