OHIO welcomes Kenyan academic Margaret Keraka as Glidden visiting professor

Professor Margaret Keraka, of Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, concluded a three-week fellowship at Ohio University as the Robert Glidden Visiting Professor.

“I really appreciate the warm welcome and hospitality during my time at OHIO. I appreciate all who met with me and the rich discussions that were had to enhance research and curricular collaborations at the two institutions,” Keraka said. “I look forward to welcoming an OHIO delegation to Kenyatta University to meet their counterparts and continue the rich partnership.”

Keraka’s fellowship took place from Sept. 5-24. The Robert and René Glidden Visiting Professorship program supports short-term academic appointments for distinguished visitors to Ohio University. The purpose of the professorship is to expose Ohio University students and faculty to outstanding individuals and make such individuals aware of the strengths and resources of Ohio University. Glidden professors are expected to be distinguished individuals who have attained wide recognition based upon their artistic, engineering, historical, literary, or scientific achievement.

As both a dean and professor in environmental and population health at Kenyatta University’s School of Public Health, Keraka has focused her research on sexual and reproductive health; HIV/AIDS; maternal and child health; global water, sanitation and hygiene, among others.

She is a highly established scholar, teacher and administrator in public health in Kenya and throughout Africa. She’s committed her career to transforming the educational system in Kenya, having collaborated with other universities to develop undergraduate degree programs in community health and medical education. Together with eight African universities, she helped establish the Africa Academy for Environmental Health, which aims to develop an environmental health curricula and accredited diploma degree programs in environmental health in Southern African Development Community higher education institutes.

She also has consulted for numerous organizations in Kenya and Africa such as the United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Children's Fund and National Council for Population and Development.

Her faculty host at OHIO was Caroline Kingori, associate professor of community and public health and interim associate dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in the College of Health Sciences and Professions. The two have a longstanding professional partnership, having previously collaborated on grant funding, developing research study proposals, and revising curriculum.

Furthermore, Keraka hosted Kingori at Kenyatta University, who was awarded a Visiting Professor Fellowship in the university’s School of Public Health in 2021. During that fellowship, Kingori was engaged in developing a certificate program in reproductive health, advising graduate students, and developing proposals for research projects. Now that Keraka has taught at OHIO, the ongoing partnership between the two institutions has further enhanced and solidified.

While Keraka visited OHIO, she worked on joint research with Kingori, who is an expert in reproductive and sexual health, on youth-friendly reproductive and sexual health services in Kenya. The online study is currently recruiting participants in Kenya and will report findings soon.

“Professor Keraka’s visit strengthened my global health research. Our interest in reproductive and sexual health issues, particularly among young adults in Kenya, is vital in providing timely recommendations to enhance youth-friendly health services,” Kingori said. “We plan to use findings to solicit for funds from relevant agencies to develop contextual interventions, with a particular emphasis on technology and health.”

During her tenure, Keraka met with various OHIO faculty across the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Health Sciences and Professions, African Studies, Alden Library and Geography. She was met with a warm welcome by John McCarthy, interim dean in the College of Health Sciences and Professions.

“Scholarly exchanges can inspire and challenge us and form the cornerstone for new and ongoing partnerships. I greatly enjoyed meeting professor Keraka and talking about not only her research but also the similarities and differences in organizing and administrating health programs. Special thanks to Dr. Kingori for ensuring that this was a true exchange following her own visit to professor Keraka’s home institution last year,” McCarthy said.

Meetings with faculty and administrators from across campus included Darlene Berryman, Gillian Ice, Michele Morrone, Diane Cahill, Patrick Mose, Diane Ciekawy, Edna Wangui, Cat Cutcher, Eliza Harper, Michael Reece, Rick Hodges, Cory Cronin, Anirudh Ruhil, and Araba Dawson, among others. Discussions revolved around joint curriculum activities and research opportunities.

“It was a pleasure to meet professor Keraka and engage in a vibrant dialogue about the work happening here at the intersection of social determinants of health, health behaviors, and outcomes. I am excited about the potential for collaborative learning and research with professor Keraka and her colleagues. Hopefully that is what 2023 has in store,” said Anirudh Ruhil, a professor at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. 

On Sept. 14, Keraka presented her research at the African Studies colloquium Africa@OHIO, where she presented a talk titled “Reproductive Health and Health Promotion in Kenya.” She also served as a guest lecturer in various courses in the public health and geography departments and met students with whom she discussed her public health career as well as study abroad opportunities at Kenyatta University.