Makerere University will tomorrow award a Honorary Doctorate of Science to Prof. Christopher Curtis Whalen.
This will take place during the 73rd Graduation ceremony, where total of 13221 graduands will be awarded different awards including; PhDs, Masters, Post-graduates, Undergraduate, Diplomas and Certificates.
Ritah Namisango, the Principal Public Relations Officer of Makerere University, and Member of the Ceremonies Committee said in a Notice seen by this news website that the award is in recognition of Prof. Whalen’s distinguished career in research with impactful interventions,
“being an influential academic leader, highly productive educator of new scientists in Africa and the USA, and his proven faith in humanity evidenced by his determination to improve the wellbeing of Ugandan men, women and children,”
“He is credited with contributing to the re-building of academic and public health infrastructure in Uganda by training Ugandan scientists and health professionals,” she said
According to Namisango, Prof. Whalen has significantly contributed to the fight against COVID-19, “by supporting laboratories at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences,”
“Across his 30-year partnership with Makerere University, he has helped to garner approximately 90 million USD for research in Uganda, with most of his publications including one or more scientists from Makerere University,”
Prof. Whalen is a physician-epidemiologist, who has high interests in reducing the suffering and mortality associated with infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis and HIV infection.
He is committed to working in the regions of the world that are most afflicted by these diseases so my research and clinical activities focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Uganda.
As far as education is concerned, Prof. Whalen holds a Master’s in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, from the School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 1992, MD, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 1984
AB, English, Stanford University, 1978
His major areas of focus are; Tuberculosis
HIV, Infectious Diseases
Epidemiology study design and analysis
Causation
Previous Honors:
1984: Alpha Omega Alpha, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
1991: Junior Faculty Research Award, Society of General Internal Medicine
1997: Nominee for Clinical Teacher of the Year Award, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
1998: John S. Diekhoff Award for Distinguished Graduate Teaching, Graduate Studies Program, Case Western Reserve University
2002: Nominee for Kaiser-Permanente Award for Excellence in Teaching, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
2004: Elected to American Epidemiological Society
2008 Teacher of the Year, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine
2009: Invited Speaker, George Naff Annual Lecture, Case Western Reserve University
2009: Delta Omega National Honorary Society in Public Health
2010 Ernest Corn Professor in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University of Georgia
2011: Award for Excellence in Research, College of Public Health, University of Georgia
2012: Distinguished Research Professor, University of Georgia
2017: Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award, Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust
2019: Karen and Jim Holbrook Professor of Global Health
2019: George W. Comstock Lecture, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
0ver 13000 to Graduate
According to the Notice, the University will pass out 13221 graduands between Tomorrow Monday February 13 and Friday February 17.
The ceremony will be held at the Freedom Square.
Of these, 6809 representing 52% are female and 6412 (48%) are male.
The total number of PhD graduands: 102 (Of these, 41 are female and 61 are male)
Out of the 1,378 Masters graduands,, 563 are female and 815 being male.
“Total number of Postgraduate diplomas: 108 (Of these, 36 are female and 72 are male). Total number of undergraduate diplomas: 35 (of these, 13 are female and 22 are male) and a total number of Undergraduate Degree Programmes: 11,598 (Of these, 6156 are female and 5442 are male,”
The College of Natural Sciences; College of Health Sciences; and the School of Law will kickstart the weeklong graduation on Monday.
Hon. Janet Museveni, the Minister of Education will be the guest of honor in a graduation that will be presided over by the Chancellor, Prof. Ezra Suruma.
“On each day of the graduation, the graduands and invited guests are expected to be seated in the Freedom Square by 7:00am,” she added..
