President William Ruto has named Equity Group CEO and MD Dr James Mwangi as the first Chancellor of the Open University of Kenya (OUK), Kenya's completely virtual university.

President Ruto made the announcement during a ceremony to award a charter to the state-of-the-art university located at Konza Technopolis in Machakos County on Thursday.

While accepting the appointment, Dr Mwangi thanked the Head of State for giving him a chance to serve as the inaugural Chancellor of the new institution of higher learning.

“I’m humbled that you have given me a responsibility to provide this service for this country on your behalf, which I humbly accept,” Dr Mwangi said while accepting the appointment.

The Equity Group boss promised to execute his new mandate to the best of his ability coming as his 10-year tenure as the chancellor of Meru University ended on July 20, 2023.

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“You have bestowed on me the trust to perform the function of a chancellor just when my service as the chancellor of Meru University has just ended having served from 2013 to 2023.

“I can assure you that I will bring the insights that I’ve learnt to this new university.”

Dr Mwangi, a certified accountant, career banker and an entrepreneur, formerly served as the founding chairman of Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board (2007-2019).

The Open University of Kenya will admit its first remote learning students in September and the institution of higher learning is targeting to enlist 7,100 students during its first intake.

OUK will offer Bachelor of Economics and Statistics, Bachelor of Data Science, Bachelor of Science in Business and Entrepreneurship and Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics.

It will also offer Bachelor of Technology Education, Post-Graduate Diploma in Leadership and Accountability as well as a Post-Graduate Diploma in Learning, Design and Technology.

On his part, President Ruto affirmed the government's commitment to expanding access to affordable and quality education in Kenya saying his administration seeks to offer competitive and industry-driven education aligned with its economic transformation agenda.

Speaking when he toured Konza, he indicated that the government's objective is to deliver a 100 per cent transition from secondary school to university.