Prof. Collette A. Suda PhD, FKNAS, CBS, EBS

Prof. Collette Akoth Suda is a distinguished scholar and a career administrator who has served the public with distinction for over three decades.  Prof. Suda holds a PhD in Rural Sociology, two Masters degrees in Rural Sociology and Community Development from the University of Missouri – Columbia, USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Nairobi.

She started her career in academia, pursuing research and scholarship, and rose through the ranks from the position of Research Fellow (Lecturer) to Full Professor of Research at the Institute of African Studies (now known as the Department of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies), University of Nairobi. She also served as the Director of the Institute of African Studies and as the Director of the Board of Common Undergraduate Courses in the same institution.

As a scholar, Prof. Suda has coordinated several multi-disciplinary research projects and programs, and published over 26 papers in peer-refereed journals, chapters in books, and co-authored a book. Her seminal work in academia culminated in the delivery of her Inaugural Lecture titled Formal Monogamy and Informal Polygyny in Parallel: African Family Traditions in Transition which was delivered at the University of Nairobi in October, 2007.

Beyond academia, Prof. Suda has held several senior leadership positions in the public sector, leading to her vast experience in policy development, public sector reforms, gender mainstreaming, and strategic management.

In mainstream public service, Prof. Suda has served in various sectors: first as the Secretary for Gender and Social Development; then as Principal Secretary for Science and Technology; Principal Secretary for University Education and Research; Principal Secretary for Gender; Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Education; and Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Energy.

Throughout her journey in public life, she has chaired and served as a member in Boards of various public and private sector institutions, including an appointment as Commissioner in the former National Commission on Gender and Development; Member of the Advisory Board of the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), Member of the Board of Jamii Bora Bank and Member of the Governing Council of the National Crime Research Centre, among others.

Prof Suda is affiliated to several professional bodies, which include Fellowship in Kenya National Academy of Sciences; Membership in African Rural Social Sciences Research Networks, and UNESCO’s Inter-Governmental Committee on Social Transformation.

Prof. Suda’s distinguished career and exemplary service to the public has earned her recognition by the Head of State, who awarded her Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) and Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS). She has also been awarded the Order of Academic Palms (Ordre des Palmes Academiques) by the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of France, for distinguished academics in the field of culture and education.