Vice Chancellor Prof John Odhiambo addressed first year students admitted to the University in the 2010-2011 academic year on 13th July. He assured them that their decision to join Strathmore was worthwhile. Here are his remarks:

Welcome to Strathmore
Good morning. On behalf of the entire Strathmore community, I extend a warm welcome to all of you. We are proud to have you here, and this morning we officially receive you as Strathmore University students.

Your journey to Strathmore was obviously one of many challenges: exams, applications, visits, interviews, questions and decisions. It may have seemed that it would never end. But it did end successfully. And now you are about to embark on a whole new journey, perhaps the most exciting journey of your life.

You are probably sitting there feeling a million different emotions and asking yourself a million different questions. "Did I make the right choice?" -without a doubt; "Is this worth the sacrifices I have made to get here?" -absolutely; and perhaps you are not the admissions mistake. In fact, I can assure each and every one of you that you are here because you deserve to be and because you can bring something new and exciting to this diverse learning community. So welcome!

The Strathmore Family
Our families are a vital part of our lives. They provide advice, they give us support when we need it most, and they are the first to revel in our accomplishments. I know that you cherish the love and support of your families, and I know how proud they are of you.

And now, today, you are becoming members of another family: the Strathmore family. We are a family bound by fundamental core values that we pledge to uphold. These values are: love for truth, love for freedom, honesty, service to others, respect for others, intellectual curiosity commitment to excellence, and leadership. This is a place where hard work is rewarded, where freedom and responsibility is expected, and, where all people are respected.

All activities and the people who study and work here are guided by the principles of Christian teaching, more specifically, the teachings of the Catholic Church. However there is no discrimination on the basis of religion or cultural beliefs; there is great respect for the religious and cultural beliefs of others. This respect must be observed at all times and in all places in the University.  A key principle is respect for the dignity of fellow students, lecturers and other workers in the University. In Strathmore respect for others and caring for the well being of others whether they are fellow students or members of staff or visitors to the University is a way of life.

You have to show a good example while you are inside the University and when you are outside the University. Kenya and the world are in need of your good example. People will come into contact with Strathmore through you.  Strathmore will be as good as its students are. 

Your new Strathmore family includes thousands of illustrious alumni: men and women who have done important things and made significant contributions to the world. From Kenya and East Africa to USA and Canada, to South Africa and UK, Strathmore alumni have left their imprint in virtually every corner of the world. The University has produced world champions in academics, sports, and service to the community around us. All our sports teams have the capacity to demolish any teams of rugby, hockey, basketball and soccer.

But they don't excel in academics, sports and professional work only. Most of our students develop a unique and enduring spirit of service while studying here through the obligatory community attachment programme and by participating in the activities of the Community Out- Reach Club. Some of them carry with them this passion to serve others as they graduate from the University. 

You are not going to be the exceptions. We expect you to be exemplary achievers, world champions, trend setters in whatever endeavours you undertake during your studies here at Strathmore.  We expect you to participate actively in club activities and professional associations which will provide you with opportunities to acquire leadership and the personal skills, which you cannot get in a formal class or lesson.

Be promoters of Strathmore by participating in sports. In Strathmore we set our own standards and improve them on a continuous basis.

Seek out your Mentor
You will also find many wonderful mentors in our faculty members. Strathmore's faculty members are leaders in their fields of study, as well as excellent teachers and mentors.  Mentors are guides. They lead us along the journey of our lives. We trust them because they have been there before. They embody our hopes, cast light on the way ahead, interpret arcane signs, warn us of lurking dangers, and point out unexpected delights along the way. 

As you begin this important journey, I hope that you will seek out these dedicated educators who can help you to lay the foundation for academic success and good decision making. They are a most valuable resource.

Strathmore and Opus Dei
The foundation of Strathmore University was inspired by Saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. I am sure that during the orientation week you were told a few stories about Opus Dei and its founder.  His teaching was very simple: you can encounter God and become true friends with him precisely in your studies, in your work, in the ordinary things that you do every day. This is why in Strathmore everyone tries to do their work very well, to study intensely, and to take care of small things such as cleanliness, order in the offices, classrooms, cafeteria, library, corridors and the general university environment. We take care of little things!

All of us students and staff of the University are expected to contribute towards making Strathmore a true family in which we all love and care for one another. In Strathmore we strive to live for each other.

Humanistic education
The University's mission is to provide you with an education that will enable you develop and possess certain necessary human qualities that will enable you grow into the kind of transformational leader that Kenya and the world at large is looking for in the youth. These qualities include sincerity and honesty, perseverance and tenacity, hard work and a spirit of service, self mastery, loyalty and responsibility.

The recent global financial crisis has caused universities to reflect on the kind of education they provide. We in Strathmore believe that the education of public and business leaders and that of professionals must include a good amount of humanistic education, specifically philosophy and ethics, anthropology and culture.  Every degree programme you may be enrolled in includes a strong foundation in humanities. We will offer you anthropology, philosophy, ethics, critical thinking, world civilizations, modern languages and other innovative humanity subjects. The aim of this sort of education is threefold:

The expected learning outcome of this human formation is the acquisition of the objective moral criteria needed for making decisions in both professional work and personal lives.

Stretch your intellectual horizons
Of all the messages I could impart to you on this occasion, I urge you to stretch your intellectual horizons and to push yourselves beyond your comfort zones.

There are many opportunities to do this on and off campus: sports, clubs, community service projects, research opportunities, student enterprises, and more. This breadth of opportunity is one of the hallmarks of a Strathmore education and one that I hope you will take full advantage of.

 You have come to a place extraordinarily rich in opportunities. But Strathmore's many offerings will do you no good unless you are personally engaged. Each of you must seek out and seize those opportunities.  It is not simply a matter of keeping busy; your class work alone will ensure that. An overbooked schedule is not the same thing as being engaged. Make no little plans; they have no magic to change the world. Make big plans; you will make a difference.

In the coming weeks and months, your circle of friends will grow broader and more diverse. Your new peers will have different interests and come from different backgrounds and cultures. I encourage you to embrace these differences and learn from one another. In so doing, you will grow enormously.  At Strathmore we are committed to an environment that transcends racial, religious, cultural, and all other boundaries.

Whatever the duration of your course, the time you will spend in the University will be important for each one of you in specific and personal ways.  But overall each one of you should experience growth in intellectual knowledge, in personality, in cultural enrichment, in building personal friendships and in career planning, during this period. Take full advantage of this period so that by the time you get your respective degrees, diplomas or certificates you will be better persons than when you enrolled.

The Student Council and students' engagement
The Student Council represents the student community and acts as the main forum through which the students participate in making Strathmore University a leading university in the world.  I encourage you to participate fully in the programs of the Student Council in order to make it a point of reference for other student organizations in the world.

The future of Kenya is in your hands. You cannot passively sit and watch your social and cultural inheritance being dismembered and stripped of its values. You have a right and duty to contribute to the ongoing reform processes in our country through the Student Council leadership.
   
    The University provides financial aid to students
The University continues to mobilize the support of alumni and other donors to contribute towards the University's Scholarship fund. To merit a scholarship an applicant must show proven evidence of superior academic attainments and proven evidence of financial neediness. The University also awards scholarships to outstanding sports men and women who show proven evidence of excellent academic attainment. Soon we will extend these awards to embrace athletics scholarships.

Always concerned about the financial burden carried by parents and guardians of our students in paying the course fees, the University has recently pioneered an innovative student loan facility in partnership with the International Finance Corporation and the Commercial Bank of Africa.

The University will develop this facility further to provide opportunity to deserving students from poor families who wish to study in Strathmore to take their deserved places without hindrances due to inability to pay the required fees.

Your parents have a role to play
I would like to stress how important it is for the University to work closely with your parents or guardians. You and your parents can help us in our effort to continually improve the education we provide so that it is always relevant and responsive to the job market and to the needs of the wider society. Therefore I urge you to introduce your parents to us, encourage them to visit the University, to meet your mentors, and other officers of the University.

Final remarks
It is now my honor and privilege, on behalf of the Strathmore professors and lecturers, staff, and continuing students, to officially recognize you as members of the Strathmore family. I wish you a very fruitful and fulfilling journey of intellectual discovery and innovation accompanied with true growth in culture (refined moral and intellectual faculties, refined social and personal conduct).