A Kenyan woman has made history at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Patricia Kingori, who was promoted to a full professor became one of the youngest women in the University's 925-year old history to achieve such a fete.
Kingori also became the youngest black professor at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
The Senior Research Fellow was also awarded a historic distinction in recognition of the quality and global impact of her research in academia and other spheres. She welcomed the promotion and recognition, expressing utmost gratitude.
“To have my body of work recognised in this way is a great honour, and I am deeply grateful to the many people who have inspired and supported me so far,” she remarked.
Speaking on the award, Somerville’s Principal Baroness Jan Royall described the fete as a major milestone.
"Patricia has moved many mountains and shattered countless glass ceilings to secure this historic achievement. In the truest tradition of Somerville, she is a woman of firsts, a trailblazer. And yet, I have no doubt that where Patricia leads with such determination, implacable good humor and brilliance, others will follow," she stated
Patricia's works in research has seen her win large and competitive grants. She has written and published papers which have been frequently been cited by other scholars, including her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis in Sociology which passed without corrections.
She is the current holder of the Wellcome Senior Investigator Award and currently leads and interdisciplinary team of researchers exploring global concerns around Fakes, Fabrications and Falsehoods in the 21st Century.
Through her hands, hundreds of students have been modeled into reputable scholars, including several Doctor of Philosophy students at Oxford.
Kingori has also provided counsel to leading organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), Save the Children, Medecins San Frontieres, the Nuffield Council of Bioethics and the Obama administration’s White House Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa Initiative.
The sociologist has also been the recipient of many competitive grants. In 2020, she was one of six trustees of the Medical Research Foundation responsible for funding priorities from their Ksh8.95 billion (£60 million) budget.
