Barnabas Nawangwe
Barnabas Nawangwe (born 17 January 1956) is a Ugandan architect and academic who serves as the vice chancellor of Makerere University, Uganda’s largest public university. He began his current five-year term in September 2017 and was reappointed on 12 August 2022 for another five years.
Nawangwe was born in Busia District in the Eastern Region and studied at Busoga College Mwiri for his O-Level and A-Level education. He earned an MSc in Architecture and a PhD (Candidate of Sciences) from the Kiev Institute of Civil Engineering in Ukraine.
His Makerere career began in 1987 as a lecturer and Head of the Department of Architecture, a post he held until 2002. He became Senior Lecturer in 1996, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Technology in 2002, and Dean of the Faculty of Technology from 2003 to 2010. He was promoted to professor in 2004. From 2010 to 2013, he served as Principal of the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology. Before becoming vice chancellor, he was the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, overseeing planning, budgeting and development.
As vice chancellor, Nawangwe has led the university in research and international engagement. He has been recognized as African Educationist of the Year by African Leadership Magazine. He also works as a consultant architect and has served as an external examiner for the University of Nairobi, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and the Oslo School of Architecture.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:30 (CET).