Arrupe holds inaugural graduation

Nesia Mhaka Herald Reporter
Arrupe Jesuit University (AJU) yesterday hosted its inaugural graduation ceremony since becoming a fully-fledged university this year. It had been an associate of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) since 1994.

Thirty-four students graduated with bachelor’s degrees, 10 with masters’, while a further 76 received certificates in various short courses.

Addressing the graduates and guests at the ceremony held at the college’s headquarters yesterday, Arrupe Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Evaristus Ekwueme said the university had come of age.

“The university has been an associate college of the UZ since 1996, but is now in the process of graduating into an independent university which will offer programmes like business ethics, languages, philosophy and leadership, among others.”
The Vice Chancellor said the graduates had an obligation to uphold integrity.

“As you enter the world outside the university, you must be patient, determined and hardworking in whatever you choose to do.
“You, here gathered, together with others who are graduating throughout the country, are encouraged to enter your chosen fields and uphold integrity.”

He urged the graduates to shun corruption insisting the vice would inhibit their potential in their respective fields.
“You are untainted, undefiled and bear the burden to constitute the nucleus of a corruption-free generation.”
The Chancellor said there was need for graduates from higher and tertiary institutions to be globally competitive.

Dr Ekwueme told The Herald that the university, through various initiatives, was actively participating in transforming its education in line with Government’s industrialisation and modernisation agenda.