Professor Ngange: A Promising Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Kingsley Lyonga Ngange, 46, Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC), University of Buea (UB), is the new Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) in charge of Research, Cooperation and Relations with the Business World in same institution.
Pundits have likened his new role as DVC to a meteoric rise and described him as a man who inspires confidence.
Aminateh Nkemngu, a PhD UB student who has known the appointee for years, noted: โProf. Ngange is very intelligent, hardworking and is open.โ He said the new DVC is known for broad-based consultations before taking decisions. โI am morally obliged to assist him succeed in his new, daunting task,โ he added.
As DVC, he is ranked as Secretary-General in the Ministry in Cameroon. He rose from the position of Head of Department (HOD) in same university.
This revolutionary intellectual and Buea elite was elevated to the dignity of DVC, on merit, by President Paul Biya on June, 17, 2022.
Before his recent appointment, he headed the JMC, University of Buea, where he became famous for introducing salutary reforms. He was HOD for almost five years where he became famous for introducing salutary reform.
Prof. Ngange was commissioned into his new office alongside the DVC in charge of Internal Control and Evaluation, Prof. Peter Sakwe Masumbe, by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Horace Ngomo Manga,who called for duty-consciousness and patriotism in the exercise of their duties.
Professor Mrs. Dorothy Njeuma, pioneer Vice-Chancellor of UB who had recruited Kingsley Ngange upon his graduation in 2003 from the Department of JMC of same institution, as Administrative Assistant, happily witnessed, among other dignitaries, the well-attended ceremony, which took place in the Amphi 750, named Dorothy Limunga Njeumaโs Amphi Theatre, in her honour.
Born 46 years in Bokwaongo-Buea, Lyonga,Ngange had passed the GCE Advanced Level in four papers from BGHS Molyko- Buea, where he demonstrated leadership skills, serving as Senior Prefect.
He then enrolled to read Journalism and Mass Communication in UB 24 years ago and graduated three years later with BSc (Second-class Upper Division)
He later obtained a Masterโs degree with Distinction from University of Linkoping, Sweden, in 2005 and upon his return to Cameroon enrolled, as first batch, into the Ph.D program in Mass Communications in University of Buea. He graduated, as the first Ph.D in Mass Communications from UB in 2012.
Professional Career
Between 2006 and 2010, he worked as a journalist with CRTV Douala, Yaounde Mballa 2 TV House and CRTV Buea.
He started as a part-time lecturer in the Department of JMC/UB 14 years ago and grew through the ranks from: Assistant Lecturer, Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor.
In 2013, he was appointed as Faculty Officer of the grand Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, University of Buea.
In August 2017, he was appointed HOD/JMC, where he served till his appointment as DVC/RCB.
From 2008 to 2017, he served as Head of the Communication Research Centre of JMC and since 2015, he has been the Communication Expert for the University of Buea in the Development Research Uptake for Sub-Saharan Africa (DRUSSA)โa position which enabled him to give visibility of research done in UB both nationally and internationally (including his participation in such research meetings in Rwanda and South Africa on behalf of the University of Buea).
Research, Teaching and Outreach
Kingsley Ngange was a visiting scholar in the International Centre for Information Technology and Development (ICITD), Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA (2010) and a Visiting Professor in Lakeland University, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA (2015).
In 2015, he was made a Research Associate in the Center for Global Politics (CGP), University of Wisconsin, Eau-Claire, (UWEC), USA, with assignments such as: academic presentations, mentoring of students and co-authoring journal articles and books with Professors of UWEC.
He teaches mentors and supervises Masterโs & Ph.D students in different Faculties in UB and in the United Nations Peace University programs in Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia.
Since 2017, heโs been a visiting scholar at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies in University of Hargeisa, Somaliland where he serves in his annually trips there as a Media and Conflict Expert.
Masterโs & Ph.D. Supervision
He has supervised over 50 Masters Dissertations in Cameroon and abroad; five Ph.D theses, defended in JMC and Sociology, UB; two PhDs which have completed and submitted for the review process; three other PhD students in JMC who are concluding their theses and several Masters Dissertations under supervision. In all, he has taken part in 10 PhD panels in Cameroon and abroad. Research is part and parcel of his academic and strong believer of the maxim that you either publish or perish in the academic milieu.
Publications
Prof. Ngangeโs research and teaching have paid off with over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, seven book chapters with reputable publishers in Europe & the USA, such as SAGE, Palgrave MacMillan and Lexington books. He has also co-authored a book with Professor Emeritus Kashim Ibrahim Tala on the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. His other books and journal articles are currently under review.
Conferences, Consultancies and Awards
Prof. Ngange has attended over 20 national and international conferences, serving in different capacities including Speaker, Facilitator, Moderator and Consultant. He has managed 11 research-related consultancies and won 10 awards including the โMost Outstanding Teaching Staff in the University of Bueaโ, three times back-to-back winner of โBest Journalism Trainer in Cameroonโ and the Excellence in Education and Training Award by Victoria International Media Merit.
Family, Church & Political life
He has been married, for 25 years, to his high school sweetheart and they are blessed with four kids. He is an ardent Christian and a chorister/singer.
He is a member of the Cameroon Peopleโs Democratic Movement (CPDM); which he had served as Municipal Councilor in the Buea Council for over 6 years.
