Professor Ali A. Mazrui was honored on Tuesday at Makerere University, where an endowed chair and a centre for global studies are being established in his name.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi, Education Minister Namirembe Batamazire and members of the Makerere glitterati including university chancellor Mondo Kagonyera and acting vice chancellor Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza.

"This is one of the most moving events of my entire life," Prof. Mazrui told the crowd.

Speakers reflected on Prof. Mazrui's illustrious career, which began at Makerere in 1963 when he arrived from Kenya to lecture at the university. After only two years, he was granted full professorship and in 1966 he became Dean of Social Sciences.

He is the first ever African to hold a position as dean of an arts faculty on the continent.

Today, the 76-year old teaches political science and African Studies at State University in New York.

The Ali A. Mazrui Centre for Global Studies will cost $10 million (Shs21 billion) to construct and is expected to open its doors in three years.

Five million dollars is also pledged for the Ali A. Mazrui Chair and Scholarship Endowment and will be raised through a public-private partnership.

By increasing the role of the private sector at the university and by mobilising alumni support, Makerere hopes to retrieve the prestige it enjoyed in the 1960's, when it was among the most esteemed universities in Africa.

"Dear Makererians, let us help each other build for the future," Prof. Mazrui remarked. "Let us build Makerere as a symbol of the mind of this society."

Prof. Kagonyera said the launch of the centre and endowment would keep the university from slipping into "intellectual dwarfism," which has crept into the university in recent years.

He also called on the government to put more money into higher education and especially graduate studies, an often-neglected branch of tertiary education.

"Scholarships for higher education are the most important investment anyone can make," Prof. Kagonyera remarked.