Mount Kenya University will begin construction of hostels for 3,000 students in January.
The hostels are part of the university's 10-year Strategic Plan to be launched early next year.
The plan is an effort by outgoing VC Prof Stanley Waudo who retires after 11 years.
Waudo joined MKU in May 2006 when from Kenyatta University to become the first vice chancellor of the new institution.
The plan also calls for a new main campus at the current Happy Valley grounds in the next 10 years.
The current main campus will become a teaching and referral hospital to support the government agenda on universal health care.
The university will also have Centres of Excellence.
“The board of directors is committed to ensuring adequate and quality infrastructure to support teaching-learning, research and community engagement,” MKU Founder and the board chair Simon Gicharu said during Waudo's farewell.
During his farewell, the university launched a college of graduate studies and research to coordinate research-driven graduate training, innovation and outreach.
The university says it has ensured staff get competitive terms of service to ensure it attracts and retains competent and dedicated staff.
Gicharu praised the outgoing VC and called on staff in all cadres to emulate Waudo and strive for excellence.
He said Waudo's keen attention to enabled him to achieve success for the university.
“In a world where many people are casual and have no time to perfect what they do, Prof Waudo would rather be inconvenienced but cannot let a document with glaring mistakes be submitted through his office,” the board chair said.
“Many times he has had to draft documents for his juniors or go through curricula and policy documents page by page because he did not want the reputation of the university to be tainted. His eye for detail has made the inspection of the university by regulators acceptable," he said.
Waudo emphasised the importance of partnerships with other institutions of higher learning and organisations.
“Partnership promotes pooling and sharing of academic resources, conducting collaborative teaching, research and community service,” Waudo said.
Waudo praised the university council for its oversight.
(Edited by V. Graham)
