University of Kisangani

University of Kisangani

Université de Kisangani
Type	Public
Established	1963
Rector	Prof. Dr. Faustin Toengaho Lokundo
Academic staff	381
Students	6,058
Location	Kisangani , Democratic Republic of the Congo
Website	www.unikis.ac.cd

The University of Kisangani (UNIKIS) is located in the city of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was founded in 1963 by Protestant missionaries as the University of the Congo (French: Université libre du Congo, ULC); it was transformed into part of the National University of Zaire in 1971, and in 1981 was separated from that National University, along with the University of Kinshasa and the University of Lubumbashi, assuming its present identity as the University of Kisangani. Its president is Professor Dr. Toengaho Lokundo.

History

The University of Kisangani was founded in 1963, by the Congo Protestant Council, a coalition of Protestant churches operating in the Congo. The university's original name was the University of the Congo, and began with 50 students and six-full time professors.

Early critics accused the founders, a small group of American Protestant missionaries, of trying to create a counterweight to Belgian and Catholic Church influence in the new country. The university did receive some funding from various Protestant groups, but the new Congolese government and the governments of West Germany and the Netherlands also contributed.

External links

(French) The University of Kisangani's page at Agence universitaire de la Francophonie