Prof. Wilson Ugangu is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at Multimedia University of Kenya, where he also serves as the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Media and Communication Studies. With nearly 20 years of experience in teaching, research, and practice in communication, Prof. Ugangu has significantly contributed to the field through academic leadership, mentorship, and scholarly work. His research spans a diverse range of topics, including media policy, democracy, participation, media and conflict, international communication, and globalization, with a focus on Kenya and Africa.
Prof. Ugangu is a member of the East Africa Communication Association (EACA) Board, where he served as immediate past president (2018–2023). In 2023, he was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Erasmus+ Project on Communication, Migration, and Mobility (CoMMPASS), funded by the European Union.
In 2021, Prof. Ugangu played a key role in Kenya’s national media policy development as part of a government-appointed special task force. He also serves on the Board of Postgraduate Studies at Multimedia University of Kenya and works as an external examiner for undergraduate and postgraduate research at universities across the region. He has previously taught at the University of Nairobi and Moi University and currently teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Multimedia University.
In addition to academia, Prof. Ugangu has held strategic roles in various international organizations, including the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the African Council on Communication Education (ACCE). He has managed programs for the Africa Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC) and provided consultancy services for organizations such as UNESCO, UN Women, JICA, ILRI, ASARECA, COMESA, and the Open Society Initiative.
In 2021, he conducted a comparative regional study on East Africa’s media landscape and press freedom for DW-Akademie. Earlier in his career, Prof. Ugangu was selected as an Esther Karpatkin Media Fellow with the Consumers Union in Washington, DC (2007).