Opiyo Oloya

Opiyo Oloya Photo

Associate Vice-President

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

Western University

Email: oloya@uwo.ca

Dr. Opiyo Oloya was born in Pamin-yai village, west of Gulu town in northern Uganda. He first attended post-secondary school at St. Peter’s College, Tororo, Uganda where he studied History, Literature and Economics. He later joined Makerere University in September 1979 to study political science. Heavily involved in re-establishing democracy in Uganda, he was elected President of Makerere University Student Guild in July 1980. On February 24, 1981, students protested against rigged national elections on campus. A crackdown on students by security forces sent Dr. Oloya and three colleagues into hiding. The four leaders fled to Kenya. He was granted refugee status and arrived in Canada on June 7, 1981. The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) sponsored his undergraduate program at Queen’s University.

In Canada, he obtained a teaching degree at Queen’s and a Master’s degree in education at the University of Ottawa. He taught briefly at Eight Mile Rock Secondary School in Freeport, Grand Bahama, before returning to Canada in December 1988 to work as a teacher with the York Catholic District School Board. He was later appointed vice principal in September 1999 and school principal in the spring of 2001. Finally, he was appointed Superintendent of Schools in November 2011.

In September 2004, he enrolled at York University to research child soldiers. He was awarded a PhD for his groundbreaking work on child warriors in Northern Uganda. He published Child to Soldier in 2013. Since 2010, he has worked alongside peacekeepers of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). His latest book, Black Hawks Rising, chronicles AMISOM’s successful war against terror. In 2012, York University awarded Dr. Oloya an honorary Doctorate of Law (LLD, honoris causa) for his humanitarian and social justice work in Africa. In June 2016, H.E. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda awarded him the Uganda Heroes Medal. He lives with his wife, Emily, and two young men, Oceng and Ogaba.