Elias Opongo, S.J., is Gasson Professor

The new leader of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa is a peace practitioner and scholar

Elias Omondi Opongo, S.J., a peace practitioner and scholar with a focus on conflict resolution, reconciliation, transitional justice, post-conflict reconstruction, and state-building, is serving as Boston College’s Thomas I. Gasson, S.J., Professor for 2026-2027.

Funded by a gift from the Jesuit Community at Boston College, the Gasson Chair is held by a distinguished Jesuit scholar in any discipline and is the oldest endowed professorship at Boston College.

In September, Fr. Opongo assumed the role of rector and vice chancellor (president) of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, becoming the first Jesuit priest ever to lead CUEA.

Previously, Fr. Opongo was director of the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations and associate professor at Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya. He holds a doctorate in peace and conflict studies from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom.

His most recent book, published earlier this year, is Decolonizing NGO Peacebuilding and Liberal Peace Agenda in Northern Uganda, which argues that the liberal peace agenda—focused on democracy promotion, market reforms, and human rights—often marginalizes local agency and undermines culturally rooted approaches to peacebuilding. He is also co-editor of The Palgrave Handbook of Peace, Conflict and Security Studies in Africa and Elections, Violence, and Transitional Justice in Africa, and has published journal articles on democracy, transitional justice, and peacebuilding.

At Boston College, Fr. Opongo will serve as a visiting fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. Fr. Opongo participated in the 2025 Venice Seminars on Democratic Resilience, cosponsored by the Clough Center, and was a member of the Working Group on Democracy, Governance and Education (2023-2025), chaired by Clough Center Director Jonathan Laurence for the Boston College Program on Global Ethics and Social Trust.

On November 30, Fr. Opongo will deliver the Gasson Lecture on “Digital Dissent and Democratic Futures: Youth Agency and Physical-Digital Resistance in Kenya” at 5 p.m. in Gasson 100.

“For a long time, I have had a close connection with Boston College,” said Fr. Opongo, who served as a visiting scholar at the Jesuit Institute. “I am honored to hold the Gasson Chair this academic year and look forward to learning, exchanging. and creating new networks for current and future collaboration.”