Olney Friends School 188th Commencement Set for June 6
Press Release
BARNESVILLE – Olney Friends School will award diplomas to seven graduating seniors during its 188th Commencement Exercises on June 6, 2026.
“The Class of 2026 has brought extraordinary depth, curiosity, compassion, and intellectual seriousness to Olney Friends School,” Christian Acemah, head of Olney Friends School, said as he reflected on the students who are about to move on to the next phase of their academic careers. “I have had the privilege of teaching every member of this class in at least one core course over the years, and I have watched them grow into thoughtful writers, courageous thinkers, and generous community members who care deeply about the world around them and the people within it.”
As part of the ceremony scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Stillwater Meetinghouse at the edge of campus at Sandy Ridge Road in Barnesville, the independent Quaker school will welcome Nelson K. Sewankambo to address the graduating class. Sewankambo is an emeritus professor in Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Uganda’s oldest university. He is a former dean of Makerere University, School of Medicine, and founding principal of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He is also president of the African Forum for Research and Education in Health.
Sewankambo has dedicated his career to health workforce development and research. Over two decades of leadership as dean of Makerere Medical School and Founding Principal of MakCHS, and through international and national partnerships, he has contributed enormously to the growth of Ugandan and African universities.
“We feel especially honored to welcome Professor Nelson K. Sewankambo as this year’s Commencement speaker,” Acemah added. “Professor Sewankambo stands among the great global leaders in medicine, public health, and higher education. His decision to spend this important day with our students in Barnesville reflects a remarkable generosity of spirit. I hope our graduates recognize in his life and work an example of the moral seriousness, intellectual discipline, and global responsibility they themselves can carry into the future.”
Nearly 40 years ago, Sewankambo co-founded a center of excellence, The Rakai Health Sciences Program, in rural Uganda. He was a member of a team that first identified the first cases of HIV/AIDS in East and Central Africa and contributed ground-breaking scientific knowledge that accelerated understanding and control of HIV nationally and globally. He is passionate about global health equity partnerships and evidence-informed decision-making. He steered the development of “The REACH Policy Initiative” under the East African Community, the MakCHS-McMaster University knowledge translation doctoral training, and founded the Center for Rapid Evidence Synthesis.
He is a fellow of several institutions: the Royal College of Physicians, London; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK; US National Academy of Medicine; The World Academy of Sciences; the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, and African Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of Grand Silver Medal, Karolinska Institute, Sweden. The Johns Hopkins University awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his groundbreaking work in health sciences and education.
Sewankambo said he looks forward to his visit to Olney Friends School and Belmont County.
Among the Olney Friends School Class of 2026 graduates he will address are:
- Giselle Jimbo of Otovalo, Ecuador, who plans to attend The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, this fall;
- Jerry Kibwika of Kampala, Uganda, who has committed to furthering his studies at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio;
- Vickie Kirabo of Kampala, Uganda, who also will attend The College of Wooster;
- Denise Kobel of Kampala, Uganda, who plans to study at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico;
- Malaika Namatovu of Kampala, Uganda, who is bound for The College of Wooster;
- Salma Owor of Newark, New Jersey, who will attend Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California ; and
- Ingabua Tusiime of Newark, New Jersey, who is set to study at Rutgers University in his hometown.
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