Rift Valley University

When the first eager students set foot on the campus in Adama in October 2000, they beheld a very different setting from the spacious and forested compound with one modern building, and a number of blocks that house administrative offices, laboratories, libraries and quite a number of classrooms students see today. Ato Dinku Deyasa, a renowned investor and owner of NAFYAD PLC and Ato Reta Bekele, former President of Adama and Jima High Courts envisaged the necessity of founding a private higher education institution mainly aimed at curbing the country’s dearth of qualified human resources. Needs analysis was conducted to identify the fields of study most desired by the community in and around Adama and Asella towns. On the basis of the findings, the founders made all the necessary preparations that would enable them to begin academic programs at a diploma level in five fields of study – namely, Accounting, Computer Science, Law, Marketing Management, and Secretarial Science and Office Management.