Dr. Joyce Elzear Nyoni has been Rector of the Institute of Social Work since April 2019. She is a medical sociologist with nearly three decades of experience in research, teaching and academic leadership. She leads the Institute’s mission in providing high-quality training, research and consultancy services and developing competent professionals who will advance , knowledge and promote sustainable development.
Her academic career began at the University of Dar es Salaam. She earned a BA (Hons) and an MA in Sociology. In 2000 she joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dar es Salaam. Over the following years she rose through the academic ranks, teaching and supervising students while building a substantial research portfolio. She later obtained her PhD in Medical Sociology. During her tenure at the University of Dar es Salaam she served the position as the head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for a period of five years. In 2016 the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) appointed her as the Director of Social Sciences. In that role she spent three years helping to shape national priorities for social science research and its funding, before taking up leadership of the Institute.
Dr. Nyoni’s scholarship spans medical sociology, gender studies, gender-based violence, violence against children, early childhood development and socio-cultural studies. She has led and contributed to studies supported by national and international partners, including the US National Institute of Mental Health and the Swedish Research Council. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals. Her work is marked by a commitment to evidence that reaches beyond the academy. She has led major programme evaluations and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) assignments for government and development partners.
Her contribution to scientific and institutional governance extends well beyond the Institute. She is a member of the International Science Council, the global body that brings together international scientific unions and national academies. She has served as a member of the Board of the Water Institute. She has also served on the Board of the Institute of Social Work, which gives her a perspective on its governance from both the boardroom and the Rector’s office
As Rector, Dr Nyoni has made several areas her priority namely strengthening the quality and relevance of social work education, expanding the Institute’s research and consultancy profile, developing institutional policy and building partnerships with government, civil society and academic institutions at home and abroad.