Operation Uganda Renewed: Students, faculty give new life to 1960s initiative supporting African culture, history

Denis Abaine is a first-year history major at Rowan University.

He has a humanitarian movement begun by students more than 60 years ago—and the modern-day renewal of the initiative—to thank for the opportunity to leave his home in Uganda to pursue his goal of becoming a public history professor.

In 1962, students at then-Glassboro State College established Operation Uganda, a gargantuan humanitarian effort to support the education and independence of citizens in Uganda. Students collected 100,000 books and school supplies to support the effort. Moreover, they pledged to send classroom teachers to Uganda.

Earlier this year, building on the distinguished legacy of Operation Uganda, faculty and students in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences joined together to launch Operation Uganda Renewed. Formed during Rowan’s Centennial celebration, the initiative is working to create connections with Africa, support international students and build a community that celebrates the African diaspora.

The group has raised funds to provide tuition and housing for Abaine as he pursues his studies in the history department’s 4+1 program.

‘I’m focused on being successful’

Coming to Rowan has been a whirlwind experience for Abaine, 23, as he adjusts to life and academics. He’s been impressed, he says, by Rowan faculty and students and the relationships they build together in the classroom. Abaine has a keen interest in studying and teaching history.

“I had a dream of coming to the U.S.,” says Abaine, who is from the village of Kalonga in the central region of Uganda, not far from the capital city of Kampala.

Abaine learned about Operation Uganda Renewed through a Facebook group, applied, aced his entrance exams and interviews and secured his visa.

“People have invested in me. My brother told me, ‘You have people who believe in you. Make them proud of you.’ I’m focused on being successful,” he says.

The work by Operation Uganda Renewed is buoyed by a $500,000 gift from 1963 alumnus Betty Bowe Castor, a student leader of Operation Uganda. Her gift established a history fund to ensure that future generations will have a deeper understanding of the world—and their place in it.

Castor’s generosity is supporting an annual lecture to bring nationally and internationally renowned scholars who focus on history and humanitarianism to Rowan’s campus.

Betty Bowe Castor ’63 Lecture & Banquet

The inaugural Betty Bowe Castor ’63 Lecture & Banquet was held Oct. 5 in the Eynon Ballroom of the Chamberlain Student Center. Damascus Kafumbe, the Edward C. Knox Professor of International Studies and chair of the Department of Music at Middlebury College, was the speaker.

Proceeds went toward Abaine’s education at Rowan, as well as the education of future international students, according to History Professor Bill Carrigan.

“We consider this to be a lifelong commitment,” says Carrigan. “After Denis finishes his studies, we expect it will continue.”

At the banquet, attendees had the opportunity to hear Kafumbe’s address, learn more about Abaine and honor some of the original members of Operation Uganda. Among them: Castor, Margaret Jackson and Barbara Kyritsis, Class of 1963, and Carole Leporati, Su Bittel and Ronald Weisberger, Class of 1965.

Castor’s gift also is funding the establishment of the Operation Uganda Digital Collection & Exhibit, an online archive containing historic records that highlight the educational journey of Operation Uganda and its role in teaching the South Jersey region about Africa.

Putting Glassboro on the map

Operation Uganda was founded when a group of students in the international studies club at Glassboro State visited the United Nations. A Soviet official told the students that Americans were incapable of inspiring underdeveloped countries.

“He suggested that the United States was not up to the challenge of the Soviet Union, especially in appealing to those in the developing world. He told us the U.S. would never be able to compete with Russia,” recalls Castor.

“This made a deep impression on our group. We decided to dedicate ourselves to proving him wrong.”

In 1962, Gov. Richard Hughes, spurred by the students’ activism, led an on-campus celebration of Ugandan independence that included 2,000 people. State and national officials attended, as did 15 African ambassadors. President John F. Kennedy and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower both sent telegrams of support. At that time, Castor traveled to Uganda with the formal U.S. delegation to celebrate the country’s independence. 

Carrigan maintains that Operation Uganda put Glassboro State on the map in the 1960s, making it a logical choice for the 1967 Hollybush Summit between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin.

“The legacies of Operation Uganda were profound,” says Carrigan “I think there is no Hollybush Summit without Operation Uganda.”

Operation Uganda was transformative for students, says Castor, whose storied career includes teaching in East Africa, serving three terms in the Florida legislature, serving as commissioner of education in Florida and completing six years as president of the University of Florida.

“It truly was a magnificent opportunity for students,” says Castor. “It was a lifechanging event…and the beginning of my deep understanding of the world.”

Forging a new path through Operation Uganda Renewed

With Operation Uganda Renewed, today’s Rowan students and faculty members are forging a new path for the program as they uphold the extraordinary legacy of the original movement and look to build international goodwill.

“The collective effort that has gone into Operation Uganda has been one of the best parts of it for me,” says Abbie Ealer, who is pursuing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, as well as the  Bantivoglio Honors Concentration in the John H. Martinson Honors College.

“I’m incredibly excited to see Operation Uganda have a new life and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next few years have in store for Denis as he embarks on his educational journey here at Rowan.”

The University’s supportive vibe is helping with his transition, Abaine said.

“People are open to helping me,” he says. “I won’t take this opportunity for granted.”