The Hostetters (Middle) at Hope Centre, Athi River Campus

[Tuesday August 13, 2024] Curt Ray, son the late Dr. Ray Hostetter and his wife and Holmfridur visited Daystar University Athi River Campus to retrace the accomplishments of their father in Africa.

Curt Ray and Holmfridur Hostetter were visiting African for the first time to celebrate their 70th birthday.

The couple was hosted by the DVC Academic Research and Student Affairs, Prof. Faith Nguru, Project Manager, Mrs. Coretta Ndunda, Corporate Affairs Manager, Mrs. Damaris Kimilu, and Public Relations Officer Ms. Jean Murungi.

The late Dr. Ray Hostetter was the President of Messiah College from 1964 to 1994. His leadership was instrumental in the launch of a collaborative four-year BA degree programme with Daystar Communications in 1984, which upgraded the institution to Daystar University College.

The couple, who now live in Iceland was excited to trace the missionary work of their father Dr. Ray Hostetter at Daystar University.

During the visit, the Hostetters attended Chapel service, where they greeted the congregation and expressed their joy at coming to Daystar University for the first time.

Curt Ray thanked the Daystar community for the warm welcome. He acknowledged his father Dr. Ray Hostetter as a dedicated Christian educator, which explains why he championed the collaboration between Daystar University and Messiah College in the 80s.

One of the beneficiaries of that collaboration was DVC ARSA, Prof. Faith Nguru, who was among the first 14 students in the first BA programme. During the meeting, Prof. Nguru revealed that her degree certificate was signed by Dr. Ray Hostetter.

The couple shared photos of their father during the 1991 ground breaking ceremony of the Athi River campus. Curt also revealed that his father was most excited when Daystar University was awarded the charter in 1994.

Prof. Nguru further noted that Daystar University started with collaborations with universities in the West, but today other universities in Africa were coming to benchmark with Daystar.

She was categorical that academic collaborations should continue, mentioning the collaboration between Daystar University and Christian Universities in Burundi as an example.  She also cited the collaboration with JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Finland to train Daystar faculty in problem-based learning.

Corporate Affairs Manager, Mrs. Damaris Kimilu revealed that Dr. Ray Hostetter features prominently in the ongoing Daystar University history book project which will be published soon. She expressed hope that the Hostetter family will be present during the launch of the history book. She noted that the University had grown from the initial 14 BA students in 1984 to more than 8,000 students today.

The Hostetters visited the Hope Centre, water purification plant, the poultry farm, Agape Library, Shine FM studio, the site for the University Chapel, the Heroes Corner, and  the School of Nursing.