Diaspora (Commonwealth Union) _ World-renowned climate scientist, Professor Jimmy Adegoke, has officially retired from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) after an illustrious 25-year career as a faculty member and distinguished academic leader. His retirement marks a significant transition back to Africa, a move celebrated by friends and associates with a grand dinner in Lagos, Nigeria, themed “Retire to Refire.”
During the event, the award-winning climate consultant acknowledged that while it would be tempting to retire comfortably with his family, the urgency of environmental challenges facing Africa requires his continued engagement. He said, “While it would be nice to spend the rest of my life on a beach somewhere, that is not the plan for Nigeria and indeed Africa. I have now transitioned back to Africa to fully and more intentionally contribute my quota to the daunting but necessary task of finding a higher path for the continent.”
Professor Adegoke expressed his excitement to leverage his expertise in serving his homeland. For the past four years, he has been actively involved with the African Development Bank (AfDB) as an advisor and senior consultant in the Climate Change and Green Growth Department, focusing on sustainable development initiatives across the continent.
Before his retirement, Prof. Adegoke was a tenured faculty member at UMKC, where he served as Chair of the Department of Geosciences from 2008 to 2010 and later as the Director of the Center for Applied Environmental Research (CAER). His work spans various fields, including science, climate policy, environmental governance, and cross-institutional capacity building.
A prominent member of the Advisory Board of NatureNews, Prof. Adegoke has also been recognized internationally as a consultant, with his research funded by esteemed organizations such as NASA, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), and the AfDB. His extensive leadership roles include serving as Interim Executive Director/CEO of the West African Science Service Center for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) in 2017 and as Executive Director of the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Natural Resources & Environment (NRE) Division in Pretoria, South Africa, from 2010 to 2012.
In 2014, at the invitation of the Nigerian government, Prof. Adegoke chaired the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Agricultural Resilience in Nigeria (ACARN), which developed a national program for climate adaptation and agricultural resilience.
He continues to serve on multiple international science advisory boards and committees. Despite retiring from UMKC, he maintains his permanent residence in Kansas City, where he has been an appointee on the city’s Environmental Management Commission (EMC) by the Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO).
Professor Adegoke’s numerous accolades include being named “Inspiring Leader of the Year” by the University of Ibadan Alumni Global Network and being honored as a “125th Anniversary Fellow” of the College of Earth & Mineral Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University, where he earned his doctorate. In 2021, he was inducted into the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Hall of Fame in Zaria, Nigeria, as one of the “110 Most Powerful ABU Alumni.”
