The Annual Betty Bowe Castor '63 Lecture

On behalf of the Operation Uganda Renewed planning committee at Rowan University, we would like to invite you to attend our annual Betty Bowe Castor '63 Lecture and Banquet!  Held on or near the date of Ugandan independence on October 9th, this event celebrates the African Diaspora in the Delaware Valley and supports our mission of creating new connections with Africa. Operation Uganda Renewed is a special cause rooted in Rowan University’s history, dating back to 1962 when students at Glassboro State created Operation Uganda to support education and literacy in the newly formed nation.  The lectures raise funds to support the educational journey of an international student.

Upcoming Lecture

The tentative date for the third annual lecture is Saturday, October 3, 2026.  Addtional details will be forthcoming.  If you wish to be involved in the planning of the lecture, you can join Operation Uganda Renewed by emailing Bill Carrigan at carrigan@rowan.edu.

Past Lectures

The second annual lecture was held in the Chmaberlain Student Center on October 11, 2025, and focused on the transformative impact the original Operation Uganda had on the lives of faculty and students at Glassboro State College and now Rowan University.  The 2025 featured keynote speaker was Dr. Isaac Kalumbu. A noted ethnomusicologist with a doctorate from Indiana University, Dr. Kalumbu is a Grammy-nominated singer who is currently Outreach Coordinator and Assistant Director of the African Studies Center at Michigan State University. 

The inaugural lecture took place on October 5, 2024.  The audience of alumni, students, and staff celebrated six of the original participants in Operation Uganda and helped raise funds for Operation Uganda Renewed.  Photographed above, the keynote speaker was Middlebury College's Damascus Kafumbe an ethnomusicologist, teacher, performer, composer, producer, filmmaker, and instrument technician.