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Human resource development through tertiary level education is a prerequisite for a successful social and economic development process to take place. Alemaya University has been doing its level best towards achieving this noble objective. It offers courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels of training while being actively involved in research and extension undertakings concurrently. The fields of studies and the curricula offered as well as the research agenda that the University runs are not only upto the international standard but also most importantly highly relevant to every day problems that the Ethiopian people have been facing. Thousands of young Ethiopians have earned their degrees and diplomas from this University; and a significant number of research outputs have been released for use by the farming community. In fact, its performance in such undertakings has been proven to be a source of national pride both at home and internationally through the vital contributions that its renowned graduates and researchers have made over the years. The establishment of this higher education institution as a centre of excellence in agricultural sciences dates back to the early 1950s when the Governments of Ethiopia and the United States of America agreed to jointly establish the then Alemaya College of Agriculture. This agreement, signed on May 15, 1951, made provision to establish, direct, administer a College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts in Ethiopia which will conduct instruction, demonstration, research, extension services and other educational activities to promote the development and use of agricultural and mechanical techniques among the Ethiopian people. Oklahoma State University was contracted by the USA government to develop the College on its behalf. Classes were launched in September 1953 on the premises of the Jimma Agricultural and Technical School. In 1956, the college was moved to its present campus site near Lake Alemaya, Hararghe province. The first batch of eleven graduates obtained their B.Sc. degree in General Agriculture at a convocation ceremony held on the premises in January 1958. On December 18, 1961 the College became a Chartered unit of Haile Selassie I University (HSIU).
After more than three decades of the rich experiences gained and the effective contribution made to the country at large, the then Alemaya College of Agriculture was upgraded to a full-fledged University of Agriculture on May 27, 1985. No doubt, this was an important move in the right direction given the dire need to improve the supply of agricultural graduates in the country. Among other things, it was instrumental in laying down a historic foundation for the nation to be self-sufficient in the training of future scientists and development practitioners in the field of agriculture. But the University did not limit itself to training of agriculturalists per se; rather, it also embarked upon launching its diploma programs in the fields of Accounting and Management. In doing so, it has strived to serve the function of ameliorating the human-power demand in both government and non-government organizations that was partly triggered off by the market-based economic reforms. On 18th of August 1994, the Council of Ministers issued a Regulation to provide for the reorganization of the Alemaya University of Agriculture in which the latter was reorganized as an autonomous higher education institution having its own legal personality. According to this regulation, the University is to be governed by a Board. Since 1996 the University opened two faculties in its regular undergraduate program; these are the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Health Sciences. Thus, paving the way for promoting and advancing a diversified field of training and in the process transforming itself from a purely agricultural university to a multi-disciplinary university. It is in full recognition of such a trend that in late 1999 the University Board named the University as Alemaya University.
Alemaya University is located about 510 kms from Addis Ababa in the Eastern Hararghe Zone at a distance of about 20 kms and 40 kms from the two nearby towns: Harar and Dire Dawa respectively, and almost 5 kms off the main highway at Alemaya town connecting the two towns. The University campus overlooks the beautiful Lake Alemaya from which it derives its renowned name, against the background of Gara Mulata peak and its chain of mountains. The 2000 masl altitude of the campus ensures that it enjoys relatively moderate and pleasant climate throughout the year. The various species of flowers and trees of indigenous and exotic origin make the campus a colorful and an attractive site. The University with its fast developing physical infrastructural facilities and ever increasing student and staff population has grown into a self-contained University village over a campus of 440 hectares of land. Fifty percent of the land is under cultivation while the rest is occupied by buildings, meadows, pastures and trees. The University is entirely residential with modern dormitory facilities for regular students and a number of modern houses for academic staffs and their families.
The University has the following objectives:
To search for, cultivate, preserve and transmit knowledge; To provide education that fully develops the personality and strengthens the respect for human dignity by promoting mutual respect, understanding, friendship and tolerance and other prejudices; To inculcate the dignity of work and dedication for the well-being of the society; With a view to enhancing the socio-economic development of the Ethiopian people, to provide the Country with competent men and women, imbued with a sense of social purpose and trained, with particular emphasis in agriculture and the development and protection of national resources, in the sciences and technology, the arts and various professions; To conduct research and studies, in an objective and dispassionate way and free from any bias, on different fields and disseminate fruitful results thereof.