About Us

The Kalu Ugwa & Ezinne Ogbureke Foundation for Education (KUEOFE) is a Texas-registered, tax-exempt nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to higher education for students in Nigeria facing socioeconomic barriers.

The Foundation was created to give academically promising students in Nigeria the opportunity to continue their education beyond high school, even when poverty, family circumstances, or other socioeconomic barriers stand in the way. KUEOFE believes that talent and ambition should not be limited by financial hardship. Through scholarships, mentoring, networking, and educational support, the Foundation helps students prepare for meaningful careers and long-term economic independence.

Socioeconomic circumstances should never determine a student’s future.

About the Founders

KUEOFE was founded by Kalu Ugwa & Ezinne Ogbureke, both Professors of Dentistry, who have already committed their personal resources to sponsoring the education of several underprivileged students. Recognizing that expanding the reach and impact of this mission requires the partnership of generous individuals, they created KUEOFE to carry that work forward.

Kalu U. E. Ogbureke is a professor of oral and maxillofacial, head and neck pathology, internationally recognized for his leadership in academic dentistry, translational cancer research, and the intersection of health care, law, and policy. He previously served as Chair of the Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry from 2012 to 2019, and has held visiting professorships in the United States and abroad. As a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, he led curriculum development for a new Faculty of Dentistry — reflecting his long-standing commitment to global academic capacity building.

He earned his dental degree from the University of Ibadan, a master’s degree in medical science from the University of Glasgow, a Doctor of Medical Sciences from Harvard University, and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School. His honors include a Fulbright Scholar award, the ADEA Harry W. Bruce Jr. Legislative Fellowship, the King James IV Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh — the first person of African descent to receive it — and recognition from the United States House of Representatives.