One of Africa’s oldest and biggest higher educational institution, the University of South Africa (UNISA), has appointed Puleng LenkaBula as its first female Vice Chancellor in the varsity’s 148-year history, APA learnt on Friday.
LenkaBula’s appointment is with effect from January next year following a rigorous selection process to fill the position, Chairperson of the UNISA Council, Sakhi Simelane, said.
The appointment of LenkaBula was further testimony of the commitment of the council to the transformation project it introduced some years ago, he said.
“Council is of the firm belief that this appointment bodes well for the future of our university,” Simelane said.
He added: “In Professor LenkaBula, we have appointed the right calibre of leader, who is student-centred and shares our institutional vision on decoloniality and transformation…for the benefit of Africa.”
Simelane said the council was committed to providing LenkaBula with the necessary support to ensure that she succeeded in taking “our vision of transformation and excellent service delivery to the next level.”
LenkaBula, who is currently the Vice Rector for Institutional Change, Student Affairs and Community Engagement at the University of the Free State has extensive managerial experience in higher education.
Prior to occupying the Vice Rector position at the UFS, LenkaBula was the Dean of Students at Johannesburg’s prestigious Wits University, where she was a member of the Vice Chancellor’s Office and the senior executive team
She also held managerial positions at different institutions, including UNISA where she was the Dean of Students.
LenkaBula is an internationally revered scholar who has published widely and serves as a board member on the Senegal-based Council for the Development of Social Sciences Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
NM/jn/APA