On Thursday 5 November 2020, the UNISA Council had a special meeting and appointed Professor Puleng LenkaBula as the Principal and Vice Chancellor at UNISA.
A rigorous selection process was followed, to ensure that the position was filled by a capable person. The decision was unanimous to appoint Professor Puleng LenkaBula.
Professor Lenkabula has many years of managerial experience in higher education. She is currently the Vice Rector of Institutional Change, Student Affairs and Community Engagement at the University of the Free State (UFS).
Before being appointed as the Vice Rector at UFS, Professor LenkaBula was the Dean of Students at WITS University. At Wits, she was a part of the Vice Chancellor’s Office (VCO) and the Senior Executive Team. Professor LenkaBula also held many different management positions at different institution, including UNISA.
In addition, Professor LenkaBula’s work has been internationally revered, and she is a board member on the local ecumenical and academic formations, including the Council for the Development of Social Sciences Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
“Council is of the firm belief that this appointment bodes well for the future of our university, as we intensify our endeavour to move towards a fully-fledged Open Distance and eLearning dispensation and to solidify our stature as a truly African university in the service of humanity. In Professor LenkaBula, we have appointed the right caliber of leader; who is student-centred and shares our institutional vision on decoloniality and transformation, knowledge-production, innovation and advancing the socio-economic development of South Africa, Africa and the world, in particular for the benefit of Africa. As Council, we commit ourselves to providing her with the necessary support to ensure that she succeeds in taking our vision of transformation and excellent service delivery to the next level”, said Mr Sakhi Simelane, Chairperson of the UNISA Council.
Professor Mandla Makhanya will stay in office until April 2021 to ensure a smooth hand-over to Professor LenkaBula.
