Professor Olive Mugenda and Professor Jan Thomas will serve as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively of the ACU Council for 2013-2015, it was announced today.

The announcement was made at a meeting of the ACU Council held in London, ahead of the ACU Centenary Conference later this week. 

The ACU is governed by its member institutions through a Council comprising up to 23 members, who represent constituencies covering major regions of the Commonwealth. The Chair and Vice-Chair are responsible for the leadership of the Council, and are elected by fellow Council members for a three-year term.

Professor Olive Mugenda is Vice-Chancellor of Kenyatta University, Kenya. Her career at Kenyatta has included serving as Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and now the first female Vice-Chancellor of public university in Kenya. She has built an international reputation as a university teacher and researcher. 

Professor Jan Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame in Western Australia. In addition to her extensive organisational leadership, she has an international reputation in her own academic background in veterinary and biomedical sciences.