Professor Puleng LenkaBula is an academic, scholar, and executive leader with interdisciplinary expertise in the intersections of ethics, political economy, ecology, justice, feminist theory, and governance. She is of South African and Lesotho descent.
On 1 January 2021, she assumed office as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa). Her appointment marked a historic/herstoric institutional milestone, as she became the first woman, and the third black person to lead Unisa in more than 147 years of its existence.
Professor LenkaBula’s career spans academia, ecumenical institutions, civic society, international governance, and executive management. Her work has consistently focused on institutional transformation, Africanisation, ethics, student development, social justice, climate justice, intellectual property, and strategic leadership within higher education and global policy spaces.
She has held senior leadership roles across multiple universities, including Unisa, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of the Free State. She has also been engaged in advisory and governance roles in global organisations such as the World Council of Churches, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
As Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Africa’s largest comprehensive open distance elearning institution, LenkaBula leads the strategic, academic, financial, and institutional direction of Unisa. Her tenure has included a focus on improving institutional rankings, strengthening academic performance, increasing doctoral-level academic staffing, broadening student access and support, and advancing financial sustainability.
Under her leadership, Unisa has improved its national and international rankings, including progression in DHET, QS, and Times Higher Education metrics. She has overseen growth in the proportion of academic staff with PhDs from 39% in 2021 to 67% by 2024. Recently, the national Department of Higher Education reported that Unisa has achieved position 2 in research output across the country. Unisa has also obtained position 1 for the production of PhD graduates in South Africa. She has also led the establishment of an experimental farm as part of Unisa’s sustainability and agricultural futures agenda, and advanced strategic financial optimisation aimed at strengthening institutional sustainability and independence – as evidenced by the exponential increase in the institution’s reserves from R8 bn in 2021 to R22 bn in 2025 during her tenure. The recent acquisition of an airport by Unisa and Unisa’s joint Africa Millimetre Telescope (AMT) with the University of Namibia (UNAM) – firsts by any institution of higher learning on the African continent – are further testaments to LenkaBula’s visionary and sterling stewardship of Unisa since she took office in 2021. In recognition of her stellar leadership, the African Association of Universities has appointed her to its Board of Governance as an Alternate Board Member for the Southern African Region. She also serves as Treasurer-General of the African Council on Distance Education (ACDE), a continental organisation that fosters collaboration, research and quality assurance in open distance learning (ODL), including e-learning, to expand access to quality education and training on the African continent.
She has also provided ethics and governance advisory services to the private sector and high-net-worth stakeholders.
Professor Puleng LenkaBula’s work is centred on advancing knowledge production, ethical governance, African intellectual development, institutional transformation, social justice, and sustainable socio-economic futures for South Africa, the African continent, and the global community.
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