The Governing Council of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State, has appointed Professor Patricia Mamko Lar as the institution’s 11th substantive Vice-Chancellor, making her the first woman to occupy the position since the university’s establishment.
The appointment was announced on Thursday, November 12, 2026, by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Senator Grace Folashade Bent, during a special meeting of the university’s 15th Governing Council.
Lar succeeds Professor Tanko Ishaya, whose tenure as Vice-Chancellor is coming to an end.
The university confirmed the development in a statement issued by its Deputy Registrar, Information and Public Relations, Emmanuel Madugu, on behalf of the Registrar and Secretary to Council.
According to the statement, Professor Lar formally takes over from Ishaya as the 11th substantive and first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos.
Presenting the letter of appointment to the incoming Vice-Chancellor, Senator Bent charged her to remain focused as she prepares to assume leadership of the institution.
Professor Lar is a Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Jos, where she has held professorial status since 2015. She also previously served as Acting Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, formerly known as the University of Abuja, for a six-month period.
Her emergence follows a selection process that attracted several senior academics. On November 10, reports identified Lar among the professors seeking to succeed Ishaya, with candidates participating in a stakeholders’ interaction organised by the university’s Advancement Office in collaboration with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The engagement provided an opportunity for the candidates to present their leadership visions and respond to questions on university administration, funding, staff welfare, student welfare, research and innovation.
Lar’s appointment marks a historic development for the University of Jos, which was established in 1971 and has had several substantive Vice-Chancellors but never a woman in the position.
As the new head of the institution, she is expected to provide leadership on academic development, research, infrastructure, staff welfare and students’ welfare, among other responsibilities.
The university said further details concerning the appointment would be communicated in due course.
Her emergence as the first female substantive Vice-Chancellor represents a significant moment in the institution’s history and a new chapter in its leadership.
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