Professor Patricia Mamko Lar Makes History as First Female Vice-Chancellor of UNIJOS

Professor Patricia Mamko Lar, appointed as the 11th substantive Vice-Chancellor and first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos.

The University of Jos (UNIJOS) has officially appointed Professor Patricia Mamko Lar as its 11th substantive Vice-Chancellor, making her the first woman to occupy the position since the institution was established in 1971. Announced on Thursday, 12 November 2026 by the university’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Senator Grace Folashade Bent, during a special meeting of the 15th Governing Council, the historic appointment sees Professor Lar succeed Professor Tanko Ishaya as she takes the helm of the Plateau State institution.

Born in Langtang, Plateau State, Professor Lar is a distinguished Professor of Medical Microbiology whose career has been deeply woven into the fabric of UNIJOS for nearly four decades. After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1986, she joined the University of Jos in 1987 as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Medical Microbiology. She later went on to earn her Master’s degree in Medical Microbiology in 1989 and her PhD in Medical Parasitology in 1998 from the University of Lagos, followed by postdoctoral training at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland in the United States under the NIH-Fogarty Fellowship Programme.

Rising steadily through the academic ranks, she became an Associate Professor in 2012 before attaining full professorship in October 2015. Over the years, she has built an impressive body of work with more than 40 scholarly publications focusing on infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, antimicrobial resistance, and phytomedicine. Beyond the lecture hall and laboratory, Professor Lar has also served in key administrative roles at UNIJOS—including Head of the Department of Microbiology and Director of Linkages and Collaborations—and previously served a six-month tenure as Acting Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University (formerly the University of Abuja) following her appointment by President Bola Tinubu in February 2025.

Alongside her academic and leadership credentials, Professor Lar is a recognised advocate for women’s empowerment, having received the He4She Certificate of Award for Women Empowerment Activism in 2019. As she begins her five-year single term as UNIJOS’s first female substantive Vice-Chancellor after 55 years, she brings nearly four decades of institutional experience to the university’s top seat.