Folasade Ogunsola becomes UNILAG's first female VC in 60 years
Professor of Clinical Microbiology Folasade Ogunsola has been declared vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Friday saw the UNILAG governing council make the official announcement of her appointment.
She is the 13th vice-chancellor of UNILAG and the first woman to hold that position in the university's 60-year existence.
The institution has released a statement saying that she will succeed Oluwatoyin Ogundipe on November 11, 2022.
Her contenders were Professors Abayomi Akinyeye, Department of History, Faculty of Arts; Mathew Ilori and Adeyinka Adekunle – Department of Microbiology and Botany, Faculty of Sciences.
Timothy Nubi, Department of Estate Management, Faculty of Environmental Sciences; Imran Smith, Faculty of Law; Ayo Olowe, Department of Finance, Faculty of Management Sciences.
"The appointment of Professor Ogunsola is for five (5) years with effect from Saturday, November 12, 2022, to Thursday, November 11, 2027,” the statement reads.
“The 12th Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS, on behalf of Management, members of staff and students of the University, heartily congratulates Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, FAS on her appointment and wishes her a successful tenure.”
Ogunsola, credited as a founding member of the Nigerian Society for Infection Control (NSIC), led an infection control team during the country's 2014 Ebola outbreak, according to the organization's website.
“She has been involved in Infection Control for 20 years and contributed significantly in raising awareness of infection Control in Nigeria. She was a founding member of the Nigerian Society for Infection Control (Formerly Nigerian Infection Control Association, NICA) in 1998 and has assisted in setting up infection control programs in institutions in the country,” her profile reads.
“She was the Chair of the Infection Control Committee of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital till 2012 and the team lead for Infection Prevention and Control during the 2014 Ebola disease outbreak in Nigeria.
“She has worked as a consultant in IPC with the World Health Organisation since 2009 and is interested in the community applications of Infection Control principles in under-resourced communities.
“She recently with her team wrote a curriculum for a 6-months diploma in Infection Control. She is a member of the Global Infection Prevention and control Network, board member of the Nigerian Society of Infection Control and Chair of the Infection Control African Network.”
Her credentials also include membership in the Royal College of Pathologists, the West African College of Physicians, the Nigerian Academy of Science, the Nigerian Academy of Medicine, and the Academy of Medicine, Specialties.
Ogunsola was the previous Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Development Services and the acting Vice Chancellor at UNILAG.
The professor broke ground as the school's first and first female Provost of the medical school.
She is the only member of the governing council to have served for three consecutive terms.
Ogunsola has 142 publications and four co-authored books, and she has won prizes from both national and international organizations.
The lauded professor has instructed eight Ph.D. students and sixty-one M.A. students so far.
Checks by Prime Business Africa revealed that so far, 15 women, including those currently serving and those that have finished their tenures, have served within the capacity of vice-chancellor in Nigeria, within the last six years.