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The Vice-Chancellor

PROFESSOR PATRICIA MANKO LAR
VICE-CHANCELLOR
UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA

Professor Patricia Manko Lar

MEET OUR ACTING VICE-CHANCELLOR

We are pleased to share the profile of our new Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patricia Manko Lar. With an impressive career in academia and leadership, Professor Lar's tenure promises to enhance unity and cooperation, strengthen academic development, and rebrand the University, among other initiatives, marking a fresh chapter in the institution's history.

PROFILE

Professor Patricia Manko Lar is a renowned scholar of medical microbiology, born on 1st January 1964 in Langtang North, Plateau State, Nigeria. Lar began her early education at St. Theresa Girls School, Jos, before completing her First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) at LEA Primary School, Riyom, in 1976. She proceeded to the Girls’ High School, Gindiri, Plateau State, where she obtained her General Certificate of Education (GCE) in 1981.

Desirous of furthering her education, she enrolled at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where she earned a BSc in microbiology in 1986. She later obtained an MSc (medical microbiology) in 1989 and a PhD (medical parasitology) in 1998, both from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. In 2005, Lar pursued a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA, under the NIH-Fogarty Fellowship Programme and became a Fogarty fellow. Her academic career began as a graduate assistant at the University of Jos in 1987, and she rose through the ranks to become a full professor of medical microbiology in 2015. In addition, Lar was a 2008 fellow of the Higher Education Resource Academy in South Africa (HERSA) and also, a 2010/2011 fellow of the International Women Leadership Forum (IWF), USA.

Through the years, Lar has served in several administrative and leadership capacities at both national and international levels, including secretary general, West Africa Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA) (2015–2021); member, Governing Council, Plateau State University (PLASU), Bokkos (2012–2015); member, Governing Council, Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin Ladi (2009–2011); member, NUC Accreditation Panel for microbiology programmes (2017–2020); and member, Presidential Visitation Panel to National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Abia State (2021). She was also a two-time head, Department of Microbiology (2006–2010; 2012–2017); project director/chairperson, Jos-Carnegie Partnership Projects – where she oversaw the proper utilisation of a $4.5 million grant for institutional strengthening (2008–2013); member, Board of the Office of Research (2012–2017); and acting director of Linkages (2014–2017).

Lar was also an elected senate representative on the Board of Governors, Centre for Continuing Education (CCE) (2014–2017); member, University Senate Search Committee for Vice-Chancellor Appointment (2016); Senate elected representative on the Appointments and Discipline Committee (Junior Staff) (2013–2017); monitoring & evaluation officer, Africa Centre of Excellence in Phytomedicine (ACEPRD) (2020- 2023); and project coordinator & member, Science Granting Council Initiative (SGCI) (2016–2020) and currently, a member, Board of Advisors of SGCI.

With over 40 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and a proven track record in postgraduate supervision, community services, as well as participation in both national and international conferences, Professor Lar has made significant contributions to the academia.

She is a member of several professional bodies such as Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN), Nigerian Association of Medical Scientists (NAMS), Nigerian Association of Women Academics (NAWACS), Nigerian Society for Microbiology (NSM), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Third World Organisation of Women in Science (TWOS), West African Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA), and Society for Research Administrators International (SRAI). A multiple research grant winner, she has received several awards in recognition of her outstanding performance, including the Award of Excellence from the Arewa Journalist Forum (2018); the He4She Certificate of Award for Women Empowerment Activism (2019); the Award of Excellence from the Women Support Group, Langtang North LGA (2019); the National Excellence Award from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) (2019); the Women Achievers Award from the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Jos (2015); and the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Performance as Head of Department, presented by the graduating class of 2012/2013. She loves to sing, read newspapers and listen to good music.