Leah Marangu

Professor Leah Marangu is the Vice-Chancellor of Africa Nazarene University and one of Kenya’s most distinguished and decorated scholars. The US trained Professor of Home Economics holds a PhD from Iowa State University, two Master of Science degrees in Home Economics and Family Environment from Northern Illinois University and Iowa State University respectively together with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics from Olivet Nazarene University. A woman of many firsts, Professor Marangu was appointed a full Professor and Chair of the Department of Home Economics at Kenyatta University in 1978, becoming the first woman professor in Kenya. She has also been Chair of the Board of Directors at Jomo Kenyatta Foundation in 2005 and her appointment marked the first time ever a woman had held such a post in a parastatal in Kenya. She has served Kenya in various capacities including Commission for Higher Education (CHE), Egerton University Council, National Council of Science and Technology, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Institute of Education (KIE), Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Taskforce on Performance Contract among other bodies. Professor Marangu is considered one of Kenya's leading humanitarians and is highly decorated both locally and internationally. She is an Honorary Alumni of Kenyatta University and is decorated with Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) and Silver Star of Kenya by H.E. President Mwai Kibaki and retired President Daniel Moi respectively. She received an International Leadership and Character Award and Distinguished Achievement Citation by Iowa State University and an Outstanding Alumni Lay Award, Maggie Sloan Crawford Award and Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) all from Olivet Nazarene University. Prof. Marangu is widely travelled has published in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has attracted over US $2.1 million in research grants. Prior to her appointment as the Vice-Chancellor at Africa Nazarene University, Professor Marangu was a visiting Professor at Brigham Young University in the US where she had also worked as a professor for 12 other leading universities. Professor Leah Marangu is a dedicated family woman, married to a fellow Professor John Marangu, a mother and a grandmother.