The University of
Zululand (UNIZULU) Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor
Nokuthula Winfred Kunene as the new Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UNIZULU.
The tenure of the new Vice-Chancellor will officially begin on January 1, 2026.
A distinguished academic and agriculturalist, Professor Kunene is a Professor of Agricultural Science and is the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at UNIZULU since 2021. As the deputy vice-chancellor, Prof Kunene provided visionary and distinguished academic leadership in various areas of research, innovation, postgraduate studies, knowledge advancement and transfer, research ethics, intellectual property management, and strategic partnership development.
Her exceptional leadership of the research and innovation portfolio has contributed to growth in student success and graduation rate, technology transfer, and the ecosystem for research and innovation.
Prof Kunene has previously served in many senior leadership roles at UNIZULU, including as Dean of the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering from 2016 to 2021; as Deputy Dean for Research and Internationalisation from 2014 to 2016 and as Head of Department for Agriculture - all in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering.
Prof Kunene is known for her work on characterisation of indigenous Nguni (Zulu) sheep for conservation, as well as indigenous chickens in South Africa. Her extensive educational background includes degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and University of Swaziland, being a research fellow at the University of Perugia and obtaining a leadership certificate from University of Stellenbosch.
Prof Kunene is a member of SASAS and SACNASP and was a member of council of Owen Sithole College.
Prof Kunene is committed to transformative and decolonial leadership that steers the institution into a sustainable future as the node for African thought.