Professor Brenda Gourley

Vice-Chancellor of the Open University, UK

Professor Brenda Gourley has been Vice-Chancellor of The Open University since 2002. She shares with The Open University a social justice agenda and a belief in education as a tool to tackle growing inequalities in the global society.

Biography

Professor Gourley is a member of the board of the International Association of Universities and the Longer Term Strategy Group of Universities UK. She chairs the Association of Commonwealth Universities as well as the Talloires Network’s Global Project on literacy.

A frequent speaker on a broad range of platforms and issues as well as a contributor to publications around the world, Professor Gourley has also received honorary degrees from the University of Nottingham, University of Abertay, Richmond University, and Allama Iqbal Open University. She has been named as one of the Global Business Network’s ‘remarkable people’.Professor Brenda Gourley was previously Vice-Chancellor at the University of Natal for eight years. Professor Gourley is a qualified Chartered Accountant and began her career in the private sector before moving into academia.