Brenda Gourley

Brenda Mary Gourley (born December 1, 1943) was the Vice-Chancellor of the Open University from 2002 until 2009.

Career

Gourley is a qualified Chartered Accountant and was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Natal, South Africa for eight years. When appointed at Natal in 1994 she was South Africa's first female Vice-Chancellor. The Brenda M Gourley Scholarship is awarded in her honour at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal for 'the undergraduate student ranked second in the full range of undergraduates throughout the University.'[1]

She was appointed the fourth Vice-Chancellor of the Open University in 2002.[2] Gourley made a special effort to inspire the Open University to engage with Africa. This involved raising substantial funds to enable them to offer their services to Africa.[3] Gourley ensured that The Open University was the first British university to make a large selection of its educational resources freely available on the web,[4] and she continues to champion the Open Educational Resource movement.[5] She supports the role of Higher Education in promoting social justice and finding a sustainable way of out of poverty.[6]

Gourley was a Founder Member of the Talloires Network of universities and educational institutions; an organisation that is aimed at strengthening the civic roles of universities and higher education.[7] She served as Chair, for two terms, of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.[8]

Gourley has been on the board of the University of Brighton since April 2011[9] Gourley is an independent non-executive director on the board of the South African listed company, AdvTech Ltd,[10] and on the Board of Trustees of the charity group, IADP, the International Association for Digital Publications, that seeks to improve the educational experience and outcome of tertiary education in developing countries.[11] She is an elected Councillor on the City and Guilds of London Institute [12] and a Trustee of The Royal Anniversary Trust which awards the biennial Queen's Anniversary Prize.[13] Gourley has been a member of the Global Business Network of ‘remarkable’ people since 1995.[14]

In 2014 Gourley was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award from UNISA University of South Africa which acknowledges her 'significant contribution to our society in the area of primary/pre-primary, secondary or tertiary education.' [15]

Honours and awards

References

  1. ↑ UKZN Scholarship Awards,http://www.ukzn.ac.za/docs/general-docs/list-of-students-awarded.pdf?sfvrsn=0
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Honorary Fellow of COL citation,http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/pcf5_brenda_gourley_citation.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.icde.org/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=636
  5. ↑ Open Learning at the Open University,http://www.open.edu/openlearn/
  6. ↑ New technologies: new possibilities for reaching the unreached,http://www.col.org/resources/speeches/2008presentations/Pages/2008-07-15a.aspx
  7. ↑ The Talloires Network, http://talloiresnetwork.tufts.edu/list-of-participants/
  8. ↑ Honoris Causa, University of Catalonia, Barcelona,http://www.uoc.edu/hc/gourley/eng/trajectoria.html
  9. ↑ [ University of Brighton, http://www.brighton.ac.uk/aboutus/corporateinfo/governors.php]
  10. ↑ [AdvTech Group, http://www.advtech.co.za/about/board-of-directors]
  11. ↑ IADP Board of Trustees, www.iadpnet.org/board-of-trustees
  12. ↑ City and Guilds of London,http://www.cityandguilds.com/About-Us/How-We-Are-Organised/The-Council
  13. ↑ Royal Anniversary Trustees,http://www.royalanniversarytrust.org.uk/news/appointment-of-trustees
  14. ↑ Global Business Network,http://gbn.com/people/personlist.php?tag=management
  15. ↑ [ University of South Africa, http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=25949]
  16. ↑ [Honorary Graduates of the University of Nottingham, http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/registrar/documents/hon-deg-list-dec12.pdf]
  17. ↑ [Honorary Degree Recipients Richmond University, http://www.richmond.ac.uk/content/admissions/about-richmond/honorary-degree-recipients.aspx]
  18. ↑ [University of Abertay, Alumni, http://www.abertay.ac.uk/alumni/honours/graduates/2004/]
  19. ↑ [University of Quebec, Montreal,Canada, http://www.uqam.ca/nouvelles/2007/07-380.htm]
  20. ↑ University of Pretoria Honorary Doctorates, http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=8384
  21. ↑ http://www.icde.org/filestore/About/Annualreport2008.pdf
  22. ↑ http://www.uoc.edu/hc/gourley/eng/trajectoria.html
  23. ↑ Women in Public Life Award, http://www.womeninpubliclifeawards.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=1:past-winners-2009&Itemid=9&layout=default
  24. ↑ [Open University of Catalonia, UOC, http://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/sala-de-premsa/actualitat/noticies/2011/noticia_029.html]
  25. ↑ UNISA, http://www.unisa.ac.za/media/PDFflips/VC_AnnualReview_2011/files/vc_annualreview_2011.pdf
  26. ↑ University of Gloucestershire, http://www.glos.ac.uk/latestnews/archive/prFrom2011/november11/Pages/Studentscelebrategraduationsuccess.aspx
  27. ↑ University of South Africa - UNISA, http://www.wits.ac.za/alumni/alumnirecognition/3600/honorary_degrees.html
  28. ↑ UNISA - South Africa, http://www.unisa.ac.za/news/index.php/2014/10/transformation-in-he-discussed-at-chancellors-calabash-awards/

External links