Brenda Gourley, PCF5 in London 2008

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 an emeritus professor of Accounting and Finance. She has served as a non-executive director on a variety of Boards and Trusts in both the public and private sectors. She 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 on the board of the International Association of Universities for eight years.[8] She served as Chair, for two terms, of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.[9]

Gourley was on the board of the University of Brighton from 2011 to 2015 [10] Gourley was an independent non-executive director on the board of the South African listed company, AdvTech Ltd for 11 years until March 2021,[11] and for 8 years, until 2019, 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.[12] She was Chair, for two terms, of the Board of Trustees of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth, a charity that sought to improve the educational experience and outcome of tertiary education in Commonwealth countries.[13] She was an elected Councillor on the City and Guilds of London Institute[14] and a Trustee of The Royal Anniversary Trust which awards the biennial Queen's Anniversary Prize.[15]

Gourley has been awarded 14 honorary doctorates from universities on four continents and, in 2014, Gourley was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award by UNISA University of South Africa which acknowledges her 'significant contribution to our society in the area of primary/pre-primary, secondary or tertiary education.' [16]

In 2009 Gourley was named as one of the UK's most inspiring women in the Women in Public Life awards, receiving the International Public Servant of the Year and overall Outstanding Achiever awards.[17]

Honours and awards

References

  1. UKZN Scholarship Awards,http://www.ukzn.ac.za/docs/general-docs/list-of-students-awarded.pdf%5B%5D
  2. "Honoris Causa: Brenda M. Gourley". www.uoc.edu. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. Honorary Fellow of COL citation,"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "ICDE". ICDE. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. Open Learning at the Open University,http://www.open.edu/openlearn/
  6. New technologies: new possibilities for reaching the unreached,"Commonwealth of Learning - New technologies: New possibilities for reaching the unreached". Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  7. The Talloires Network, "List of Participants - the Talloires Network". Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  8. International Association of Universities, http://www.iau-aiu.net/content/pdf/anual_report2007.pdf Archived 2012-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Honoris Causa, University of Catalonia, Barcelona,http://www.uoc.edu/hc/gourley/eng/trajectoria.html
  10. [ University of Brighton, http://www.brighton.ac.uk/aboutus/corporateinfo/governors.php]
  11. [AdvTech Group, "Board of Directors | Chairman | Committees – ADvTECH". Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.]
  12. IADP Board of Trustees, www.iadpnet.org/board-of-trustees
  13. "Honoris Causa: Brenda M. Gourley". www.uoc.edu. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  14. City and Guilds of London,http://www.cityandguilds.com/About-Us/How-We-Are-Organised/The-Council Archived 2012-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Royal Anniversary Trustees,http://www.royalanniversarytrust.org.uk/news/appointment-of-trustees Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  16. [ University of South Africa, http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=25949]
  17. UK Women in Public Life, http://www.womensgrid.org.uk/archive/2009/02/20/uk-women-in-public-life-awards-2009/
  18. [Honorary Graduates of the University of Nottingham, http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/registrar/documents/hon-deg-list-dec12.pdf%5B%5D]
  19. [Honorary Degree Recipients Richmond University, http://www.richmond.ac.uk/content/admissions/about-richmond/honorary-degree-recipients.aspx Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine]
  20. [University of Abertay, Alumni, "2004 | University of Abertay Dundee". Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.]
  21. [University of Quebec, Montreal,Canada, https://www.uqam.ca/nouvelles/2007/07-380.htm Archived 2014-08-06 at the Wayback Machine]
  22. University of Pretoria Honorary Doctorates
  23. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. "Honoris Causa: Brenda M. Gourley". www.uoc.edu. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  25. Women in Public Life Award, "Past winners 2009". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  26. [Open University of Catalonia, UOC, ]
  27. UNISA, http://www.unisa.ac.za/media/PDFflips/VC_AnnualReview_2011/files/vc_annualreview_2011.pdf
  28. University of Gloucestershire, http://www.glos.ac.uk/discover/heritage/pages/honorary-degree-recipients.aspx
  29. University of the Witwatersrand, "Honorary Gourley | Graduations | NewsItems | Media Centre - Wits University". Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  30. University of South Africa - UNISA, "Honorary Degrees | Alumni Recognition | Resources | Alumni - Wits University". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  31. UNISA - South Africa, http://www.unisa.ac.za/news/index.php/2014/10/transformation-in-he-discussed-at-chancellors-calabash-awards/
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