Levi Martin Nyagura is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

an academic. He was appointed Vice Chancellor of the

University of Zimbabwe The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University o ...

in January 2003 and was subsequently reappointed for a second, third and a fourth term, the latter of which ended in mid 2018.

Education and career

Levi Nyagura holds a PhD in Mathematics from Southern Illinois University, USA. He has a background as a Mathematics lecturer; he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Special Honours in Mathematics from the University of Rhodesia, then graduated with a BSc degree in Mathematics and Physics from University of London, United Kingdom. He went on to complete a Graduate Certificate of Education at the University of Zimbabwe and later an MSc degree in Mathematics with the University of South Africa before doing his PhD in the United States.

Awards

Nyagura was awarded The Zimbabwe Institute of Management Public Services Manager of the Year (2005), The Zimbabwe Institute of Management Harare Regional Public Services Manager of the Year (2012) and The Zimbabwe Institute of Management Public Services Manager of the Year (2012)

Controversies

Nyagura controversially awarded a PhD degree to

Grace Mugabe Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (' Marufu; born 23 July 1965) is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband's resignation in November 201 ...

in 2014. In 2015 Nyagura controversially fired a senior university staffer Senior Assistant Registrar Ngaatendwe Takawira for allegedly procuring a small cap for

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

that failed to fit during a graduation ceremony he officiated as Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe in October 2015, a decision later reversed by a Zimbabwean court. Nyagura has been widely criticized for presiding over the University of Zimbabwe's demise, characterized by a failure to retain staff because of poor remuneration, politicization of the institution, purges of independent minded academics, and purges of senior academics who protested Nyagura's leadership style. He reportedly boasts of his penchant for firing staff and not renewing contracts.

Publications

Nyagura has published mainly on teacher and student performance in Zimbabwe's schools, as well as overall school performance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyagura, Levi Heads of universities and colleges in Zimbabwe Living people University of Zimbabwe alumni Academic staff of the University of Zimbabwe Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Southern Illinois University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)