Fatima Batul Mukhtar (; born 23 May 1963) is a Nigerian

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

who serves as the vice-chancellor of Azman University Kano. Her research interests are centred on growth regulation,

biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

, biotechnology and plant conservation. She was appointed vice-chancellor of the

Federal University Dutse The Federal University Dutse (FUD), is one of the nine universities created by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2011. FUD offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programs (Pgde.Msc. as well as PhD.) The Federal University, Dutse (FUD) he ...

by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

and served in the position from 2016 to 2021.

Early life and education

Mukhtar was born on 23 May 1963 in

Kano Municipal Kano Municipal is a Local Government Area within the Kano Urban Area in Kano State, also known as capital of kano state, Nigeria. Its Secretariat is at Kofar Kudu (western entrance of emir's palace), in the south of the city of Kano. It has a ...

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

Kano State Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...

. She attended Shahuchi Primary School and Shekara Girls Boarding Primary School, and later Government Girls College, Dala. She obtained her first degree in botany from

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

in 1984. She subsequently earned her second and third degrees from

Bayero University The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from university college to university. It is the first university i ...

in 1994 and 2005, respectively. In 2012, she enrolled in an agricultural biotechnology course at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Career

Mukhtar started her career in 1994 at

Bayero University Kano The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from university college to university. It is the first university i ...

as an assistant lecturer and rose to

in 2010. She held responsibilities, from level coordinator to head of the Plant Science Department. Mukhtar is a member of

Northwest University, Kano Northwest University (formerly Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano), is a Nigerian public university owned by the Kano State Government. It has two campuses: City Campus located in Kano, and the main campus located along General Buhari Way Kofar ...

, and was one of the founding academic administrators. She served as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

Faculty of Science Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

and as the deputy vice chancellor in 2015, where she chaired the ICT Committee, the Hospital Revolving Fund Committee, and the Budget Monitoring and Performance Committee.

Appointments

Mukhtar was appointed as the second

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

by President

on 14 February 2016. On 30 August 2023, Azman University appointed Mukhtar as its inaugural vice-chancellor. The appointment was historic, as she became both the first person and the first woman to assume the university's highest leadership position.

References

External links

Bayero University profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukhtar, Fatima Batul 1963 births Living people Nigerian women academics Ahmadu Bello University alumni Bayero University Kano alumni Scientists from Kano Vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities 21st-century botanists Nigerian women botanists Nigerian biologists