Ayodeji Badejo Begins Five-Year Tenure as LASU Vice-Chancellor

Professor Ayodeji Badejo has assumed office as LASU’s 10th substantive Vice-Chancellor, beginning a five-year tenure after decades of service to the university.

Badejo formally took over on Monday, September 21, 2026, following the completion of Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello’s five-year tenure as Vice-Chancellor. LASU’s current official profile identifies Badejo as the university’s 10th substantive Vice-Chancellor and describes the Vice-Chancellor as the institution’s chief executive and principal academic officer.

Her appointment was approved by Lagos State Governor and Visitor to LASU, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and announced on September 9 in accordance with the provisions of the LASU Law, 2004, as amended. The appointment made Badejo the university’s latest substantive head after Olatunji-Bello’s five-year administration.

Unlike an outsider coming into the university’s top office, Badejo begins her tenure with extensive institutional experience at LASU. Before her appointment, she had served in several strategic positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Education, Chairman of the Senate Curriculum Committee and member of the university’s Governing Council.

Her academic career is rooted in Counselling Psychology. Born on August 4, 1962, she obtained an NCE in 1983, a Bachelor of Education degree in 1986, a Master of Education degree in 1988 and a PhD in Guidance and Counselling in 1998. LASU’s academic profile lists her specialisation as Counselling Psychology and confirms her PhD from the University of Lagos.

She subsequently rose through the university’s academic ranks to become a professor, combining teaching and research with increasing administrative responsibilities. Her work has included curriculum development, programme validation and academic planning, particularly through her chairmanship of the Senate Curriculum Committee.

Her record as Dean of the Faculty of Education is another part of the background to her emergence as Vice-Chancellor. During her tenure, about 20 academic staff were promoted to the professorial cadre, while programmes in the faculty secured full accreditation from the National Universities Commission, according to profiles published by LASU and reports on her appointment.

Badejo also has experience in institutional financial management. As Chairman of the LASU International School Board, she was credited with initiatives that strengthened the school’s financial position, with its capital reserves reported to have risen from about ₦88 million to ₦121 million while structural financial deficits were eliminated. The period also recorded growth in staff strength and student enrolment.

Research and postgraduate mentorship have also been prominent in her career. Between 2012 and 2026, she supervised 23 PhD graduates, including a doctoral researcher who received the 2024 Best PhD Thesis Award. Her record of supervision has earned her recognition as a “Mentor of Mentors.”

Her scholarly output includes four books, 17 book chapters and more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, giving her more than 80 major academic publications. She has also chaired the LASU Research Ethics Committee, where she was involved in strengthening research ethics and institutional capacity.

Beyond the university, Badejo has maintained professional links with the counselling profession. She is a Fellow of the Counselling Association of Nigeria and the Association of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria, and is also listed as a member of the American Psychological Association and the Nigerian Academy of Education.

Her professional record has attracted international recognition, including the Key to the City of Niagara Falls, New York, and a Distinguished Personality Award for excellence in higher education in Africa, presented in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2025. LASU also identifies her as a member of professional and scholarly organisations and highlights her record in academic leadership, research productivity and institutional administration.

Badejo’s arrival also marks the beginning of a new administration at LASU following Olatunji-Bello’s five-year tenure. The university said her assumption of office would build on previous achievements while opening a new phase focused on teaching, research, innovation and community service.

With her long institutional history at LASU, the new Vice-Chancellor enters the office with familiarity with the university’s academic structures, curriculum processes, research environment and administrative system. Her five-year tenure will now put that experience to the test at the highest level of the institution’s management, as she takes responsibility for steering LASU’s academic and administrative direction.