It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ms Jennifer (“Jenny”) Glennie, a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to opening access to quality education at all levels for marginalised communities in South Africa. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family.
Ms Glennie has a long and distinguished connection with Sol Plaatje University (SPU) where she was instrumental in setting the tone for the impeccable governance culture that guided the Council through its difficult early years. She served as the Chairperson of the Interim Council in 2013 and then as the Deputy Chairperson of the Inaugural Council from 2014 to 2022. She was the Deputy Chairperson of both the Executive Committee and the Remuneration Committee of Council; a member of the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC) and later served as the Chairperson of the ARC until the end of her term on Council.
She was born in Johannesburg and graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) with a first-class Honours degree in pure mathematics in 1971. She stepped in to serve as the Director of the South African Committee for Higher Education (SACHED) when her predecessor was banned by the apartheid government; and then went on to complete her Master of Arts in Education and Development at the University of London in 1980. When she returned to South Africa she rejoined SACHED as its Deputy Director.
In 1993, Ms Glennie became the founding Director of the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE) an NGO committed to strengthening distance education at the tertiary level to enable faster, more accessible transformation in the sector.
She served on UNISA’s post-1994 Broad Transformation Forum, followed by three terms on the UNISA Council and its audit committee. In 1998, she was appointed by the Minister of Education to the new Council for Higher Education.
More recently, through SAIDE’s Siyaphumelela (“We succeed”) programme, Ms Glennie facilitated collaborations across South African universities to analyse student data towards interventions for improving success.
She received the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of Pretoria for her contribution to education; the African Council for Distance Education Legacy Service Award for exceptional contribution to the field of Open Distance and e-learning; and earlier this year she received an Honorary Doctorate in Education from WITS for her contributions to education
Her dedication to transforming education in South Africa has inspired countless individuals and organizations, leaving a lasting impact on the country’s educational landscape. She will live on through the lives she touched and the causes she championed. Her dedication commitment and kindness will be deeply missed.
Jenny Glennie gave much to the remarkable early consolidation and growth of our university. She did this with passion and expected no reward. SPU is forever grateful for this contribution from one of the giants in our higher education system.
Message from
Professor Randall Carolissen
SPU Chair of Council
