Leah Marangu

Professor Leah Marangu is a Kenyan academic. She was born in South Imenti,  Meru County, Kenya. She is considered to be one of Kenya's most distinguished and decorated scholars.

Education
Marangu attended Kaaga High School and later trained for public health nursing and midwifery at Maua Methodist Hospital. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics from Olivet Nazarene University and two Master of Science degrees in Home Economics and Family Environment from Northern Illinois University. Later she attained a Ph.D. in Home Economics from Iowa State University to become a Professor of Home Economics

Career
Leah Marangu was the vice-chancellor of Africa Nazarene University between 1997 and 2017, and is one of Kenya’s most distinguished and decorated scholars. A woman of many firsts, Professor Marangu was appointed a full Professor and chair of the Department of Home Economics at Kenyatta University in 1978, becoming the first woman full Professor in Kenya and East Africa. She was the chair of the board of directors at the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation in 2005 and her appointment marked the first time ever a woman had held such a post in a parastatal in Kenya. She has served Kenya in various capacities, including Commission for University Education (CUE, Egerton University Council, National Council of Science and Technology, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Institute of Education (KIE), Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Taskforce on Performance Contract, among other bodies. Professor Marangu is Co-Founder of Education For All Children, an education-to-employment NGO based in Nairobi.

Awards
Leah Marangu is an Honorary Alumni of Kenyatta University.

In 2001, Marangu was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Iowa State University, the highest alumni award at the institution.

Prof. Marangu was decorated the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) and awarded the Silver Star of Kenya award by former and late Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Daniel Moi respectively.

In 2018, former President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded her the State Honour of the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) in recognition of her contributions to the field of education.

She received an International Leadership and Character Award and Distinguished Achievement Citation by Iowa State University. The University of Nairobi has also recognized her as one of the Women Trailblazers in Kenya as an educationist.

She is also a recipient of Olivet Nazarene University's Outstanding Alumni Lay Award (1996), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit.), and the Maggie Sloan Crawford Award.

Publications
Marangu has published in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has attracted over US$2.1 million in research grants. Prior to her appointment as the vice-chancellor at Africa Nazarene University, Marangu was a visiting professor at Brigham Young University in the US, where she had also worked as a professor for 12 other leading universities.

Family
Marangu is married to Professor John Marangu. She is a mother and a grandmother.