Florah Mhlanga 

Provost's Office

Vice Provost

Biography

Dr. Florah Mhlanga serves as the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and as the Executive Director of The J.S. Ward Society. Dr. Mhlanga joined Lipscomb University in 2011. Prior to her current role, she held several leadership positions, including Associate Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Senior Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Biology.

A champion of undergraduate research, Dr. Mhlanga, founded and has led the growth of Lipscomb’s annual Student Scholars Symposium, now a signature event that highlights student academic and creative excellence across disciplines. She also spearheaded the development of Faculty Research Day, an event designed to celebrate, showcase, and promote the scholarly and creative contributions of Lipscomb faculty. Both initiatives have significantly contributed to fostering a vibrant culture of research and interdisciplinary collaboration at the university.

Before joining Lipscomb, Dr. Mhlanga served as Chair of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), where she taught for eight years. Her research on test-day methods of genetic evaluations laid the groundwork for future developments in test-day modeling in southern Africa. She has also held faculty positions at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama, and Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.

Dr. Mhlanga holds a B.S. Honors degree in Animal Science from the University of Zimbabwe and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Michigan State University. She is deeply committed to transformative undergraduate education and has recently played a key role in advancing Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) at Lipscomb, expanding access to high-impact learning opportunities for students.