Professor Dr. Inga Žalėnienė has served as Rector of Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) in Lithuania, the country’s largest public university specialising in the social sciences, since 2019. Under her leadership, MRU has advanced its sustainability agenda and its international profile. A PhD graduate in Law, she brings extensive institutional experience to the role, having previously served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law and Vice-Rector for Education and Research.

A committed advocate of collaborative, values-driven leadership in higher education, Professor Žalėnienė is Vice-President of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and oversees its internationalisation priority area. She has been Chairperson of the Board of Rectors of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) for 2025. She also serves as President of the Lithuanian Rectors’ Conference and as a Board Member of the European Women Rectors’ Association (EWORA). In 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dongseo University in the Republic of Korea.