Olive Mwihaki Mugenda is a Kenyan

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

. She is currently the chairperson board of directors at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, a leading national referral hospital. She was appointed

vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Nairobi County, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of O ...

one of the 31

public universities A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national university ...

in Kenya, in 2006, the first woman to lead a public university in the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the ...

area, and served in that position until 20 March 2016. Mugenda was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

magazine in 2016.

Background and education

She was born and raised in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. She attended the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

degree. She studied at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, obtaining the degree of

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in family studies in 1983. Her degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

, in the same field, was obtained in 1988, also from Iowa State University. She also holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute.

Career

When she graduated with her first degree, she joined the staff at Kenyatta University, in 1981, as a tutorial fellow. Because she had done very well during her Bachelor of Education studies, obtaining a first class honours degree in the process, she was given a scholarship to study at Iowa State University for her master's degree and doctorate. After her graduate studies in the United States, she returned to lecture at Kenyatta University. She specialized in "women’s education, home economics, statistics and research methodology". She was promoted from Lecturer to Head of , to Dean of Faculty. Then she was appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Planning. In 2006, when the position of Vice Chancellor at the university was advertised, she applied and beat three other applicants, all male, for the job. As Vice Chancellor, one of the major accomplishments is the establishment of Kenyatta University Referral Hospital, a 500-bed referral hospital, wholly owned by the university, which cost US$95 million to construct. In October 2013, Professor Olive Mugenda was appointed

Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. The association is the oldest international universities network, with over 500 universities, in 37 countries as members. The secretariat is based in London, United Kingdom. After her retirement from Kenyatta university, President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

nominated her to serve in the Judicial Service Commission where she is to represent members of the public. She was also appointed in April 2019 as the chairperson of the board of the Kenyatta University Teaching & Referral Hospital in 2019. The board was tasked to kickstart operations in the hospital that had been lying idle years after completion due to uncertainties over its management and ownership structure. She is currently the chancellor of

KCA University KCA University (KCAU) is a private, non-profit institution, founded in July 1989 as Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) to improve the quality of accountancy and financial manageme ...

Family

Mugenda and her late husband, Abel Mugenda, an academic at the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

, are the parents of four children. Two ladies and two gents.

References

External links

Website of Kenyatta University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugenda, Olive Living people Kikuyu people Kenyan Christians People from Nairobi 1956 births University of Nairobi alumni Iowa State University alumni Eastern and Southern African Management Institute alumni Academic staff of Kenyatta University Vice-chancellors of universities in Kenya

Background and education

Career

Family

See also

References

External links