Overtoun Jenda

Jenda was born and raised in Malawi.^[2] He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Malawi before moving to the United States. He then completed a Master of Science and PhD in mathematics from the University of Kentucky.^[3] His PhD was completed under the advisement of Edgar Earle Enochs.^[1]

After completing his PhD, Jenda taught at the University of Kentucky until 1988, when he accepted a professorship at Auburn University (AU).^[2] As he was the only Black faculty member in the department, he was often sought out by Black students for assistance and guidance.^[4] In 1994, Jenda established the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program at AU and started a summer internship program for minority students.^[4][5] As the director of LSAMP, Jenda opened and operated a drop-in tutoring center and developed an outreach program aimed at recruiting high-school students interested in engineering.^[6][7] He also established the Summer Bridge Program to help minority students get acclimated to the changes from high school to university.^[8] Outside of his work with LSAMP, Jenda was appointed a Full professor in 1997 and became the associate dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics in 2000.^[9] Jenda ran the Summer Bridge Program until 2006 when he was appointed AU's associate provost for diversity and multicultural affairs.^[9][4]

As an associate provost, Jenda established the Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship (PLUS) Program to support underrepresented students.^[10] By 2009, PLUS had provided scholarships to 125 students, including 55 first-generation college students. As such, PLUS received the 2009 Scholarship Provider of the Year Award from the National Scholarship Providers Association.^[11][12] In 2011, Jenda co-founded the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association Masamu project to increase the presence of American mathematical research in Africa.^[13]

Jenda received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in 2020^[14] and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024.^[15]