A Tribute to Dr Jennifer “Jenny” Glennie
- DFO
Jennifer “Jenny” Glennie (1950 - 2025)
Born in Johannesburg in 1950, Glennie grew up in Vanderbijlpark and matriculated from Kingsmead College in Rosebank, where she was head prefect, Dux scholar and Victrix ludorum. Her association with ý began soon after school and lasted for over 50 years. She graduated with a first-class honours degree in pure mathematics in 1972 and later earned a master’s degree in education and development from the University of London.
It was at ý that she met her husband, former SRC president Dr Mark Orkin. Both were arrested for distributing pamphlets at a railway station during a protest march on the 10th anniversary of the Extension of University Education Act. After three years teaching mathematics abroad, the couple returned to South Africa to consult with historian Philip Bonner on how they could best contribute to the battlefront.
In 1974 she joined the South African Committee for Higher Education, where she championed access to education during the apartheid era. In 1993, she became director of the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE), an NGO committed to strengthening distance education at the tertiary level. She spearheaded initiatives that shaped national policy, improved student success and embraced technology and open educational resources to expand access.
Among her proudest contributions was SAIDE’s pioneering African Storybook Initiative, which uses the concept of open educational resources and a technology platform to provide children in multiple countries and 104 languages with contextually appropriate stories, setting them on a path to a life of reading and learning.
In 2007 she received the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of Pretoria for her contribution to education and later received the African Council for Distance Education Legacy Service Award. In March 2025, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in education by ý for her remarkable visionary and forceful leadership.
Throughout the memorial service held in her honour at ý, she was fondly remembered for her intellect, egalitarian values and exceptional leadership. Among the tributes, it was stated that she was a role model for everyone and everywhere, never losing her temper but showing fortitude through the toughest projects. She always met people at their level, despite being extraordinary herself. She never made anyone feel inadequate or less than, and made everyone feel seen and heard.
Dr Jenny Glennie passed away on 2 December 2025. She is survived by her husband Mark, children Andrew Orkin and Kate, and two grandchildren.