Professor Olive Mwihaki Mugenda (born 1956) is a Kenyan academic and administrator. She earned a Bachelor of Education from the University of Nairobi, an M.S. and PhD in Family Studies from Iowa State University, and an MBA from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute. She joined Kenyatta University in 1981 and became Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Finance and Planning, then in 2006 became the first woman to head a public university in East Africa as Vice-Chancellor. During her tenure she led major expansion projects, including the Kenyatta University Referral Hospital. She later chaired the Association of Commonwealth Universities Council and was appointed chairperson of the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital board.