In loving memory of
Tejumola "Teju" Olaniyan
April 3, 1959 - November 30, 2019
Tejumola "Teju" Olaniyan, 60, of Madison, WI passed away on Saturday November 30, 2019. He was born on April 3, 1959 in Omu-Aran, Nigeria, the son of Fako Olaniyan and Bolajoko Aborisade Sajiku. He married Mojisola Adeyemo on August 22, 1988 in Ithaca, NY.
He was the Louise Durham Mead Professor of English & Wole Soyinka Professor of the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In his 18 years at UW-Madison, he served as department chair of African Cultural Studies, as well as a Senior Fellow and Interim Director at the Institute for Research in the Humanities. He was an internationally-recognized scholar of African, African American, and Caribbean literatures, post-colonial studies, genre studies and popular culture studies.
He is survived by his wife, Mojisola Olaniyan, who is the assistant dean and director of the Academic Enhancement Program at the UW-Madison Law School, as well as his children Bolajoko and Olabimpe.
Visitation will take place at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison, on Thursday, Dec. 5, from 9 to AM. A Service of Remembrance will be held that day at 11 AM to give members of the community an opportunity to share their expressions. The funeral service will be private. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the following organizations:
A check made out to the African Center for Community Development (c/o Tunji Lesi)
Frontline AIDS, justgiving.com/aidsalliance - In honor of Teju's scholarship of Fela Kuti, who died of AIDS, please donate in Fela's name.