Kenan Andrew Ince, age 34, passed away on June 13, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they served as Chair of Mathematics at Westminster University. Kenan was born on April 15, 1989, in Cincinnati, Ohio to Mary Angela Taylor Ince, and Bulent Ince. They are survived by his parents and stepmother Christine Ince.
Kenan was a poet, mathematician, activist, and community organizer. They were known among friends and family as genuinely loving and kind, knowledgeable with humility, empathetic, and a thoughtful listener.
Kenan’s strong creative intellect was apparent in all endeavors, always seeking new insights. They advocated for inclusion and equity, working to achieve opportunities for personal and societal growth for all human beings. They began writing poetry at an early age and continued to develop their skills, illustrating and commenting on the human condition, and exploring the relationships with oneself, others, and the world. Kenan’s poetry works have appeared in journals including Gulf Coast, Permafrost, The Iowa Review, Pleiades, and others. In recent years, Kenan attended the Antioch Writers’ Workshop and Lambda Literary Writers’ Retreat.
They graduated from Plano West High School in Plano, Texas in 2007 as a National Merit finalist. They went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, summa cum laude, with honors from Austin College in 2011. Kenan continued their education at Rice University in Houston, Texas, earning a Master of Arts in Mathematics in 2013 and a Ph.D. in Mathematics, along with a Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in 2016. Kenan began their career as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Westminster University in 2016, eventually becoming an Associate Professor in 2021 and serving as Chair of Mathematics at the time of their passing. In their work, Kenan used their abilities to advocate for faculty and students. One endeavor reflecting their values was working on a free open-access textbook, Quantitative Reasoning for Social Justice. They became involved in the American Association of University Professors to help protect the rights of faculty. Kenan’s scholarly research and teaching objectives reflected their belief that “mathematics is a creative act that has much to teach us about the world around us and the effects of power relationships within that world.”
Though Kenan’s death devastates us all, we who knew them as a family member, a friend, a colleague, a contributing community activist, or in another sphere, will continue to be inspired by the life Kenan led. Kenan brought people together and helped make them aware of the power within to compel change and growth, both personal and societal. Kenan left us with a legacy to continue these hopeful endeavors to advance equity and justice for ourselves and others.
Memorial plans for Kenan are pending and will be held in Texas, and then in Salt Lake City. In lieu of flowers, contributions in their name can be made to Westminster University in Salt Lake City and/or to the activist community organizations to which Kenan dedicated their time and skills.
To their family, I am so, so sorry. I am a compsci major that Kenan taught about half a year ago, I spent hours with them trying to rediscover my love for math after it was crushed throughout high school. They were my stepping stones to slowly leaving the closet as a trans man and one of the first people I told. I had a chance to grade for last semester under them that I had to turn down, and that is a huge regret for me now. Kenan was truly a wonderful person, they had genuine and true love for math and their fellow people. This is a cruel ending for someone so good.
