Dean Grant Jensen of the BYU College of Computational, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences is pleased to announce that Paul Jenkins from the Department of Mathematics has been appointed as associate dean in the college starting July 1, 2025. Jenkins will replace Jennifer Nielson, who has accepted a demanding new university-level assignment.
“Paul brings tremendous talents and experience to this new job, having just finished a very successful 6-year term as chair of the Math Department,” said Jensen. “Paul is a great teacher, proven mentor, skilled administrator, and inspiring leader. I'm excited to work with him now in the Dean's Office.”
Jenkins’ research in number theory focuses on the zeros and Fourier coefficients of modular forms. At BYU, he has mentored ten graduate students and 26 undergraduates in research, coauthoring papers with many of them. Jenkins was awarded the Savage Family Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award in 2023. He and colleague Darrin Doud co-taught a Late Summer Honors seminar for incoming freshmen on mathematical cryptography. His research has been supported by the Simons Foundation. He served as chair of the Department of Mathematics from 2019-2025 and as associate chair from 2015 to 2019.
Jenkins joined the BYU faculty in January 2009. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from BYU. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and did postdoctoral work at UCLA, supported by the National Science Foundation. Jenkins received BYU’s Class of 1949 Young Faculty Award in 2018.
As part of the transition, Dean Jensen acknowledged the hard work that was put in by outgoing Associate Dean Jennifer Nielson. “She has injected energy, wisdom, and grace into every conversation and meeting,” said Jensen. “We will all be forever grateful to Jenn for her eight years of service as an associate dean.”