J.J. Willis from the name of a tree known in local dialects as "Oseno" or "Oluseno" that stood next to the spot where the first missionaries in the region erected their base.

At the December 2008 graduation ceremony, the president Mwai Kibaki, appointed Professor Frida Karani, as the second chancellor, after the expiry of the tenure of William Wamalwa.

The new chancellor was honoured by Maseno University, receiving the Doctor of Education honoris causa before presiding over the ninth graduation ceremony on 17 December 2009.

The eCampus of Maseno University evolved from what was initially set up in 2007 by the then Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frederick N. Onyango, as an eLearning Centre.

In 2009, Dr. Betty Obura Ogange, an experienced educationist with multi-disciplinary background in language education, information systems and online pedagogy, was hired as Coordinator of eLearning.

As founding Director, Dr. Ogange worked with respective deans of schools and chairs of department, mobilised a team of technical and pedagogy experts as well as lecturers and administrative staff to evolve the structures, policies and systems that made the eCampus of Maseno University, the first of its kind in the region.

A total of 17 programmes are currently offered at the eCampus for off-campus students located in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria, among other African countries.