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ABOUT
BASICS Donna Henry is a biologist with extensive and varied experience in the classroom and in higher education leadership roles Henry spent the last 16 years in a variety of positions at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla. Her experience there included serving as a founding faculty member, as elected Faculty Senate president and as a member of the University Board of Trustees for a two-year period. She served as dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, an assignment that demanded meticulous strategic planning and leadership that allowed the college to grow rapidly while continuing to improve academic quality. Henry, 53, is married to Allen Henry, a pilot for Federal Express. They have twin, 13-year-old daughters, Jessie and Margaret. Henry stood out as a leader with superior experience in strategic planning, institutional advancement, curricular development, shared governance, capital construction, community partnerships and more. Henry’s time at Florida Gulf Coast also included creation of a College Governance Team that provided faculty with a strong role in college governance. Henry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in the biological basis of behavior from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also minored in Spanish. She earned a doctorate in physiology from the Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia.
Chancellor Henry at Basketball Homecoming p
Donna Henry
Her positions at Florida Gulf Cost have included dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, professor of biology, and director of the Whitaker Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. Previously, she served in several administrative and instructional roles at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., including: chair of the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Department, director of the Study Abroad Program, associate professor of biology and acting chair of the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Henry received the Individual Faculty Service Excellence Award at Florida Gulf Coast in 2004-05. In 1994-95 the undergraduate student body at St. Thomas University elected her Professor of the Year. She served on the board of trustees of the Edison and Ford Winter Estate in Fort Myers, as well as the board of directors for Florida Foundation for Future Scientists. Her appointment as chancellor coincides with a period of robust growth. In the previous seven years, UVa-Wise has experienced substantial growth in enrollment and in construction. It is now home to 2,000 students. New facilities include the Gilliam Center for the Arts, two residence halls and the Prior Convocation Center.
Trading places with student Jordan Childress at “Chancellor for a Day”
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Enjoying lunch in the Smith Dining Commons p Spring 2013 19