Kathryn Luther Henderson passes away

Professor Emerita Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson passed away at home on August 18. She was determinedly independent until the start of her final illness on her 99th birthday.

Kathie was born July 12, 1923, in rural Champaign County on the family farm purchased by her paternal grandparents. She was very proud to be the current owner of the Luther farm, officially designated a State of Illinois Department of Agriculture Centennial Farm in 1993.

She earned all her college degrees at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign: an AB in history and English in 1944, a BS in library science in 1948, and an MS in library science in 1951. A founding member and first national secretary of Beta Phi Mu, the international honor society for library and information studies, she held positions in the University of Illinois Library, first as a clerical assistant from 1944-1946 and then as a serial cataloger from 1950-1953. Following her marriage to William (Bill) T Henderson on August 22, 1953, she moved to Chicago, where she held positions as circulation librarian (1953-1956) and head cataloger (1956-1965) at McCormick Theological Seminary.

In 1965, Kathie was asked to join the faculty of the Graduate School of Library Science (now the School of Information Sciences) and returned to Urbana. Bill took a position in the University Library as preservation librarian and Kathie followed her mentor Ethel Bond (whom she had assisted while a graduate student) in teaching Cataloging and Classification I and II. She subsequently developed and jointly taught Technical Services Functions and Preserving Information Resources with her husband, Bill. She “redeveloped” her courses each time they were offered to reflect current trends and to incorporate the newest readings from the literature. She developed computer-assisted instruction lessons for cataloging using PLATO as early as 1971. Regularly receiving outstanding ratings from students on course evaluations, in 1991 she was recognized at the campus level for her significant contributions as a teacher with the Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.

In 1993, Kathie received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Library School Alumni Association, in recognition of her many contributions as an educator. In addition she was recognized at the 1993 American Library Association conference as the winner of the 1993 Beta Phi Mu Award citing her “distinguished record of teaching and service that has defined an uncommon level of excellence and has challenged and inspired a generation of librarians and library educators.” In 1995, the Association for Library and Information Science Education recognized her with the ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2014, the Alpha Chapter of Beta Phi Mu established the Kathryn Luther and William T Henderson Award in recognition of the high esteem in which they were held by fellow chapter members and in order to inspire future generations with their example.

While Kathie has made numerous research and service contributions, her most valuable legacy is the hundreds of students whom she taught. Students were inspired by her example to be enthusiastic about librarianship and to strive for excellence in their work just as she sought excellence in teaching. She maintained contact with many of her former students, delighting in following their careers and contributions to the field.

Top: Kathie and Bill Henderson

Kathie instructs a cataloging student in 1974. Photo courtesy of the U of I Archives.