A senior administrator at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will return to teaching next fall, Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak announced today.
Jim Henderson, vice chancellor, Student Success and Enrollment Management, will resign his administrative post of four years effective April 1. He will take an unpaid leave of absence and return to full-time teaching and research as a professor of mathematics for the Fall 2007 semester.
“Jim Henderson has served the university and, in particular, its students with distinction,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “Jim has had many successes. I am delighted that he will remain at UCCS and continue to share his passion for learning with the university’s students.”
Shockley-Zalabak will develop plans for leadership of the Student Success Division in concert with division directors, faculty, staff and students over the next few months.
Selected as vice chancellor in Jan. 2003, Henderson was responsible for units that direct undergraduate recruitment, housing, admissions and records, financial aid, academic support and other student-related functions. Since 2003, UCCS has enrolled its largest and best-qualified freshmen classes, increased enrollment of ethnic minority students, improved student scholarships, increased student financial aid packages and opened additional on-campus housing units. Construction of a $12 million student recreation center is underway. The university also increased its participation in the Western Undergraduate Student Exchange Program and improved outreach to the state’s community colleges and underrepresented student populations.
“It has been an honor to work with the incredible staff in the Student Success Division to increase access and success for the wonderful students of the university,” Henderson said. “I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to have worked with such talented individuals on behalf of students.”
Henderson previously led the summer session at Colorado College where he also served as a professor of mathematics. He previously taught at Texas A&M University, College Station, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 1998, he earned an American Council on Education fellowship, serving on the chancellor’s staff at UCCS.
Henderson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas, Austin, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He lived most of his life in New Mexico before attending college.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 26 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and four doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,600 students annually. For more information, visit http://www.uccs.edu.