The Henderson-Harris Fellowship Program honors the memory of George Washington Henderson and Andrew Harris. George Washington Henderson was one of the first African American students elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to graduate from the University of Vermont (class of 1877). Andrew Harris was not only the very first African American graduate of the University of Vermont (class of 1838), but he was also the first African American college graduate in the United States to champion the abolition of slavery and to demand full equality for people of color. The Henderson-Harris Fellowship Program, offered in cooperation with academic departments, sponsors post-doctoral scholars who can help to advance UVM’s research and teaching goals and assist in reaching identified diversity goals, especially with respect to the specific academic curricula.
"In some very important respects, this fellowship extended and deepened my graduate education...as a fellow I had many opportunities to become involved in undergraduate teaching and life, which provided valuable hands-on training for the tenure track position I would eventually assume."
- Luis A. Vivanco, Ph.D., Henderson Fellow (1997-1999), UVM Professor of Anthropology
Below is list of the past UVM Henderson Fellows.
Bindu Panikkar (August 24, 2015 - August 1, 2017), former Henderson Fellow, is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health and Wellbeing at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. She is also a Research Associate at the Arctic Institute of North America at the University of Calgary. Her current research examines community-based research projects to monitor species diversity, wildlife health, and environmental change in Yukon and Nunavut; the Inuit ways of dealing with sea ice changes and their use of scientific weather information in the Northwest Passage; as well as how science is constructed, debated and utilized in the permitting process of newly proposed mines in Alaska. Her previous research focus and interests included the social, and political challenges involved in the continued operation of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station past its design life, reflexive research ethics in fetal tissue xenotransplantation research, occupational health issues among immigrant workers, the ethics of uranium mining research, and the teratogenic effects of depleted uranium.
"The Fellowship gave me a wonderful opportunity at UVM to experience faculty life and finish writing my dissertation. I found many opportunities to be involved and meet some wonderful people both on and off-campus."
- Sherwood Smith, Ph.D. Henderson Fellow (1995-1996), Senior Executive Director, Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion