In Memoriam: Katherine Usher Henderson, 1937-2022

Katherine Henderson, who had a long career as a teacher and administrator in higher education including nine years as the president of Point Park University in Pittsburgh, died on July 26 in California.

A native of Fall River, Massachusetts, Dr. Henderson was a graduate of Connecticut College. She went on to earn master’s degrees at New York University and Harvard University and Ph.D. in English and comparative literature at Columbia University in New York City.

Dr. Henderson’s first academic post was at the College of New Rochelle in New York. During her 14-year tenure at the college, she served as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and director of the women’s studies program. For eight years she was vice president for academic affairs and professor of English at Dominican University of California in San Rafael.

In 1997, Dr. Henderson was appointed president of Point Park College in Pittsburgh. There she presided over the transition of the educational institution to university status. In September 2005, she announced she was taking a one-year sabbatical from her post but later decided to return to Dominican University in 2007 to become director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Dr. Henderson was the author or co-author of several books including Inter/View: Talks with America’s Writing Women (University Press of Kentucky, 1990)