Carol Henderson

Dr. Carol E. Henderson (a graduate of UCLA, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and UC Riverside) is vice provost for diversity and professor of English and African studies at the University of Delaware (UD). She has been a college professor and educator for over 22 years. She is the author, contributor, and editor of four books, and has contributed numerous essays to such collections as: Beyond Retention: Cultivating Spaces of Equity, Justice, and Fairness for Women of Color in U.S. Higher Education; Trayvon Martin: Historical and Contemporary Manifestations of Racial Dynamics; African American Literature from the Plantation to the Prison; Richard Wright's Native Son: Critical Essays; Folklore and Popular Film; Ann Petry's Short Fiction: Critical Essays; James Baldwin and Toni Morrison: Comparative Critical and Theoretical Essays,and in journals such as The Griot: The Journal of African American Studies; The Journal of Popular Culture; Modern Fiction Studies; Legacy; Religion and Literature and elsewhere. She also served as special issue editor for three journals: Middle Atlantic Writers Association; Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S., and currently, the Journal of American Culture, and is on the editorial board of James Baldwin Review. A sought-after lecturer and communicator, she conducts workshops on diversity and leadership, self-empowerment, and often guest lectures on African American literature and culture nationally. 

Previously the chair of the department of Black American studies, Professor Henderson currently serves as vice provost for diversity at the University of Delaware, a role she has held since July 2014. Since that time, Dr. Henderson has cultivated a diversity network that includes chief diversity advocates, student leaders, members of the executive leadership team, as well as strong network ties with the Office of Equity and Inclusion, CTAL, the Faculty Senate, HR, the Center for Diversity, and others at the University of Delaware who are working diligently to leverage diversity as an institutional value and academic priority in all facets of the academic community. In 2016, under her leadership, the inclusive excellence diversity action plan was formalized (after a year-long process) to provide actionable goals for enhancing diversity at UD. In 2017, the inclusive excellence status report was produced, demonstrating institutional progress towards reaching its diversity goals. That same year, UD was the co-winner of the GOLD DE SHRM Diversity and Inclusion Award. It also received the 2017 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight into Higher Education magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. Dr. Henderson is the recipient of several community, professional, and research awards, including the University of Delaware's Excellence in Teaching Award (which she won twice), the Richard "Dick" Wilson Mentoring Award, Commitment to Diversity Award-Residence Student Life, and the AIDS Task Force Dedicated Service Award from Beautiful Gate Outreach Center in Wilmington, DE. In 2011, she was recognized as a top ten finalist for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars Inspire Integrity Award.

Current Work:

Henderson is currently editing a special issue for the Journal of American Culture on visions of Black womanhood in popular culture. She is also working on a manuscript entitled "Scripting Black Childhood," a book that looks at how black childhood is scripted in American film.

Research Area Keyword(s):

African American literature, visual culture, Womanist experience