Education 2025: HENRY, DONNA PRICE

Henry is the college’s first female chancellor since its founding in 1954 as a junior college with two buildings. She presides over a four-year liberal arts college encompassing 396 acres with 26 main buildings, attended by more than 1,900 students.

Chancellor since 2013, Henry previously spent 16 years in a variety of positions at Florida Gulf Coast University, including as dean of its College of Arts and Sciences.

Her accomplishments since joining U.Va. Wise include improving the college’s first-year retention rate and securing better salaries for faculty. The college’s enrollment is also growing, Henry reported in June, thanks to its “Year at Wise” program through which waitlisted University of Virginia students can be guaranteed admission if they first study at U.Va. Wise for a year, earning a minimum of 30 credits and maintaining at least a “B” average.

Henry is a trustee for the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Play with my goldendoodles, Shark and Honey. They are the U.Va. Wise pups and share their stories on Instagram.

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