Wilder School in Action

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Professor emeritus marks 100 years and receives NASPAA citation

Laurin Henry in a chair
Laurin Henry celebrates a century of life.

May 23, 2021, marked the 100th birthday of National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) fellow and professor emeritus of VCU School of Community and Public Affairs Laurin L. Henry, Ph.D., who also has received a Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration citation.

A research associate with the Brookings Institute in the 1950s and 1960s, Henry became a recognized expert on presidential transitions. He also served as a consultant to NASA and has papers in the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy presidential libraries.

From 1964 to 1978, Henry was a professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. Following that role, Henry became the first dean of the School of Community Services in 1978.

At the time, the school had 50 faculty members and 1,200 students. The school offered graduate degrees in public administration, urban and regional planning, administration of justice, and rehabilitation counseling as well as undergraduate degrees in urban studies, recreation, rehabilitative services and administration of justice and public safety. He retired as dean of the School of Community and Public Affairs in 1987 but continued to teach graduate-level public administration courses as a full professor.

Henry is a member of the American Society of Public Administration, Phi Beta Kappa Society, NAPA and Phi Kappa Phi. He was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Henry was married to the late Kathleen J. Henry for 70 years, has two daughters and resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Fall 2021 / In this issue