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.
Nadège Dufort (August 17, 2009 - August 12, 2011) is a former Henderson Fellow in the Department of Romance Languages. She received her Ph.D. in Francophone Studies from the University of Louisiana, at Lafayette in Spring 2009 with a specialization in insular literatures. She earned an M.A. in Foreign Languages and Pedagogy at the University of Delaware in Spring 2005. She also earned a Maîtrise de Français Langue Etrangère (F.L.E.), (M.A. in French as a Foreign Language) at the Institut Supérieur d'Etudes Francophones (I.S.E.F.), University of Antilles and French Guiana, Martinique, September 2001. She was a recipient of the Regional Council of Martinique grant for her dissertation. Her research interests center on the comparison between French Caribbean and Indian Ocean Literatures around the concepts of Créolité, Créolisation, and Coolitude. She has done extensive research and presentations at conferences (C.I.E.F) on Indian Ocean and French Caribbean authors. She has six years of experience teaching French and Francophone cultures at various levels in the United States, Martinique, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Nadege is currently a Lecturer of French at East Tennessee State University.
"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