Repository: UIHistories Project: Dedication - Henry Admin Renaming [PAGE 4]

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THE TRIBUTE

On February 19,1987 > in Naples, Florida, University ofIllinois President Stanley O. Ikcnberry delivered the following statement regarding the significance of David Dodds Henry's leadership:. David Dodds Henry, the 12th president of the University of Illinois, is among a handful of strong, insightful national leaders who have helped shape higher education in America as we now know it. The name of David Henry stands along with those of Clark Kerr, John Hannah and others who provided the vision essential to transform the American land -gran t universities into the towers of strength we know today. David Henry and his peers were central actors during the decades following World War II, a period of unprecedented growth and creative fervor. This was a time when the programs of universities were trying desperately to match the needs, ideals and expectations of the Nation. This was the time when the land-grant university gained recognition as a mature, leading force in American higher education. To have lived and served during that period of remarkable change was a heady experience; to have shaped that change, however, and to have guided and directed it in response to the American Dream is a contribution few can claim. Others have had much to say about David Henry. Clark Kerr has observed: "I know of no one, in all of the history of higher education in the United States, who has served higher education in so many capacities and has been called to the top position of leadership in so many organizations engaged in furthering the welfare of higher education."