By Kelsie Carter
[email protected]
Published: Monday, August 27, 2012
Updated: Monday, August 27, 2012 23:08
When Katherine Hendrix was promoted to full professor she beat the odds.
“Most women of color have very similar obstacles regardless of their professional career, in particular the double-whammy of being female and not white,” Hendrix said.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, 28 of every 100 females and 1.5 of every 100 African-American professors achieve the status of full professorship.
Hendrix said that establishing her credibility as a black woman “has always been an issue” and “motivated [her] to research how professors use their verbal and nonverbal communication to establish their image in the classroom.”
Hendrix’s research has helped her to receive the 2011-2012 Dean’s Research Award in the College of Communication and Fine Arts. She is also the 2012 Michael M. Osborn Teacher-Scholar Award recipient, which honors members of the Southern States Communication Association who have achieved excellence in teaching, research and service.
Richard Ranta, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, recommended Hendrix, who came to the University in 1994, for her awards and promotion. He described Hendrix as “a very nice and considerate person, an excellent teacher and good colleague, and an excellent, award-winning scholar.”
“The road to full professor is a difficult one, and as a result, many do not even try,” Hendrix said. “One of the benefits of achieving this level within academia is I now have time to pursue projects that might be a bit more time-consuming, such as writing several textbooks.”
Hendrix said her parents inspired her because they “instilled the importance of an education in all of their children.”
Before deciding to be a professor, Hendrix thought she wanted to pursue a career in the health field, but she found out a hospital was “the last place on earth [she] needed to be.”
“I would have to say participating in competitive forensics-- oral interpretation and debate-- led me down a path that kept me in constant contact with communication professors and their enthusiasm and dedication rubbed off on me,” Hendrix said.
[email protected]
Published: Monday, August 27, 2012
Updated: Monday, August 27, 2012 23:08
When Katherine Hendrix was promoted to full professor she beat the odds.
“Most women of color have very similar obstacles regardless of their professional career, in particular the double-whammy of being female and not white,” Hendrix said.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, 28 of every 100 females and 1.5 of every 100 African-American professors achieve the status of full professorship.
Hendrix said that establishing her credibility as a black woman “has always been an issue” and “motivated [her] to research how professors use their verbal and nonverbal communication to establish their image in the classroom.”
Hendrix’s research has helped her to receive the 2011-2012 Dean’s Research Award in the College of Communication and Fine Arts. She is also the 2012 Michael M. Osborn Teacher-Scholar Award recipient, which honors members of the Southern States Communication Association who have achieved excellence in teaching, research and service.
Richard Ranta, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, recommended Hendrix, who came to the University in 1994, for her awards and promotion. He described Hendrix as “a very nice and considerate person, an excellent teacher and good colleague, and an excellent, award-winning scholar.”
“The road to full professor is a difficult one, and as a result, many do not even try,” Hendrix said. “One of the benefits of achieving this level within academia is I now have time to pursue projects that might be a bit more time-consuming, such as writing several textbooks.”
Hendrix said her parents inspired her because they “instilled the importance of an education in all of their children.”
Before deciding to be a professor, Hendrix thought she wanted to pursue a career in the health field, but she found out a hospital was “the last place on earth [she] needed to be.”
“I would have to say participating in competitive forensics-- oral interpretation and debate-- led me down a path that kept me in constant contact with communication professors and their enthusiasm and dedication rubbed off on me,” Hendrix said.