William Earl McHenry

Mississippi e-Center at Jackson State University | Jackson, MS | 2020

William Earl McHenry Portrait Photo

The Presidential Award recognizes my 43 years of commitment to broadening participation in STEM. I have been fortunate to work with colleagues and students who believe that through hard work and persistence their dreams of succeeding in STEM can be achieved. We recognize that effective mentoring benefits both the mentee and the mentor. This award allows me to expand my use of innovative mentoring strategies to help prepare science and mathematics teachers for high-needs schools.

The official biography below was current at the time of the award. Awardees may choose to provide their latest biographical information on their profile page.

William McHenry, Executive Director of the Mississippi e-Center Foundation, has dedicated his career to helping minority students succeed in science. He has served as the faculty advisor for the Society of Black Engineers mentoring over 1,000 students, and has served over 2,100 graduate students nationally through the Patricia Roberts Harris Program. He also started the Alliances for Minority Participation Program which serves over 15,000 students, linked 60 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities with six Science and Technology Centers for summer research experiences, and helped middle schoolers in high-needs schools prepare for college. His honors include the following: an Honorary Engineering Degree from New Mexico State University; an Honorary Distinguished Alumni—Langston University; Distinguished Alumni—Southern Arkansas University; Distinguished Service Awards from the National Alliance of Patricia Roberts Harris Directors Association, from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and from the Society of Black Engineers; and the Mississippi State University Distinguished Research Award and Student Association Outstanding Teaching Award. William is developing the STEM STARS Model with funding from the NSF Discovery Research PreK–12 program that involves using a clinical/mentoring model to prepare 120 new science and mathematics teachers for high-needs schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. William earned a B.S. in chemistry from Southern Arkansas University and a doctorate in chemistry from Mississippi State University.