Alumnus of the Year

James D. Henry '61, Washington, DC Chapter

The Morehouse College National Alumni Association named James D. Henry its 2009 Alumnus of the Year during Graduation/ Reunion weekend. Below is the bio submitted by his local Chapter.

The Washington, DC Chapter of the Morehouse College Alumni Association is pleased to name James D. Henry, '61, its candidate for Man of the Year. Jim has distinguished himself both personally and professionally, and has provided untiring leadership and support to the DC Alumni Chapter, as well as the National Alumni Association and many young men seeking to attend Morehouse.

Jim is a native of North Carolina and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961, with a major in history and a minor in political science. While at Morehouse, he was a well-rounded student, on the Dean's Honor Roll, in the Honor's Seminar in History and Political Science, held office and memberships in several campus organizations, as well as lettering in varsity baseball. He also participated in the student civil rights movement and was arrested in the first Atlanta student sit-in protest.

After Morehouse, Jim attended Howard University School of Law, earning a LLB degree in 1965 and placing seventh in a class of twenty-six. He began his professional career as an Attorney at the United States Department of the Interior. In 1967, he became a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., working on legislation on labor standards, employment discrimination, fair housing and occupational and mine safety and health.

Professional Career and Accomplishments

In 1969, Jim began his long career with the Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor. Starting as a trial lawyer for the Fair Labor Standards Division, he advanced to Counsel for Trial Litigation for that Division, where he directed and coordinated the Department of Labor's entire litigation program under the Fair Labor Standards, Equal Pay and Age Discrimination in Employment Acts. As Deputy Associate Solicitor of the Occupational Safety and Health Division, Jim was responsible for the day-to-day management and operation of that Division.

Jim retired as Associate Solicitor, Civil Rights Division, where he managed as many as 65 legal staff members. This Division provides legal services for all civil rights programs administered by the Department of Labor except the application of such laws to the employees of the Department of Labor. Jim was appointed to establish a litigation program for the Government's Contract Compliance Program (Executive Order 11246) and to convert the program from a voluntary compliance to a law enforcement program.

During his tenure, the Division successfully concluded a number of historic cases involving AT&T, the Bell Companies, Uniroyal, Harris Bank of Chicago and USAir. He also served as a key adviser to the Secretary of Labor, William Brock, and other Department of Labor officials in the debate between the Secretary and the Attorney General regarding affirmative action.

Throughout his career, Jim has been the recipient of many awards, including the Federal Bar Association 1973 Younger Lawyer Award, the 1987 Presidential Rank Award and multiple performance awards. In the Nomination for the Presidential Rank Award it was stated, "Mr. Henry's dedicated and resourceful leadership of the Civil Rights Division of the Office of the Solicitor has contributed materially to the expansion of employment opportunities to all Americans without regard to race, color, religion, sex, National origin, handicap or veteran status. . . . Mr. Henry has been a leader in the development of laws designed to eliminate employment discrimination, in making substantial improvements in the delivery of EEO-related legal services in the Department of Labor, and in furthering affirmative action throughout the country."

Commitment to Morehouse and Students

Jim has been a tireless advocate for Morehouse College and its students. He has served as a volunteer recruiter for Morehouse and mentor of students, several of whom attended and graduated from Morehouse and did well there. Three examples stand out:

    1. One student was homeless throughout high school and Morehouse provided him with a non-homeless shelter home for the first time in about four years. He made Phi Beta Kappa in his third year.
    2. Another student dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and was 28 years old when he earned a GED. He became an Oprah Winfrey Scholar and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate at Morehouse.
    3. A third student left home at 5:00 a.m., rode the subway to the end of the line and then had about a 10 mile bus ride to his school and returned home about 10 p.m. after participating in an acting and modeling group activity. He also was a volunteer with a nonprofit school group in his neighborhood. He became an Oprah Winfrey Scholar and an honors graduate.

Jim has also mentored, and continues to mentor, a number of homeless middle school students, especially those whose parents are recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.

Chapter Leadership

In 2000, Jim assumed the presidency of the DC Chapter at a time when the Chapter was in disarray, membership and participation was low, and Chapter contributions to the College had decreased. Under his leadership, the DC Chapter made great strides in its support of Morehouse, its students and its alumni. As a result, the Chapter:

  • Gave a monetary gift to the College each year of Jim's presidency and, except for one year, was the chapter that gave the greatest dollar amount in each such year.
  • Gave gifts to the Glee Club, such as framed Photos of the Glee Club in concert in DC, framed posters of the event and computers.
  • Strengthened its collaboration with the Baltimore Chapter.
  • Supported all of the initiatives of the National Alumni Association, both programmatic and financial.
  • Continued and strengthened its annual activities such as recruiting; the "Midnight Train to Georgia" which brings alumni and potential students to Homecoming; Morehouse Worship Sunday where alumni gather at a local church to worship as a group and host a Morehouse alumnus as the guest preacher; the Glee Club Concert; and annual Alumni/Student picnic in partnership with the Baltimore Chapter and the local Spelman alumnae chapters.

Jim also took the lead in locating the scholarship money held by the College that the DC Chapter had donated since the 1980's but which had laid dormant with no scholarships ever having been awarded. He obtained an official accounting from Morehouse and developed a formal scholarship agreement with Morehouse under which more than $20,000.00 has been awarded since this new agreement was formed. Funds awarded from the Cesar Hill Memorial Scholarship Fund support juniors and seniors in good standing continue their education at Morehouse.

Jim also led in the development and organization of a local Morehouse parents association that could interact directly with the College on behalf of their sons.

Utilizing his vast organizational and management skills, Jim reinforced and restructured the Chapter's infrastructure, developing and adopting a new constitution, restoring the board of directors and executive committee as functioning entities and requiring adherence to policies and procedures, thus increasing the professionalism of the operation of the Chapter. Chapter meetings are operated in a business-like manner, follow formally approved agendas, and features themed presentations on matters of interest to the alumni.

Under his guidance, a professional-looking and dynamic website was created for the Chapter, increasing communication to alumni and the community at large. That website is found at www.morehousedc.org .

Within the Washington, DC community, Jim spearheaded a partnership with the DC Boys Choir, which has performed with the Glee Club in the annual spring concert for the last five years. The Chapter has also become community partners by giving scholarships to Shiloh Baptist Church and the DC Boys Choir, and by buying a table at the annual Africare banquet.

Service to the National Alumni Association

In addition to his support and leadership of the DC Chapter, Jim has actively supported the National Alumni Association, serving as its General Counsel. In that capacity, he totally revised and updated the Association's constitution. He wrote a series of legal opinions after the Constitution was adopted which answered basic questions about the scope, reach and application of the Constitution. Principles of interpretation also were included in these opinions that will provide a basis for future considerations. He has drafted revisions to the by-laws to update them and make them consistent with the constitution.

A Thousandaire member of the Alumni Association, Jim contributes regularly to all monetary solicitations of the Alumni Association. He usually returns to Morehouse for Homecoming, Founders' Day and Commencement, and supports these events financially if he is unable to attend.

After eight years as Chapter president, Jim continues to serve the Chapter as treasurer. A firm believer in succession planning, he actively supports and mentors younger alumni as new and future leaders of the Chapter.

Conclusion

Finally, Jim is always willing to lend a hand, check on the sick, support new ideas, involve new alumni and share the credit. A consummate team player, Jim leads by following. The DC Chapter is proud to nominate James D. Henry as the Alumni Association's Man of the Year.