Scott Henderson’s heart for students earns him the Jim Smart Award

Scott Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education, received the Jim Smart Award at a reception on April 1, 2025 in the Daniel Chapel Garden Room. 

But when he was told he had won the award a few weeks earlier, he didn’t believe it. Representatives from Furman University’s Cothran Center visited him while he was teaching a class to give him the news, and he assumed they were presenting an award to one of his students. 

It’s that humility and readiness to celebrate his students’ successes that earned him this honor. Henderson joined Furman’s Education Department in 1998; before that he taught social studies in Chesapeake City, Virginia and English at Yamagata Women’s Junior College in Japan. He is the director of national and international scholarships and serves as an academic advisor.  

The award celebrates the memory of Jim Smart, who taught history at Furman from 1967 to1995. Honorees embody certain values, said John Harris, Cothran Center faculty director: A passion for helping students add depth and meaning to their lives and the decisions they make while in college, encouraging students to consider their fundamental values and life choices and providing a hospitable space for students to explore these concepts. 

Henderson ‘a mentor and a true friend’

Public health major Julie Galie ’26, left, and educational studies major Liv Fletcher ’25 speak highly of education Professor Scott Henderson in front of a crowd at the Jim Smart Award reception April 1, 2025. Photo by Owen Withycombe, Furman University.

Henderson seemed an obvious fit for this award to public health major Julie Galie ’26, one of the students who nominated him. After coming to Furman from Washington, D.C., Galie said he was “pivotal in making me feel welcome in the Greenville area.” She struggled to find her balance between her rigorous studies and being a student athlete on the women’s soccer team, but he helped her find her passion for public health. She’s heading into a summer internship at Prisma Health thanks to his guidance. 

“I don’t know that I’d be the person I am today without his help and guidance,” she said. 

Caitlin Witherow ’26, a math major from Brandon, Florida, sent a video statement to Henderson’s award reception since she is studying in New Zealand. She said the professor listens to students’ feedback and incorporates it into his teaching, reflecting the issues and concerns important to them. He’s also their biggest cheerleader. 

“He sends out emails to recognize student successes, whether that’s across athletics, academics or professional developments,” she said. 

As Henderson stood, listening to these words of praise, he said it was a reminder of the impact Furman’s faculty and staff have on students’ lives. The encouraging words mentors share every day are often remembered years, even decades later, and “such encouragement can change or confirm someone’s path in life, an impact that a teacher or mentor is not always aware of at the time.” 

When Liv Fletcher ’25, had trouble with a “less-than-accepting” roommate, Henderson helped advocate for Fletcher and made her feel supported. He told her that “no one should make you feel like you should move or change to feel safe.” 

“He’s been more than my academic advisor or my professor, he’s been a mentor and a true friend,” said Fletcher, an educational studies major and Furman Pride Alliance President from Atlanta. “I know I’m not alone in feeling so.” 

Supporting Furman’s ‘village’

Following the reception, students lined up to personally congratulate Henderson. They had to be patient, as everyone who approached him received a hug, with Henderson eagerly asking about their lives, classwork and friends. Henderson felt “enormously touched,” and that their presence at the reception “confirmed that most students not only value how much they learn from a teacher, but also how much they value the degree to which a teacher cares about them.” 

Following the Jim Smart Award Reception on April 1, 2025, students congratulated recipient Scott Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education. Photo by Owen Withycombe, Furman University.

Henderson told the crowd he’s always known it takes a village to raise our children, “and we have a lot of great villagers at Furman who are equally deserving of this honor.” As he grows older, he said he finds himself echoing his parents’ lessons from his childhood: “Don’t wait until the last minute,” as his mother used to say, or his father’s advice to find joy by discovering whatever it is he feels compelled to do with his life. 

But the one lesson that he’s clung to most dearly came from his mother, when he’d come home after late nights out with his twin brother, Rob. She would still be awake, waiting to breathe a sigh of relief and greet them warmly when they returned. 

“Nowadays you can find me occasionally, late at night, sitting at the gates to our village, waiting for a student to return,” he said. “I’ll simply say, ‘I’m glad you’re back, I was concerned.’” 

In his time at Furman, Henderson has earned several honors, including the meritorious teaching and advising awards (2013, 2002), the Chiles-Harrill Award (2011), the South Carolina Governor’s Distinguished Professor Award (2010), the Maiden Invitational Award (2008), and Furman University Teacher of the Year (2002).