Furman faculty, alumni pay tribute to Judy Bainbridge in The Post and Courier

The Post and Courier’s Eric Connor has written a tribute piece about beloved former Furman University professor and administrator Judy Bainbridge who died Sept. 18 just shy of her 90th birthday. Bainbridge came to Furman in 1976 and retired in 2007. She is the author of seven books and more than 500 biweekly articles appearing in The Greenville News about the city’s history.

In the article, Furman’s Scott Henderson offers his take on Bainbridge who frequently dispelled commonly held myths about the city and its leaders. “That was one of the great public services she performed,” said Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education.

The William Montgomery Burnett Professor Emeritus of History Marian Strobel recounted the fierce support Bainbridge rendered on behalf of women in higher education. She told Connor that Bainbridge made it her mission to have students believe they could compete with the academic powerhouses of America.

Hear from Furman alum Letitia Hamilton Verdin ’92, Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, and how Bainbridge shaped her trajectory. Bainbridge was also instrumental in Furman students securing Rhodes and Truman scholarships. Alumni include a chief historian for the Department of Defense, and a dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Tomiko Brown-Nagin, who will serve as dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education beginning in November 2026.