The Edward L. Henry Professorship

Versatile, energetic and visionary, Dr. Henry left an enduring legacy at Saint John’s: In addition to developing and chairing the University’s emerging political science department, he launched a foundation-funded honors program between Saint John’s, the College of Saint Benedict and St. Cloud State University.  Dr. Henry was much admired by his students for his ability to give personal attention and to bring political science alive by injecting his civic leadership experiences into the classroom.

Endowed professorships have long been recognized as both a hallmark of academic quality and a means by which a university honors its most esteemed scholars and teachers.  Professorships are reserved for scholars of national stature, with highly distinguished records of teaching, research and publication.  They constitute a time-honored way to recruit or retain scholars with exceptional records of achievement.

The Henry Professorship is assigned to the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement.

Edward L. Henry, mayor of St. Cloud from 1964 to 1971 and former professor and vice-president at St. John’s University, who also served as president of St Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, St Michael’s College, Winooski, Vermont, Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and Belmont Abbey, Belmont, North Carolina, died September 30, 2010. He was born in St Cloud in 1921 and graduated from St John’s University, Collegeville. He attended graduate school at Harvard University and the University of Chicago.

During World War II, Henry served as a naval officer on a destroyer escort in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Pacific. He returned to St. John’s as a professor of political science for 19 years and later as vice president. He served on the St. Cloud School Board and then as mayor of St. Cloud for two terms beginning in 1964.

His passions were teaching, public service, and his family. Ed had a delightful sense of humor and a great love for the outdoors, especially the BWCA, travel, and bridge.

Edward L. Henry

Born: March 30, 1921
Died: September 30, 2010

Dr. Matthew J. Lindstrom is the Edward L. Henry Professor of Political Science at St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict and the Director of the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at St. John’s University. He also serves as Co-Director for the CSB/SJU Washington D.C. Summer Study Program and Co-Director for the CSB/SJU Summer Leadership Fellows Program.  In 2019, he led the CSB/SJU South Africa Semester Study Abroad Program.