Gail Hennis (1921-2002) came to Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), in 1950 as an instructor in the Department of Physical Education. She retired in 1986 as professor and assistant vice chancellor of graduate studies and received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award that same year. Hennis discusses the faculty and graduate program in the Department of Physical Education and associated programs, the faculty/alumni connection through the graduate program at Wellesley College and her impressions of the tenures of Chancellors Walter Clinton Jackson, Edward Kidder Graham Jr., Otis Singletary, James S. Ferguson and William Moran. She talks about the collegiality, dedication and involvement in student activities of the faculty and the divisiveness brought on by Chancellor Graham's curriculum revision proposal. She recalls the expansion of graduate programs, the changes brought on by coeducation, integration and intercollegiate athletics and the underfunding of the institution by the State of North Carolina. She speaks about how UNCG obtained the doctorate in physical education, her views on teaching versus research and her ideas for becoming a more student-centered institution and maintaining enrollment levels.
