Harris-Stowe State University President Dr. Henry Givens Jr. was recently inducted into Lincoln University’s 2006 Hall of Fame. Dr. Givens has a bachelor’s of science in education from the university.
Dr. Givens began his career as a teacher in the Webster Groves School District. He was principal of the first magnet school prototype in the nation and the first African American to serve Missouri as the assistant commissioner of education.
In 1979, Dr. Givens accepted the role as president of Harris-Stowe State College. Eight years later, at the request of Gov. John Ashcroft, Dr. Givens served as Lincoln’s interim president during the university’s financial crisis.
A plaque for Dr. Givens is on display in Lincoln’s Alumni Hall of Fame Room. Dr. Givens also received the Lincoln’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1978 and an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 1985.
