In Memoriam: Craig S. Henriquez
We mourn the loss of our beloved friend and colleague, professor and associate vice provost, Craig Henriquez.
We’re tremendously grateful that he agreed to join the Office for Faculty Advancement as associate vice provost in 2022. Craig explained that he’d been at Duke a long time – since 1977! – and he’d seen the university change in many ways. He was interested in drawing on his experience to help other faculty, and he wanted to be of service to the community he loved so much.
In particular, he hoped to focus on the progression of faculty careers post-tenure. And how could Duke engage its emeriti faculty in mutually beneficial ways? He started thinking about creating an emeriti college.
“The idea is that after faculty retire,” Craig said, “or even before they start thinking about retiring, how can they stay connected to the university? There are a lot of faculty who remain here in Durham, or close by in Chapel Hill or other areas, and they want to stay connected to the university in a more formal way. What can we do to engage those faculty members, whether that be teaching at Duke or teaching within the community or engaged in mentorship activities? What roles can they play, and what value can they bring to the university?”
Perhaps Craig drew some inspiration from his father, who helped establish the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke.
Craig took on the associate vice provost position in addition to his role as professor of biomedical engineering, and from the start it was a joy to work alongside him.
As a senior faculty leader himself, Craig was involved in our office’s leadership development programs that provide support, engagement and professional development opportunities for current and prospective faculty leaders.
He worked with Duke’s Ivy+ Provost Leadership Fellows and ACC Academic Leadership Network Fellows, joining them for weekend workshops in several cities. Craig also organized virtual leadership workshops for Duke faculty on such topics as managing a unit and dealing with complex situations, and he was very interested in using data to better understand current trends in the faculty experience.
We are heartened by the outpouring of love and support from the many people whose lives he touched. We have collectively shared many wonderful stories about this exemplary human being, including stories about his time in OFA and his plans as he looked toward the next phase of his career. Craig found his work with our office deeply meaningful, his family said, and enjoyed interacting with everyone on the team. His humor and kindness made him a wonderful colleague, and he was an energized and engaged thought-partner and friend.
His memory will live on in our hearts, and we are committed to honoring his legacy by continuing the work that he found so meaningful.
We invite you to read his obituary and this Duke Today article.
The Craig S. Henriquez Fund
If you wish to honor Craig, we ask that you consider making a gift in his memory to the Craig S. Henriquez Fund, which will be used to support the Emeriti Faculty Initiative.
- Online contributions can be made at giving.duke.edu (select Give Now, then enter an amount; under "Search for an area," start typing Craig S. Henriquez Fund and it will appear as an option).
- Checks should be made payable to Duke University, referencing “The Craig S. Henriquez Fund” on the memo line, then mailed to Duke University, Alumni & Development Records, Box 90581, Durham, NC 27708.
- To make a gift by phone using a credit card, please call 919-684-2338.
For additional assistance, please contact gifts2duke@duke.edu.