Meet Our Faculty and Staff
James G. Henkel, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Saint Joseph College School of Pharmacy
Dr. James Henkel received his bachelor's degree from UCLA and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Brown University. After a National Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota School of Pharmacy, under the direction of Distinguished University professor of medicinal chemistry Philip Portoghese, Ph.D., Dr. Henkel moved to the University of Connecticut, where he served as a longtime faculty member in the School of Pharmacy as well as Associate Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Graduate School for 23 years. Dr Henkel's scholarly research, funded by NIH and others, has been in the areas of development of innovative anti-cancer drugs, reactive intermediates in Toxicology, drugs for use in the Central Nervous System, especially anti-Parkinson drugs, computer modeling applications in drug design and education, and in the improvement of teaching and learning through technology. He has also served on various editorial review boards and federal and nonfederal study sections during his career.
Dr. Henkel is an award-winning pharmacy educator, having received the highest faculty awards for university-wide teaching excellence at both the University of Minnesota and the University of Connecticut. In both instances, he was the first Pharmacy professor to receive such awards. He is well-known for his innovative use of technology in the classroom, using it not for its own sake but to build an environment where all learning styles are accommodated. He has presented and published extensively in this area.
Dr. Henkel is also well-known for his leadership in the area of Diversity and Multiculturalism, having received the University of Connecticut's Award for Promoting Multiculturalism & Diversity and the New England Board of Higher Education's Extra Mile Award for promotion of diversity in graduate education. Under his leadership at his former institution, support for diversity increased by 150-fold and it became known nationally for its activities in this area.
Dr. Henkel is the former Chair of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Section of Teachers of Chemistry and former Chair of the Medicinal Chemistry Group of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society. He has also chaired a number of university-wide task forces on strategic planning and academic program evaluation and assessment. He is an active member of Rho Chi, Sigma Xi, and Phi Kappa Phi.
In his position as Associate Dean, Dr. Henkel oversees the School of Pharmacy's innovative professional curriculum, accreditation-related matters pertaining to the School of Pharmacy, assessment activities at all levels within the School, and faculty and student professional development initiatives. He collaborates with the School of Pharmacy faculty and administration to promote those scholarly activities that further the mission of the School and of Saint Joseph College. He also counsels students in all facets of their academic endeavors and issues, seeking to promote their advancement and development, and helping them to acquire the essential learning and critical thinking skills needed in the Pharmacy profession.
