Mary E. Hensley Lecture Series Honors Lifelong Educator

February 26, 2007

Bowling Green, Ky. - In 1996, Robert and Jan Hensley of Bowling Green made an initial commitment to create the “Mary E. Hensley Lecture Series” in Western Kentucky University’s College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.  Established in memory of Bobby’s mother, who spent her adult life as a caring educator, the lecture series has been made possible through gifts of more than $127,000 from the Hensleys.
           
“Teaching young people and the field of education were the most important things in her life, and she continued to do it until the day she died, long after she could have retired,” Bobby Hensley recalled.  “We established this lecture series to honor her commitment to the field of education.”
           
According to Jan Hensley, Mary Hensley began teaching school in a one-room schoolhouse in Clay County, Ky.  “She was the teacher, the janitor, the superintendent, the P.E. teacher, and the guidance counselor,” she said with a laugh. 
           
When Bobby Hensley was 9 years old, the family moved to Hart County, and Mary Hensley spent the rest of her career teaching in Munfordville.  “She had five children, all of whom were born a year apart from 1929 to 1933,” Jan Hensley said.  “If they could walk, they went to school with her.  The babies were taken care of in the home and were brought to Mrs. Hensley so she could nurse them during the school day.”
           
Like many of her peers, Mary Hensley’s degree from WKU was a long time coming.  She taught school full-time, took correspondence courses, and attended classes at night and during the summer.  In 1958, Mary Hensley was awarded her B.S. in Education, and she walked the commencement line with Bobby Hensley, who received his Master’s degree.
           
“She loved education and learning, and she loved being a teacher,” Jan Hensley said.
           
On Tuesday, (Feb. 27), WKU and the “Mary E. Hensley Lecture Series” will present “The Power of the Mindsets:  Nurturing Motivation and Resilience in Students,” by renowned psychologist and educator Dr. Robert Brooks.  Dr. Brooks has lectured nationally and internationally and has written extensively about the themes of motivation, classroom climate, the qualities of effective leaders, parenting and family relationships, balancing our personal and professional lives and resilience.  The lecture, which is free, will be at 7 p.m. in WKU’s Van Meter Auditorium.  
           
For more information about the lecture, contact Cathie Bryant, (270) 745-4664.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For more information, contact Tom Hiles, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, (270) 745-6208.