The Midland College family was saddened to learn of the death of oilman and philanthropist Jim Henry who passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
On Oct. 23, the day of Henry’s memorial service, the MC flag will fly at half staff.
Henry’s service and philanthropy to Midland College expanded several decades. He served on the original steering committee of the Midland College Advanced Technology Center and was a Midland College Foundation board member from 2010 until September of this year, a news release said.
Jim and his wife Paula endowed the West Texas Symposium of History, West Texas Journal of History and the Henry Chair of History. Their philanthropy to the college includes the Henry Innovations Center, engineering equipment, Friends of the Series and numerous capital campaign projects. Most recently the Henry Foundation invested $1 million in the Midland College Pre-K Academy and Center for Teaching Excellence. In 2019, upon the 50th anniversary of the Henrys business in West Texas, employees of Henry Resources and the Henry Foundation endowed the Henry Chair of Engineering at Midland College.
To honor Henry’s memory, on Oct. 20, the Henry Foundation established the Paula & Jim Henry Endowed Alumni Scholarship at Midland College to be awarded to MC graduates who transfer to pursue further undergraduate and graduate degrees with preference given to history and engineering majors. The scholarship pays tribute to Paula’s educational background in history and Jim’s accomplishments in engineering.
