HWS News
26 September 2024 • Alums Endowed Scholarship Honors Michael Max Henry '78 By Paige Cooke
A new endowed scholarship commemorates Michael Max Henry ’78 and his deep appreciation for HWS.
Anyone who knew Michael Max Henry ’78 also knew of his affinity for Hobart and William Smith and the impact his college education had on his career. After earning his B.A. in economics, Henry went on to a successful career as a tech executive and trusted management advisor for computer and software companies, including NeXT computers, where he worked alongside Steve Jobs.
After Henry passed away in 2023 following an 18-year battle with cancer, his brother David, son Robert and classmate Bob Reynolds ’78 began enlisting friends, family members and colleagues in the fundraising effort to endow a scholarship in his name. Reynolds, along with Catherine Bacon Koch ’78, Geoffrey F. Lenk ’78, John J. Short, Jr. ’78, Susan Foerster Short ’78, Jeffrey S. Weiss ’78, James T. Hayes ’78, M. Thomas Browne ’78 and Barbara Tallaksen Browne ’78, drafted a letter to their classmates asking them to join in their efforts to create the scholarship to honor and remember Henry, or Mike as they called him.
“Mike approached his education and career with an entrepreneurial spirit and was not afraid being outside the norm. As he excelled in both, he always looked to help those around him equally succeed,” Reynolds says. “This scholarship will continue his advocacy for students challenging themselves to do something special.”
The Michael Max Henry ’78 Memorial Endowed Scholarship celebrates Henry’s memory and his affection for his alma mater. To date, $150,000 has been committed to the scholarship fund. Supporting aspiring HWS entrepreneurs, the scholarship will be awarded to rising juniors majoring in Management and Entrepreneurship.
After graduation, Henry earned his MBA from the University of Oregon and began a career in the technology startup space. He worked alongside Steve Jobs at NeXT Computer, Inc. and led a variety of other innovative startup companies as CEO. Henry leveraged this knowledge to focus on providing tech startup management expertise for venture capital firms, but he always focused on people.
Henry later started his own consulting business, Hummingbird Leadership, where he advised numerous firms on entrepreneurial management and leadership practices for over 25 years.
As an alumnus, he served as a judge for The Pitch, HWS’ annual entrepreneurial competition, and taught courses on campus in leadership and finance.
Henry’s deep ties to HWS were threaded through his sustained engagement with the campus community, his successful career, and his education, which was grounded in critical thinking skills and the value of relationships. Those ties also extend back generations. Henry House on South Main Street, which currently houses faculty offices and a seminar classroom, originally belonged to his grandparents, David Max Henry 1917, P’39, GP’78 and Dorothy Angle Burley Henry 1918, P’39, GP’78. The house was donated to HWS in 1974 by Henry’s father, David H. Henry ’39, P’78, in honor of his parents.
