First lady Dr. Jan Henry changed the dynamic of the president’s wife’s role by working full time in a separate profession.
Henry worked as a dentist in Oklahoma City throughout her husband’s presidency until she retired in May 2017. Robert Henry will retire as the 17th university president effective June 30. Martha Burger will assume the role the following day.
After completing a degree in dentistry at the University of Oklahoma in 1989, Jan Henry became an assistant professor at the OU College of Dentistry. She published several articles in the Journal of Oklahoma Dental Association and worked as a practicing dentist until retirement. She also trained in advanced cosmetic dentistry at the Las Vegas Institute and has facilitated multiple health care research projects regarding victims of domestic violence.
Henry is a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honor Society and has received awards from the American Academy of Periodontology and the American Association of Women Dentists.
Henry and her husband, President Robert Henry, have been involved in numerous philanthropic causes in Oklahoma. Jan Henry served on the Oklahoma Arts Council for seven years and won the Marilyn Douglass Memorial Award at the 35th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards in 2010. She is a founding member and past board president of Windsong Chamber Choir, and she collects native and western art.
Henry said, when her husband became president of OCU, she spoke with Molly Boren, outgoing first lady at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, and Brenda McDaniel, former first lady of OCU, to learn more about the position.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into, and I didn’t plan on quitting my job,” Henry said. “I worked full time when he started, and I didn’t know how I would balance my career or what my role would be. I still don’t really know.”
Henry said she knew she would be different from the first ladies who had worked alongside their husbands for decades. The typical gender roles don’t necessarily apply to them, she said.
“Robert is the cook and chooses our dinner. That’s not my forte at all,” she said. “I’m great at hosting, though, walking into a crowd and blending and fitting in.”
Minh Ton, cell and molecular biology senior, is applying for dental schools and shadowed Henry in the dental office. Ton said Henry is a great role model for her.
“Her patients all love her and would only have her for a dentist,” she said. “She is always very calm and patient, yet she always has a story to make things interesting. I could tell how much she loves being a dentist and a mentor to other kids just from those stories alone.”
Henry said she is proud to show women they can support their husbands but have their own identities.
“The one thing I am leaving with is that I make no apologies because I am a working professional,” she said. “Every woman in this place is looking toward being a working professional, and I want them to know it’s possible.”
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