Henry N. Drewry Memorial Fund

HENRY N. DREWRY became the director of the newly established Program in Teacher Preparation in 1968. He was instrumental in developing the program and in gaining state approval for granting NJ State teacher certification in 1969. He arrived from Princeton High School, where he taught history for 14 years, served as the Department Chair, and was the school’s only Black teacher at the time of his hiring.  Drewry became one of the first Black administrators at Princeton University and also taught the university’s first courses in black history and culture.

For twenty years, the Teacher Preparation Program flourished under his directorship before he left in 1988 to join the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. At the Mellon Foundation, Drewry co-founded a fellowship program to promote diversity on university faculties.  Drewry was also a co-author of seven books focusing on race and education including Stand and Prosper: Private Black Colleges and Their Students, (2001).

Mr. Drewry was an active participant in the Princeton Association for Human Rights (PAHR), chair of the college entrance exam board's U.S. history and social studies test committee, and chair of the New Jersey Historical Commission for five years. He served as trustee on numerous school and college boards, including membership on the board of the Groton School in Groton, MA; The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY; and Talladega College in Talladega, AL. He was also a founding trustee of Mercer County Community College in Mercer County, NJ.

In his memory, the Henry N. Drewry Memorial Fund was created in 2016 by Princeton University alumnus, James G. Petrucci '86. This gift helps support Princeton University students seeking to complete their teaching certificate at the university.  In awarding the fund, special attention is given to students who are pursuing a social studies/humanities major; are completing their student teaching, and whose career interests and plans reflect the values of Mr. Drewry in the areas of educational access, diversity, and general school improvement.

Teacher Prep is deeply honored to have had Henry Drewry at its helm for its first two decades, and we are excited to carry on his great legacy in the field of education and in the promotion of diversity and racial equality through the memorial fund. 

Recipients of the Henry N. Drewry Memorial Fund are:

Brenaea Fairchild ’16 (Recipient for 2016-17)

Bertilla Sieben ’17 (Recipient for 2017-18)

Sophia Alvarez ’18 (co-recipient for 2018-19)

Elisa Steele ’17 (co-recipient for 2018-19)

 

 

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Dr. Todd Kent, Director