New Fellowship Established in Honor of James M. Henderson
The Department of Economics is pleased to announce the establishment of a new graduate fellowship honoring James Henderson, who served on the Economics faculty from 1959 to 1983. The fellowship recognizes Henderson’s long-standing commitment to graduate education and his foundational role in shaping generations of Minnesota economists.
The department expresses its deep appreciation to John Scarborough for taking the lead in creating the James M. Henderson Fellowship. Scarborough, a 1974 PhD graduate of our program and president and founder of Litigation Analytics, studied under Henderson and completed his dissertation under Henderson’s direction.
During his tenure, Henderson taught the first course in graduate microeconomic theory, providing the foundation for all students in our graduate program for the rest of their PhD studies.
Henderson is well known for his coauthorship with Richard Quandt of the influential textbook Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach, first published in 1958 and subsequently revised in multiple later editions. For many years, the text served as a leading resource in graduate economics education, shaping how microeconomic theory was taught at Minnesota and beyond.
In 1983, Henderson left Minnesota to join the World Bank, where his wife, Anne Krueger—herself a former Minnesota faculty member and distinguished leader in international economics—was also working. The couple later they moved to Duke University, where Henderson continued his research and teaching until his death at age 62.
Henderson’s faculty colleagues remember his dry wit and practical jokes. On one occasion, after learning that Craig Swan planned to attend opening day at the ballpark, Henderson drafted a memo in the name of Department Chair Jim Simler stating that Swan would be away that afternoon due to the passing of his grandmother—adding that this was his fourth grandmother to pass away since joining the department. Even funnier, one prominent faculty member did not realize it was a joke. Speaking of his book with Quandt, Henderson was known to say, “it pretty well monopolizes a relatively small market.” Another favorite line—always said in jest—was, “if the real world doesn’t match our models, then so much for the rest of the world.”
In establishing the fellowship, Scarborough also wanted to remember his friend and officemate, John Garry Rowse, a 1974 Minnesota PhD who—like Scarborough—finished his dissertation under Henderson’s supervision, completing it just a few weeks before Scarborough did. Rowse passed away five years ago. “It would have meant a great deal to John to see our advisor Jim Henderson honored in this way,” Scarborough said. He added, “Jim taught me what an applied theorist was meant to be, and I still miss him.”
The Henderson Fellowship becomes the seventeenth endowed fellowship named after a faculty member in the Department of Economics, joining a distinguished roster that honors the legacy of Minnesota professors and the students they trained. These faculty-named fellowships provide essential support that enables Minnesota to attract exceptional doctoral students and to sustain the tradition of excellence that defines its graduate program. See the full list of faculty-named fellowships.
Fellowship endowments vary in size and scope. Some provide full first-year funding including tuition and stipend; others offer critical supplements that strengthen Minnesota’s competitive position in recruiting talented students. Many have grown over time through additional gifts, expanding their impact. The Henderson Fellowship now joins this enduring tradition of supporting future generations of Minnesota-trained economists.
