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Dr. Jacqueline Henningsen '66

Dr. Jacqueline Henningsen '66

Hometown

Omaha, Nebraska

Current City

Omaha, Nebraska


Northwest Foundation Board Member

Board member since 2015


Board Involvement

  • Governance Committee Chair 2020-2021
  • Executive Committee 2019-Present
  • Governance Committee Co-Chair 2019-2020

Education

  • Ph.D. Industrial & Management Systems Engineering; University of Nebraska, 1987
  • M.S.T. Mathematics Education; National Science Foundation Program, University of Nebraska, 1972
  • B.S. Mathematics Education; Northwest Missouri State University, 1966

Occupation/Company

  • Retired Senior Executive Service; Director of Studies and Analysis; Department of the Air Force

About

Dr. Jacqueline R. Henningsen is currently a consultant and board advisor in the areas of professional development, applied analytics, risk management and STEM education. In her thirties, she made a "Riding Your Dreams" mid-career transition from teaching high school mathematics and sequentially Industrial and Management Sciences Engineering at the university level to the Department of Defense at Strategic Air Command. Positions at USSTRATCOM and the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon followed. In 1998, she was selected by the Air Force to the Senior Executive Service, and served as the principal advisor to five Air Force Chiefs of Staff helping "fireproof" decisions with solid, scientifically-based analyses across the full range of operational and resource issues. She retired in 2014 as the Director for Studies & Analyses, Assessments and Lessons Learned, HQ United States Air Force, Pentagon. Among other awards, she was recognized with the Department of Defense's highest civilian award, a Presidential Distinguished Executive Rank Award in 2012, and honored with the Vance R. Wanner Memorial Award for lifetime professional excellence in Military Operations Research in 2016. The Dr. Jacqueline R. Henningsen Award for the Air Force's Outstanding Analyst is awarded each year in her honor.

Carl and Jackie have one son, Jeffrey Allen. He and his wife Stacey, live in Houston where we have four grandchildren; Reese, Blake, Abigail, and Lila.

 

Why are you "forever green"?

"My husband Carl and I both attribute the opportunities to achieve our dreams to the nurturing environment of Northwest. As a young married couple from Omaha with a small child, we would not have been able to afford to go to or continue in college without the amazing environment where the staff and the Maryville community looked out for us with jobs, quality medical care, and high interest in our success. They all worked together to ensure that we would graduate on time. The quality of the leadership and staff, the civility of the campus, friendliness of the students and caring environment continue to provide a beacon for excellence in educational success over fifty years later. We received the foundation at Northwest that allowed us to achieve in ways we never could have envisioned when we graduated in 1966."