Henry S. Coleman

Henry Simmons Coleman (April 20, 1926 – January 31, 2006) was an American educational administrator who was serving as acting dean of Columbia College, Columbia University when he was held hostage in an office for a day by the Students for a Democratic Society during the Columbia University protests of 1968 and later wrote letters of recommendation to law school for some of the students involved in the protests.

Columbia University The university hired him in 1948 to operate a scholarship program, and through 1972 he administered all financial aid programs at the school as assistant to the dean. During this period, Coleman was coach of the varsity lightweight crew. After a break for military service, he was named assistant dean in 1958. He was named director of admissions in 1960, where he initiated a process to increase diversity on campus, deemphasizing the role of standardized tests. McKinney disappeared and as of 2022, has not been seen by anyone after the 1972 incident.

Shortly after the shooting, Columbia University administration members stated that new security measures would be implemented in the wake of the shooting, but that the goal would be to maintain a relaxed atmosphere on campus. When classes resumed in September, Coleman was back at his desk with his right arm still in a cast, after having been in the hospital for ten days for a lung punctured by a bullet and then spending two weeks recuperating at home before he returned to his duties on a part-time schedule.

He served as dean of students until his retirement in 1979. He was honored in 1996 with the college's John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement, which recognized his status as a war veteran who "calmly refused to be bullied or coerced, and retained the respect of hawks and doves alike" in his actions during the 1968 student protests.

After his retirement, he began a guidance firm for college-bound high school students and administered various scholarship programs.

Death A resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, Coleman died at age 79 due to a blood disorder on January 31, 2006, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was survived by his wife, the former Lila Heffelfinger; two daughters, a son and nine grandchildren.