Nancy H. Hensel

Nancy H. Hensel (born 1943) is an American academic and university administrator. She held faculty positions at the University of Toledo and University of Redlands before joining the University of Maine system in 1992. In 1992 Hensel was appointed Dean of the College of Education at the University of Maine at Farmington. From 1995 to 1999 she filled the post of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. In 1999 she was named to a one-year term as interim president of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, becoming the second woman to head the campus in its history. In 2000 she acceded to the presidency. In 2004 she was appointed CEO of the Council on Undergraduate Research in Washington, D.C., for seven years, and then became the first president of The New American Colleges and Universities in 2011. She has authored numerous books, articles, and monographs. Her research interests include early childhood education, gender equality, and work–family conflict and undergraduate research. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2003.

Education Hensel earned her bachelor's degree in theatre from San Francisco State University and went on to attain master's degrees in both theatre and early childhood education from the same institution. She earned her doctorate in early childhood education from the University of Georgia. From 1972 to 1977 she was assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of Toledo. She next moved to the University of Redlands in Redlands, California, where she became Department Chair and Professor of Education. and in 1987 directed the Elementary Experimental Summer School, in which primary school students were given access to the university's computer facilities, library, and swimming pool.

In 1992 From 1995 to 1999 she filled the posts of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. In 2000 she acceded to the presidency.

She retired from NAC&U in 2019.

Writing and speeches In her early career, Hensel wrote and spoke extensively on the work–family conflict for women faculty members in higher education. Her 1991 monograph on "the impact of maternity and child rearing on university tenure" was considered "groundbreaking".

Selected bibliography Course-Bases Undergraduate Research: Educational Equity and High-Impact Practice (Ed.) Stylus Publishers. Exploring, Experiencing, and Envisioning Integration in US Arts Education (Ed.) 2018. Palgrave Macmillan. (with Brent D. Cejda) Faculty Support and Undergraduate Research: Innovations in Faculty Role Definition, Workload, and Reward. Council on Undergraduate Research. 2012. . (with Elizabeth L.Paul) Transformative Research at Predominately Undergraduate Institutions. Council on Undergraduate Research. 2019. . (with Kerry Karukstis) Undergraduate Research at Community Colleges. Council on Undergraduate Research. 2009. . (with Brent D. Cejda)