If you walk past Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Jeff Henriques’s office hours, you might see multiple students in his office and a line out the door.
In his sections of Introduction to Psychology, which he taught for the last time this fall, you might have seen his tie matched to the day’s lecture topic—a “Cat in the Hat” tie when he teaches about child development, a tie with Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” when he teaches about stress.
Henriques will retire at the end of the spring 2025 semester after teaching in the psychology department since 1998. Henriques first came to UW–Madison as a graduate student to study the biology of psychopathology. Over his teaching career, his primary research interest transformed into what does and does not work in the classroom to promote student learning.
“Jeff’s love for teaching is immediately evident when you see him in the classroom,” says Dr. Chelsea Andrews, a former teaching assistant for his Statistics for Psychology course. “His teaching style is clear, approachable, and full of energy for the subjects he teaches. He’s skilled at breaking down challenging concepts and using relatable examples to bring statistics to life. His genuine care for his students fosters an environment where they feel confident to engage, ask questions, and truly connect with the material.”
By the end of this spring, Henriques estimates he will have taught nearly 27,000 students while teaching Introduction to Psychology 75 times, Basic Statistics for Psychology 43 times, Adult Psychopathology seven times, and a formerly offered upper-level psychopathology course nine times, among other classes.
For multiple semesters, Henriques taught additional intro psych and statistics sections when needed.
“Jeff teaches at some of the most critical areas of our curriculum,” Psychology Department Undergraduate Program Director Melanie Jones says. “It’s not easy to take on an extra section of 400 students in Intro Psych, who are mostly first-year students and don’t know how to do college yet, and then for statistics, which tends to be an anxiety-producing course for many of our students. He always steps up in a pinch, and his attitude reflects what he puts into his teaching and how he values community here.”
Henriques received the Alliant Energy Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014, a Universities of Wisconsin system-wide award. He has also received Academic Staff Early and Mid-Career Awards from the College of Letters & Science, among others.
“It’s a privilege to teach Intro Psych because, for many students, it’s their only experience with psychology,” Henriques says. “So I have this opportunity to give them a bit of an understanding of the field. For me, that was sharing ideas about parenting and child development because so many people are going to become parents, or at least half of us are going to have a psychological disorder at some point, and there’s nothing unusual about that. Tied into that is the idea that therapy works. It helps people get better.”
When Henriques first started his undergraduate coursework at Gettysburg College, he wanted to work in broadcasting as a radio disc jockey. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business. After briefly working, he completed a second bachelor’s degree, this time in psychology, from the State University of New York at Purchase.
A physiological psychology course exploring connections between the brain and behavior led Henriques to pursue graduate school to research the biology of psychopathology. Henriques came to UW–Madison to work with Richard Davidson, a former SUNY Purchase faculty member and now the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry. Henriques and Davidson studied patterns of brain activation in depression and how they related to behavior, identifying a lack of responsiveness to reward in depressed subjects compared to nondepressed subjects.
After finishing his doctorate, Henriques taught part-time in the department and worked part-time as a statistician in the School of Nursing. He started teaching full-time in 2012.
“I feel lucky to have taught in the department,” Henriques says. “I’ve had some remarkable students throughout my time teaching, and it’s been a treat to teach them.”
Henriques taught generations of students and encouraged them to pursue research and careers in the field.
“Being able to connect with Dr. Henriques this past semester not only regarding statistics but about other real-life events was one of the highlights of my college experience thus far,” says Drew Jacobs x’27, a psychology student who took statistics and psychopathology courses with Henriques. “Dr. Henriques allowed me to understand that professors are just as eager to learn from the students they teach.”
Zoe Regenstein x’25, a psychology and legal studies student, took statistics, her first class in the psychology department, with Henriques as a freshman. She also enrolled in the section of psychopathology he taught during her sophomore year. Regenstein recalls Henriques as the first professor who encouraged her to be involved with research, which led her to apply for a position in the Incarceration and Mental Health Lab.
“Dr. Henriques was incredibly impactful during the start of my career in the psychology department,” Regenstein says. “I have been involved with research for over a year now, which has been one of the best decisions I have made at UW. He was not only supportive of me as a student but as an individual, which was so valuable during stressful times throughout college.”
In retirement, Henriques plans to spend more time doing what he enjoys outside of teaching: hiking and traveling. He also plans to study family genealogy, an interest he says he first started in graduate school to avoid working on his dissertation. He also hopes to learn Spanish and play the piano.
“Jeff’s retirement marks the end of an incredible chapter,” Andrews says. “His kindness, enthusiasm, and positive spirit have left a mark on everyone who has worked with him. Jeff has not only been an exceptional educator but also a source of positivity and encouragement for students and colleagues alike. As we celebrate his retirement, we also celebrate his legacy—a legacy of fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and a deep love for learning.”
Help us congratulate Dr. Henriques by sending a note or sharing a memory at go.wisc.edu/npimb1