Constance Hendricks (BSN 1974, MSN 1981)

Selma, Alabama

Constance Smith Hendricks, PhD, RN, FAAN received her BSN in 1974 and MSN in 1981, both from the UAB School of Nursing. She earned a PhD in clinical nursing research at Boston College where she was the first African-American to complete the nursing doctoral degree at the institution. An outcome of her research was developing a midrange health promotion empowerment theoretical framework, the Hendricks Perceptual Health Promotion Determinants Model©. The framework continues to be utilized by students and research.

She serves on many local, regional, and national committees and boards, and professional and civic organizations. She is the recipient of numerous honors and recognitions. In 2016, she was inducted into the Tuskegee University Nursing Hall of Fame. In 2010, Hendricks was selected as one of two Auburn Full Professors to receive the Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professorship. She was one of 60 UAB School of Nursing ‘Visionary Leaders’ and was chosen as a ‘Legend in White’ by the Montgomery Black Nurses Association. She was selected as the 2007 UAB School of Nursing Distinguished Alumna. She was awarded the 2018 Dr. Lillian Holland Harvey Award by the Alabama State Nurses Association. In 2019, she was inducted into the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame.

After retiring from Auburn, she was granted Emeritus status. She returned to Concordia College in Selma, Alabama, where she developed a Division of Health Sciences. Dr. Hendricks also served as the Dean and Professor/Director of Nursing at Tuskegee University School of Nursing & Allied Health.