The Helminthological Society of Washington - Peru State College

J. Helminthol. Soc. Wash.
66(2), 1999 pp. 209-210
Anniversary Award
The Helminthological Society of Washington
SHERMAN S. HENDRIX
J. Ralph Lichtenfels, right, presents
the 1998 Anniversary Award to Sherman S. Hendrix
Ladies and Gentlemen, in 1989 my longtime friend, Sherm Hendrix, presented the Anniversary
Award to me after I completed a term as Editor of our journal. Nine years later, it is my pleasure
to switch roles and (in your behalf) honor Sherm as he completes his term as Editor.
Sherm was born June 1, 1939 in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Connecticut near Long
Island Sound, where he developed an interest in biology and the marine environment. He received
a B.A., with Departmental Honors, in Biology from Gettysburg College in 1961.
Shortly after graduating from Gettysburg, Sherm married his college sweetheart, Carol Seibel.
Carol and Sherm have raised 2 children, Mark, an Assistant Professor of Geology at the University
of Montana, and Robin, a teacher who has taken time off to raise 2 children, Anna (5) and Rachel
(2). Carol is an ordained Lutheran pastor, currently serving as Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational
Care.
Sherm was introduced to Parasitology at Florida State University, in courses taught by Rhodes
"Buck" Holliman and Robert B. Short. Sherm received an M.S. degree from Florida State University
in 1964 working under Bob Short. His thesis was titled, "Aspidogastrids from Northeastern
Gulf of Mexico river drainages". While at Florida State University, he was a member of a 61-day
Antarctic Scientific Cruise in 1964, on the Pacific side, out of Valparaiso.
Later that year, he returned to his alma mater, Gettysburg College, as Instructor in Biology.
While continuing his teaching career at Gettysburg, Sherm decided to pursue a Ph.D. at the
University of Maryland and became a Graduate Teaching Assistant there in 1969, working under
the guidance of Leo Jachowski. His doctoral dissertation, entitled, "The biology, ecology and taxonomy
of Plagioporus hypentelii, a parasite of the hog sucker in the Monocacy River basin of
Maryland and Pennsylvania", and his Ph.D. degree, were completed in 1972. He was an NIH
Interamerican Fellow in Tropical Medicine at Louisiana State University in 1973 while on sabbatical
from Gettysburg. By this time, Sherm had already been promoted to Assistant Professor at Gettysburg
(in 1970). He became Associate Professor in 1977, and Professor in 1990, serving several
terms as Chairman, Department of Biology, including a current term as Chair, begun in 1997.
Sherm has developed and managed an almost idyllic career that is a balanced blend of teaching,
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