Christopher Hendricks

Prof. Hendricks joined Georgia Southern University in 1993 and retired in 2026.

 — Biography from the 2026 Spring Commencement program — 

Dr. Hendricks has more than three decades of distinguished service, nationally recognized scholarship, and exceptional contributions to the university and the broader public. A leading authority on the cultural landscapes, towns, and material life of the colonial South, Dr. Hendricks is the author of three major scholarly monographs—including The Colonial Towns of Piedmont North Carolina (University of Tennessee Press, 2024) and The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia (2006)—and numerous peer-reviewed articles in leading journals of early American history and material culture. His career has been defined by academic excellence and innovation, especially in experiential and public-facing teaching that brings archaeology, architecture, foodways, and lived environments into the classroom. Beyond the university, Dr. Hendricks has made extraordinary contributions to public history through museum consulting, documentary production, historic preservation, and community partnerships across Coastal Georgia and the Southeast, earning multiple awards including Georgia Southern’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Community and Historic Savannah Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year honor. His leadership as Interim Department Head (2016–2018), his sustained mentoring of students and junior faculty, and his lifelong commitment to preserving and interpreting the region’s cultural heritage exemplify service well beyond normal expectations, making him richly deserving of the title Professor of History Emeritus.*