Distinguished Alumni

Dr. Anita Henderson is a pediatrician at the Pediatric Clinic, a service of Hattiesburg Clinic, where she has provided care to Mississippi families for nearly three decades. The 1987 MSU biochemistry graduate completed medical school at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and pediatric residency training at Vanderbilt.

Henderson is a statewide and national leader in child and maternal health. The past president of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics currently serves on the boards of the Mississippi State Medical Association, the University of Southern Mississippi Children's Center for Communication and Development, and the Mississippi Mother's Milk Bank. In 2024, she was appointed by Speaker Jason White to a four-year term on the Mississippi Medicaid Advisory Committee and serves as president-elect of the UMMC School of Medicine Alumni Board.

At MSU, Henderson gained early leadership experience through service on the presidential search committee, an opportunity she credits with shaping her lifelong commitment to advocacy.

She played a key role in advancing legislation extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months and expanding presumptive eligibility for pregnant women. She received the Mississippi State Medical Association's Excellence in Community Service Award in 2023 and the Women in Medicine Advocacy Award in 2024.

She and her husband, Dr. Randy Henderson, live in Hattiesburg and are the parents of two adult children pursuing careers in medicine and law. Her son, Rand, is a 2018 MSU biochemistry alumnus.