Hendrix College Athletics

Julie Coats Gunderson grew up in Conway, Arkansas, graduating from Conway High in 2002. She was a four-time All-State softball player and earned All-State in cross country for the Wampus Cats. 

Gunderson attended Hendrix College, where she majored in physics and graduated in 2006. She lettered in three sports for the Warriors, achieving success in each. She was an All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team selection in softball in 2004.  

Gunderson truly excelled at running, where she was a 2005 NCAA Division III All-American with an 18th place finish at the National Championships. She was the 2005 South Region Cross Country Woman Athlete of the Year and held the school record in the 5,000 and 6,000 meters. In track, she qualified for the 2005 NCAA National Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, finishing sixth and earning another All-American award. Gunderson qualified for both the steeplechase and the 5,000 meters in 2006. She was named the 2006 South Region Track Woman Athlete of the Year. Gunderson still holds four school records. She was named the 2006 Hendrix College Co-Woman of the Year. 

After graduating from Hendrix, Gunderson attended graduate school at Emory University, and she received a Ph.D. in physics in 2012. Since completing her education, she has worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics at Carleton College, as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Illinois College. She is now an Assistant Professor of Physics at Hendrix College.