| Michael T. Benson | |
|---|---|
| 15th President of SUU | |
| Term | November 10, 2006 – Present |
| Predecessor | Steven D. Bennion |
| Born | February 28, 1965 Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University University of Oxford (St. Antony's College) University of Notre Dame ( Master in Non-Profit Administration) |
| Residence | Cedar City, Utah |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Spouse | Debi (Woods) Benson |
| Children | Emma, Samuel, Truman, Tatum, Talmage |
| Website | Office of the President |
Michael T. Benson (born February 28, 1965) is the 15th and current president of Southern Utah University and former president of Snow College. He has also served as the special assistant to the president of the University of Utah, and is a full professor at SUU in the Department of Political Science.
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Benson is a son of Mark A. Benson. Mark Benson worked for several years as an employee of the BYU Division of Continuing Education and was the first director of the BYU-Ogden Center.
Benson earned his bachelors degree cum laude from Brigham Young University, and then went on to earn a doctorate in modern Middle Eastern history from St. Antony's College, Oxford. Benson also earned a master's degree cum laude in Non-Profit Administration from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.[1]
Benson is a grandson of Ezra Taft Benson.[2] He served an LDS mission in Italy, appropriate since his grandfather had rededicated that land for the preaching of the gospel.[3] Benson and his first wife, Celia Benson (the granddaughter of LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley) divorced in 2005.[4]
Benson is also an accomplished athlete, having played basketball for both Brigham Young University and Oxford. He is also a proficient golfer and marathon runner. He and his second wife, Debi, are the parents of five children: Emma, Samuel, Truman, Tatum and Talmage.[5]
In 2001, Benson was appointed as the 14th president of Snow College. Age 36 at the time, he is the youngest college or university president in the history of the Utah System of Higher Education. During his 5 years at Snow, Benson raised more money for the school than in the previous 117 years of the institution's history combined.
Benson was appointed the president of SUU on November 10, 2006, by the Utah State Board of Regents. Two weeks into his presidency, Benson secured the largest donation in the school's history, which was used to expand SUU's Science Complex.[6] Since his inauguration, he has continued his commitment to fund raising and continues making plans for the expansion of SUU's programs and facilities.
In 2009, Governor Jon M. Huntsman named Benson to a four-year term as member of the seven-person Utah Appellate Courts Nominating Commission. Dr. Benson serves as Chair of the Presidents’ Council for the Summit League, SUU’s Division I athletic conference. Benson also serves on the Advisory Board of the Cedar City Airport. Benson has completed a two-year term as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Utah State Campus Compact. He is a past member of the Zions Bank Central Utah Board of Advisors, and he serves on the Wells Fargo Southwest Utah Board of Advisors. He has been employed in many other capacities, including: Associate Director of Major Gifts (University of Utah), Consulting Historian (Harry S. Truman Library), Academic Advisor and Essayist (Skirball Cultural Center), Visiting Lecturer (Brigham Young University, University of Utah), and Research Assistant (U.S. Senate Labor Committee).[7]
Benson is also the author of Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel,[8] a book which is considered a landmark work in the area of U.S. foreign policy and presidential history. Benson is an admirer of Harry Truman, on whom he wrote his doctoral dissertation.
| Preceded by Steven D. Bennion |
President of Southern Utah University 2006 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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