Louis Tomlinson Benezet (June 29, 1915 in La Crosse, Wisconsin – January 23, 2002 in Mill Valley, California) was an American educator, education administrator and multiple U.S. university president. He was the son of Louis P. Bénézet, a professor at Dartmouth College. He received his B.A. at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1936, his MA in psychology at

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

in 1939, and his Ph.D. in college and educational administration at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1942. From 1948 to 1955 he was president of

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

, and from 1955 to 1963, president of

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

. He transformed Colorado College into a nationally recognized training center. When he left in 1955 he had become a recognized national figure in the field of higher education. The annual "Louis Benezet Award" was named after him. From 1963 to 1970 he was president of Claremont Graduate School and University Center in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...

. As president of Claremont, he left a nationally important legacy, since he organized a change in the "College Rating System", introducing a system which reflected the actual performance of alumni in later life, by following-up on former students with greater efficiency. From 1970 to 1976 he was president of the

State University of New York at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

. Benezet took the view that there had been too much of a readiness to accept the claims of private higher education to improve economic efficiency, the personal treatment of students, to set high standards, and encourage diversity.Barbara Ann Scott, Richard P. Sloan, ''The Liberal Arts in a Time of Crisis'', Praeger Publishers, New York, 1991, p.42.

Bibliography

*1943 ''General Education in the Progressive College''. New York, Teachers College, Columbia University Press. *1961 "Is Higher Education a Commodity?" In G. Kerry Smith (ed.). ''Goals for Higher Education in a Decade of Decision''. Washington, D.C., Association for Higher Education. pp. 241–244. *1962 "The Office of the President." In Gerald P. Burns (ed.). ''Administrators in Higher Education: Their Functions and Coordination''. New York, Harper and Brothers. pp. 99–110. *1965 "College Groups and the Claremont Example." In Logan Wilson (ed.). ''Emerging Patterns in American Higher Education''. Washington, D.C., American Council on Education. pp. 199–203. *1969 "Continuity and Change: The Need for Both." In John Caffrey (ed.). ''The Future Academic Community--Continuity and Change''. Washington, D.C., American Council on Education. pp. 15–29. *1977a ''Private Higher Education and Public Funding''. Washington, D.C., American Council on Education. *1977b "Uses and Abuses of Departments." In Dean E. McHenry, et al. ''Academic Departments: Problems, Variations and Alternatives''. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. *1981, et al. ''Style and Substance: Leadership and the College Presidency''. Washington, D.C., American Council on Education. *1999 "People versus pyramids: New goals for the elite college", The Colorado College Studies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benezet, Louis T. 1915 births 2002 deaths Reed College alumni American education writers Presidents of University at Albany Presidents of Colorado College Presidents of Allegheny College Teachers College, Columbia University alumni 20th-century American academics