Milton Bennion (June 7, 1870 – April 5, 1953) was an American educator and a university and educational administrator.

Biography

Bennion was born in Taylorsville,

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

. He received a B.S. degree from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

in 1897 and an M.A. degree from

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 1901. From 1897 to 1900, Bennion was the president of the Branch Normal School, an institution that eventually developed into

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

. From 1898 to 1900, he was also a member of the Utah State Board of Education. In 1901, he joined the faculty of the University of Utah and became a full professor of philosophy in 1904. From 1913 to 1941, he was dean of the university's School of Education. Between 1920 and 1926 Bennion was the chairman of the National Council on Character Education for the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stud ...

. Bennion was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in education from the University of Utah in 1931. Between 1960 and 2013, a building on the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

campus of the

was named in Bennion's honor. In 2006, the Administration Building on the

campus was renamed The Milton and Steven D. Bennion Administration Building, in honor of Bennion and his grandson, who served as president of the school from 1997 until 2006.

Religious beliefs

Bennion was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), and from 1943 to 1949 he was the sixth general superintendent of the church's

Deseret Sunday School Union Sunday School (formerly the Deseret Sunday School Union) is an organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 11 and older, are encouraged to participate i ...

. His assistants were George R. Hill and A. Hamer Reiser. Bennion succeeded

George D. Pyper George Dollinger Pyper (November 21, 1860 – January 17, 1943) was the fifth general superintendent of the Sunday School of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a member and manager of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the ...

in this position; Bennion had been Pyper's first assistant in the general Sunday School superintendency since 1934. Bennion was a member of the Sunday School general board for 40 years, beginning in 1909. In 1949, Hill succeeded him as general Sunday School superintendent. Bennion also served as a church

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from 1889 to 1892.

Personal life

In 1898, Bennion married Cora Lindsay in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

. They had 10 children, including Lowell L. Bennion, a prominent Latter Day Saint scholar and educator. A grandson, Steven D. Bennion, has been president of

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member ...

Snow College Snow College is a public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees in a number of areas, along with bachelor's degrees in music and software engineering and a four-year nursing program. Snow College is par ...

, and

References

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

, ''

Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (abbreviated ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'') is a four-volume biographical dic ...

'', vol. 4.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennion, Milton 1870 births 1953 deaths People of Utah Territory American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Columbia University alumni Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in New Zealand Southern Utah University faculty University of Utah alumni University of Utah faculty People from Taylorsville, Utah 19th-century Mormon missionaries General Presidents of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah