Rodney D. Bennett is the appointed chancellor of the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He was the former President of the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

. Bennett received his Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication, Master of Education, and Education Specialist degrees from

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...

and earned his Ed.D. from

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

in Educational Administration. Bennett served as Vice President for Student Affairs at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, and in 2013 Bennett was appointed the 10th President of the University of Southern Mississippi. Shortly after his appointment, the

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

campus of the University of Southern Mississippi was struck by an

EF4 tornado The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...

, which did not involve any loss of life due to a students' break for Mardi Gras holiday. In 2017,

William Carey University William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesbur ...

, also located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was struck by a tornado, and Bennett's leadership in providing temporary space at the University of Southern Mississippi later resulted in him being honored with a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa, from William Carey. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa in 2019 at the University of Southern Mississippi. Bennett is the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

president of a historically and predominantly white higher education institution in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

References

External links

Office of the President, University of Southern Mississippi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Rodney D. Living people Middle Tennessee State University alumni Tennessee State University alumni University of Southern Mississippi faculty 1966 births