Douglas Joseph Bennet Jr. (June 23, 1938 – June 10, 2018) was an American political official and college president. He was the fifteenth

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, from 1995 to 2007. Before that, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in the

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

Administration (1993–95) and

Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs within the United States Department of State. List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Legislative Affairs External linksList of Assis ...

in the

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

administration (1977–79), was the President and CEO of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(1983–93), and

ran Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) * ...

the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

under President Carter (1979–81).

Early life and education

Born in Orange, New Jersey, to Douglas Joseph Bennet Sr. and Phoebe (Benedict) Bennet, Bennet grew up in

Lyme, Connecticut Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The population was 2,352 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lyme i ...

, and attended the local public schools. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

in 1959, an M.A. in history from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1960, and a doctorate in history from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1968.

Career

He was an assistant to Ambassador to India

Chester Bowles Chester Bliss Bowles (April 5, 1901 – May 25, 1986) was an American diplomat and ambassador, governor of Connecticut, congressman and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publicis Groupe. Bowles is best known f ...

in the 1960s. In 1970, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic primary for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district, which was vacated by the death of Congressman William St. Onge, but later withdrew from the race. In 1974, he sought the Democratic nomination for the same seat, but was defeated at the district convention by Christopher Dodd. He later served on the staffs of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Senator

Thomas Eagleton Thomas Francis Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Senator

Hubert H. Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

, and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Senator Abraham Ribicoff. In 1977, Bennet became United States

. Bennet succeeded

John J. Gilligan John Joyce “Jack” Gilligan (March 22, 1921 – August 26, 2013) was an American United States Democratic Party, Democratic politician from the state of Ohio who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative and as th ...

as the

administrator of the United States Agency for International Development The administrator of the United States Agency for International Development is the head of the United States federal government's Agency for International Development (USAID). The administrator is officially nominated by the President of the Un ...

in 1979, where he served for two years. After heading a private research institute, he was named head of NPR in 1983. In 1993, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

named Bennet as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, where he served until 1995. In April 1995, Bennet succeeded

William Chace William Chace (born 1938) is a Professor of English Emeritus at Emory University as well as Honorary Professor of English Emeritus at Stanford University. He specializes in the work of James Joyce in addition to the work of W. B. Yeats, T. S. Elio ...

, becoming the fifteenth president of

. On May 4, 2006, Bennet announced that he would step down as president following the 2006–2007 academic year. The last several years of his twelve-year presidency were contentious in some respects, with opposition by a minority in the student body on certain matters. Some students believed Bennet's fundraising priorities conflicted with the interests and needs of the student body, and the university's mission of education. A student movement came to a head in December 2004, when approximately 250 students (of more than 2,700 undergraduates) protested in front of the administrative building South College, where Bennet's office was located, demanding that he address student concerns. On March 26, 2007, Wesleyan's Board of Trustees announced that

Michael S. Roth Michael Scott Roth (born April 8, 1957) is an American academic and university administrator. He became the 16th president of Wesleyan University in 2007. Formerly, he was the 8th president of the California College of the Arts (2000–2007), ass ...

would succeed Bennet as president for the 2007–2008 academic year.

Awards

In 1994, Bennet received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Wesleyan; in 2008, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. In 2011, Bennet was named a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. In 2012, a residence hall in the Fauver Frosh housing complex at Wesleyan was renamed Bennet Hall in honor of former President Bennet.

Personal

On June 27, 1959, Bennet married Susanne Klejman of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

They have three children,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, and Holly. They divorced in 1995. In 1996 he married Midge Bowen Ramsey, a vice president at National Public Radio.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennet, Douglas J. Presidents of Wesleyan University 1938 births 2018 deaths Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Wesleyan University alumni UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni United States Assistant Secretaries of State People from Orange, New Jersey Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American chief executives in the media industry Administrators of the United States Agency for International Development Carter administration personnel