P. George Benson
P. George Benson | |
|---|---|
| President of the College of Charleston | |
| In office February 1, 2007 – July 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Conrad Festa |
| Succeeded by | Glenn F. McConnell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul George Benson June 3, 1946 Lewisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Spouse | Jane Oas Benson |
| Children | Jeffery, Laura, and Alison |
| Alma mater | University of Florida New York University Bucknell University |
Paul George Benson (born June 3, 1946) is an American academic, and the former President of the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.
Early life and education
Benson was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Lewisburg Joint High School in 1964. He attended Bucknell University in his hometown, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1968. While a student at Bucknell, Benson joined the Kappa Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity[1] and played varsity golf. He worked as a Management Analyst for the Army Security Agency in Arlington, Virginia for a year after graduating from Bucknell. He assisted in determining the Agency's personnel needs worldwide. In June 1969, Benson joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Whippany, N.J. as a Computer Program Design Engineer and Member of Technical Staff. He was part of a team responsible for developing and maintaining AT&T's first data management system. While at Bell Labs, Benson did graduate work in operations research at New York University. In September 1971 he entered the management science PhD program in the Warrington Collge of Business at the University of Florida. He received a PhD in Decision Sciences with minors in statistics and economics in August 1977. [2]
Career
In 1977, Benson was hired as a professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, a position he held until 1993, at which point he became the Dean of Rutgers University's Business School, as well as a professor of decision sciences. In 1998, Benson became the Dean of the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business and the Simon S. Selig, Jr. Chair for Economic Growth. He held this position until February 1, 2007, when he became President of the College of Charleston.[2]
He stepped down as President of the College of Charleston on July 1, 2014.[3] South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Glenn F. McConnell was appointed as his successor.[4] Benson took a one year sabbatical before returning to the College of Charleston as a faculty member in the School of Business. Benson is currently teaching Business Statistics in the Supply Chain and Information Management Department.
Personal life
Benson sits on three corporate boards: AGCO Corporation, Crawford & Company, and Primerica, Inc. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. The foundation is a nonprofit, private-sector organization that raises funds to support the Baldridge Performance Excellence Program. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA)[5] was established in 1987 and it is presented annually by the President of the United States to organizations that demonstrate quality and performance excellence. It was established by Congress in 1987 to identify and recognize role-model businesses; establish certain criteria for evaluating improvement efforts; and share best practices. It was expanded to include healthcare and education in 1998 and the nonprofit sector in 2005.
Benson is married to Jane Oas Benson and has three children, Jeff, Laura, and Alison.
References
- ^ http://www.sigmachi.org/significant-sigs-recipients?field_oc_ss_last_initial_value=B&field_hp_company_value=Kappa&field_hp_univ_preferred_value=Bucknell&field_hp_province_description_value=All&field_hp_state_province_value=All
- ^ a b "About the President: Biography". College of Charleston. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012.
- ^ Knich, Diane (September 11, 2013). "College of Charleston faculty want academic leader as new president". Post and Courier.
- ^ Ry Rivard, Charleston Divided, Inside Higher Ed, March 26, 2014
- ^ "Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) - ASQ." American Society for Quality -ASQ. Web. 24 June 2010.<http://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/malcolm-baldrige-award/overview/overview.html>.