Henry G. Bennett
Henry G. Bennett | |
---|---|
Assistant Secretary of State | |
In office November 1950 – December 22, 1951 (his death) | |
Personal details | |
Born | Henry Garland Bennett December 14, 1886 ) |
Profession | Educator, public official |
Henry G. Bennett (December 14, 1886 – December 22, 1951) was a prominent educational figure in Oklahoma. He served as the president of both
Early life and education
Henry Garland Bennett was born in Nevada County, Arkansas on December 14, 1886, to Baptist preacher Thomas Jefferson and Mary Elizabeth Bright Bennett.[1][2] He had three sisters.[1] Although his family moved to Texas before he was one year old, he returned to Arkadelphia, Arkansas before school age.[3] Bennett attended Ouachita Baptist College and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1907.[2][4]
Career
After earning his bachelor's, he accepted a position at a business college in Texarkana, Arkansas.[5] He eventually quit to become a textbook salesman, and in 1906, he moved to Boswell, Oklahoma to become a teacher.[6] He became a superintendent of Choctaw County in 1909 and a superintendent of Hugo Public schools in 1910.[6]
Southeastern Oklahoma State presidency
He remained as superintendent of Hugo schools until 1919 when he accepted a presidency offer from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.[6] Under his presidency, the university expanded from a campus with one main building to one with four education buildings, a gymnasium, and a library; enrollment also tripled from 1921 to 1928.[2] Later, while working as a visiting summer professor in Durant, Oklahoma, he met his future-wife Vera Pearl Connell, who he married on January 27, 1913; they had five children.[2][6]
Oklahoma A&M College presidency
Bennett was nominated to serve as president of
While in office, he continued his education, earning a master's degree from Oklahoma University in 1924 and a PhD from Columbia University in 1928.[2][4]
Federal appointment and Point Four Program
In November 1950, Bennett was appointed as the first Director of the Point Four Program, a technical assistance program for developing nations.[8][9] Bennett is generally credited with the creation of the method of using specialists from American colleges and universities to teach people in other countries on how to improve food production, housing, health, and education with available resources.[9] During his time with the program, he travelled to 33 nations, establishing around 105 projects.[9]
The Point Four Program was later subsumed into the newly created U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).[2][9]
Death
Bennett died in a plane crash near
Notes
- ^ a b Norris 1986, p. 129.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Norris, L. David. "Bennett, Henry Garland | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Norris, p. 129
- ^ a b c d "Dr. Henry Bennett, Aggie Educator, Killed in Crash" (PDF). Sooner Magazine. Vol. 24, no. 5. January 1952. pp. 10–11. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Norris 1986, p. 129–130.
- ^ a b c d e Norris 1986, p. 130.
- ^ Norris 1986, p. 175.
- ^ a b Bass 2007.
- ^ Oklahoma State University. Archived from the originalon May 30, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ Norris 1986, p. 177.
- ^ Sanderson et al. 1990, p. 210–214.
References
- Bass, Paul William (2007). No Little Dreams: Henry Garland Bennett, Educator and Statesman. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Cimarron River Press. ISBN 978-0-9792457-0-1.
- Sanderson, J. Lewie; McGlamery, R. Dean; Peters, David C. (1990). A History of the Oklahoma State University Campus. Centennial Histories. Stillwater: Oklahoma State University Press. ISBN 978-0-914956-41-9.
- Norris, L. David (1986). A History of Southeastern Oklahoma State University Since 1909. Durant, Oklahoma: Mesa Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-930719-10-4.
Further reading
- Chapman, Berlin (1955). Henry G. Bennett as I Knew Him. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Historical Society. OCLC 8401376.
- Rulon, Philip (1975). Oklahoma State University since 1890. Stillwater: Oklahoma State University Press. ISBN 978-0-914956-07-5.
- Current Biography Yearbook: 1951. ISBN 978-9997376770.