Douglas C. Bennett

Who is Douglas C. Bennett?

Douglas C. Bennett is the immediate past president of Earlham College, located in Richmond, Indiana. He was installed as president in 1996. Since 1997, Bennett had also been a member of the political science department at Earlham.

Bennett grew up in Rochester, New York and graduated from Haverford College in 1968. He obtained his M.Phil and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University. Bennett taught political science at Temple University from 1973 to 1989, before becoming the president of Earlham College. He credits Gerhard Spiegler as his inspiration to become a college president.

Bennett was vice president and chief operating officer of the American Council of Learned Societies in New York City. He was also the Vice President and Provost at Reed College and has served on several education-related organizations, such as the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities or the National Advisory Board of the National Survey of Student Engagement.

Bennett has become known throughout the state of Indiana for dismissing the majority of the board of directors of Conner Prairie in June 2003, formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Earlham College.