George Benson, President of the College of Charleston

LowcountryBizSC:
What is your background and education?
 
George Benson:
I am a native of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. My wife, Jane, and I have three children, Jeff, Laura, and Alison. Jeff and Laura are recent graduates of the University of Georgia, and Alison graduated from the College of Charleston last May.
 
I received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Bucknell University, did graduate work in operations research in the engineering school at New York University, and received a doctorate in decision sciences from the University of Florida.
 
Prior to becoming President of the College of Charleston in February 2007, I was Dean of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business for almost nine years. Prior to that, I served for five years as Dean of the Rutgers Business School at Rutgers University.  From 1977 to 1993, I was a faculty member in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.  Early in my career, I worked for the U.S. Army Security Agency in personnel planning and at AT&T’s Bell Telephone Laboratories in information systems.
 
In the late 1990s, I was a national judge for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and later chaired the Board of Overseers for the Baldrige Award. Currently, I serve on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Baldrige Award.
 
LowcountryBizSC:
What is your leadership style?

George Benson:
I think of myself as both a leader and a facilitator, someone who supports and nurtures the important work of the College’s faculty and staff.
 
My style is consultative, inclusive, and team-oriented. I try to involve and engage all stakeholders in decision processes and build a consensus. I want everyone to feel like they’re on the same team, moving in the same direction.
 
I believe in hiring the best possible people and giving them the freedom and support to successfully lead their organizations.
 
Finally, I try to create and maintain an environment of openness, transparency and, above all else, trust. 

LowcountryBizSC:
How is the university being affected by the down economy?
 
George Benson:
Over the past three years, the College has lost more than $16 million in state funding. This represents a 45% reduction of our state appropriation. State appropriations now account for just 8.5% of the College’s operating budget.  In terms of actual dollars, we are operating with the same level of state funding as we did in 1988.
 
Unfortunately, the cuts over the past three years are only the latest in a decades-long decline in state funding of public higher education in South Carolina.  I am not optimistic that this downward trend will be reversed.

LowcountryBizSC:
What is unique about the College of Charleston?  What are you most proud of at the C of C?
 
George Benson:
One very special attribute is our student-focused community. I have attended universities in three different states and have worked at universities in four other states, and I can tell you that the student-centered focus that the College’s faculty have developed and nurtured over the years rivals that of any other university in this country.  It is a quality usually associated with very small private colleges, and it is truly special and quite surprising that it exists at a university that educates 10,000 undergraduate students. I have seen this faculty-student connection first-hand as president and as a parent of a 2010 College of Charleston graduate. Our professors get to know their students and they take an active interest in their growth as individuals.  Furthermore, courses are taught by professors, not graduate students.
 
Another distinction is our unique location. Our campus is woven into the fabric of Charleston’s Historic District. The College’s location and history are fundamental to its existence, which is why both are reflected in a core value of our new 10-year Strategic Plan: the history, traditions, culture and environment of Charleston and the Lowcountry and the opportunities they afford our students for learning and our faculty for scholarship.  This value serves as a prioritization mechanism to help us determine which academic programs to emphasize and where to invest our resources.  Existing programs that this value calls out include historic preservation, marine biology, African-American studies, environmental sciences and policy, hospitality and tourism management, global logistics and transportation, the arts, arts management, and urban planning.

We hope these programs will simultaneously differentiate the College and strengthen the community around us.

LowcountryBizSC:
What areas are most in need of improvement at the College of Charleston?
 
George Benson:
We are always striving for continuous improvement. But what is most in need of improvement is not unique to the College. All of public higher education in South Carolina is underfunded and underappreciated. Our state simply has not made higher education a continuing priority in the way that neighboring states such as North Carolina and Georgia did decades ago.
 
What the College of Charleston needs is what all institutions of higher education need: the recognition and understanding by state leaders and the public at large that education (both K-12 and higher education) is the most critical ingredient in the development of a knowledge economy, a high quality workforce, and a high quality of life.

LowcountryBizSC:
What are some of the most positive trends in higher education?
 
George Benson:
Today’s students are far more attuned to environmental sustainability than previous generations. Today’s young people have grown up with an acute environmental consciousness that motivates them to advocate and take action. They will wean us from foreign oil and make the United States a leader in sustainability.

LowcountryBizSC:
Outline some of the historical reasons why higher education is underperforming in the Charleston area, and also in the state.  What solutions do you propose to improve higher education?
 
George Benson:
An entire book could be written on this subject. It is complex, and there are many factors involved. As I said earlier this year in a speech at the 2010 Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Luncheon, the lack of investment in higher education can be traced, in part, back to South Carolina’s history of independence and insularity. After the Civil War, most Southern states, including South Carolina, were slow to develop economically. This is largely because they were isolated from the fast-growing markets and industrial technologies of the North.
 
As Gavin Wright, an economic historian at Stanford University, writes in his 2001 book Old South, New South, these post-war conditions established an anti-education mentality. To paraphrase Wright, advanced education greatly increased the probability of out-migration, so the region was reluctant to invest heavily in schooling and higher education. Southern employers were more concerned with preserving the isolation of their regional labor supply and, as a result, were suspicious rather than welcoming to outsiders and outside ideas.
 
There is growing recognition among the state’s colleges and universities that we need to do a better job of collaborating on issues where we share a common interest.  One example is the regulatory reform that colleges and universities sought during the last legislative session. This administrative adjustment could save our colleges and universities money by reducing costly and redundant approvals required to build facilities, hire people, and purchase supplies and equipment.
 
While the legislation did get through the House, it died in the Senate. The fact that every university president in the state supported these changes was a sign that we can come together. And more importantly, that when we do speak as a group, we can be heard.
 
But the real answer is the support and commitment of the business community to higher education. I have advocated for this over my entire career. I believe that South Carolina’s business community can be an effective ally for higher education. Our universities have vast networks of contacts in the business sector through their respective trustees, advisory boards, alumni, etc. – literally thousands of interested parties. Engaging these voices to help us make the case for the value and contributions of public higher education is the key.

LowcountryBizSC:
What is your relationship with the Citadel and MUSC?

George Benson:
MUSC President Ray Greenberg, The Citadel President John Rosa, and I meet regularly to discuss issues affecting our institutions and potential ways in which we can collaborate and share resources. The College of Charleston and The Citadel jointly offer four master’s degree programs. The College also partners with both institutions on academic research. For example, we are currently involved with MUSC in a federally funded project through the National Science Foundation to help facilitate the commercialization of biomedical discoveries.
 
The College is also part of a consortium with MUSC and The Citadel at the Lowcountry Graduate Center in North Charleston.  This partnership and facility are an important part of our effort to increase the number of available graduate programs in the Charleston area.
 
The College also enjoys an excellent relationship with Trident Technical College and its president, Mary Thornley.  Trident is a major feeder school for the College, and we see potential to strengthen this relationship in the years ahead by accepting a greater number of transfer students from Trident.

LowcountryBizSC:
What are some of your hobbies?
 
George Benson:
I am a low-handicap golfer and a student of the game. I also enjoy music of all types and musical theater, particularly Broadway musicals.