WVU’s new president is a modern-day Renaissance Man well versed in history, music, writing, religion, education, and even yoga.
When the search committee for West Virginia University’s 27th president was working its way through a tall stack of résumés in early 2025, one in particular commanded attention. It was long — very long — and pulsed with ambition. The candidate held degrees from BYU, Oxford, Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins. He had written two books, penned articles for a dozen newspapers and magazines and had run the Boston Marathon as a teenager. At 59, he had already served as president of four other U.S. colleges where he achieved significant success. His name was Dr. Michael T. Benson.
If you’re curious how one person could possess such unmistakable drive, the answer lies in his DNA. Benson’s great-grandfather, George Taft Benson, was one of the first settlers of the Utah Territory, and his grandfather, Ezra Taft Benson, was president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
By this point, the pattern was becoming clear. As the search committee continued to digest Benson’s robust portfolio of achievements, the decision of whom to hire to lead the state’s land-grant university grew progressively easier. He was offered the job on Feb. 20, 2025, and began work on July 15, 2025.
Benson has the unenviable task of following former President Gordon Gee, the popular, affable and charismatic leader whose 11-year tenure saw unprecedented growth and progress both in Morgantown and across many parts of the state. But, as members of the WVU Board of Governors will tell you, if anyone can rise to the challenge, it’s Michael Benson.
Benson was born in Utah, but by the time he was 6 months old, the family moved to Dallas. That would begin an odyssey of moves across several states, including Texas, Utah and Indiana. His father, a graduate of Stanford, wanted to be a high school principal but learned quickly the job could not support his wife and six children, who included older siblings Steve, Stephanie, Stacy, Mary and Meg. As a result, he began selling cookware door to door, eventually starting his own company, and served in various volunteer posts in the Mormon church.
“I went to five different elementary schools in the span of six years,” said Benson. “I think that led to a certain acuity to make friends, which would serve me well in life. It also brought me closer to my brother and sisters.”
To help make ends meet, his mother gave piano lessons and taught all her children how to play.
“Music was a big part of our lives,” he explained. “We didn’t have extravagances, and if we had any disposable income, my mother would insist that it be spent on music. Growing up, there was a very high level of expectation from my parents. They emphasized four things: faith, family, education and music. Steve played the tuba and Stephanie was a pianist. Stacy is a violist, Meg is a cellist and Mary is a flutist. It’s really fun when our family gets together.”
He would finish high school in Salt Lake City, where he graduated from East High, made famous by the High School Musical movies that were filmed there.
Athletics, too, would shape his drive and discipline. A gifted long-distance runner, Benson was offered an athletic scholarship to the University of Utah to the run the half-mile, but bowing to pressure from his family, he enrolled at Brigham Young University, where all his siblings had studied. In keeping with his faith, he left school following his freshman year to complete two years of missionary service in Italy.
“That experience opened my eyes to a different culture, a different language, a different way of doing things,” he recalled. “It really introduced me to the fact that Americans don’t have all the answers.”
Benson’s mission experience instilled in him a desire to see more of the world. As a junior, he spent six months in Israel in a study abroad program. He graduated cum laude from BYU in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and initially intended to enroll in law school. Instead, he reconsidered and chose to pursue a graduate degree in modern history. When he told his father of his plans, he recalled there was a long pause.
“Finally, my dad asked, ‘What are you going to do with that?’ And even though he was puzzled by my choice, he still supported me. To both my parents’ credit, they believed in their children and made sacrifices for us to further our educations.”
Benson was accepted to the University of Oxford as a Rotary Foundation Scholar and spent the next three years there, earning his doctorate in 1995.
“That was such a cosmopolitan place, and it further changed my worldview,” he said. “I met students from England, China, France, Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Israel. It was an unforgettable experience.”
With his formal education complete, his professional chapter began. Benson decided to pursue a career in higher education, and it flourished quickly. In 2001, at the age of 36, he was named president of Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. That was followed by presidencies at Southern Utah University in 2006, Eastern Kentucky University in 2013 and Coastal Carolina University in 2020.
Along the way, Benson opted to pursue two other degrees in his spare time. The first was a master’s degree in nonprofit administration from the University of Notre Dame in 2011. The second was a master’s degree in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University in 2021.
“I joke that I’ve gone to Brigham Young, Notre Dame and spent a summer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I’m trying to cover all my bases,” Benson said with a laugh.
At Coastal Carolina University, he oversaw the largest enrollment (11,225 students) in the history of the university, as well as a record retention rate despite a nationwide enrollment cliff. During his tenure there, he also secured a $10 million gift, the largest in school history.
All that experience ultimately led him to Morgantown. WVU announced his hiring on Feb. 24, 2025. Key stakeholders at the university praised the decision.
“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Dr. Michael T. Benson to the Mountaineer family,” said Dr. Patrice Harris, chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “We have found a leader who exemplifies the right values and qualifications to serve at the helm of West Virginia’s flagship university.”
“I’ve known Michael for 40 years and followed his career,” noted Gee. “I think he will be a great president because he has both energy and humility. He’s very attuned to the Appalachian culture. You know, fit is everything, and I think he’s just a great fit.”
Benson announced that in his first year as president he planned to visit all 55 counties in the state. To date, he has already visited 35.
“As a historian, I am fascinated by West Virginia,” he said. “You can’t help but be moved by the courage of those who rejected the direction Virginia was taking during the Civil War and chose to secede. West Virginians by nature are gritty, humble and hardworking. They’ve been doubted in the past, but when given the chance, they like to prove people wrong.”
Last fall, he unveiled his long-term goals, two of which he admitted were very ambitious.
“First, I want our enrollment to be on a stable plane. Where can we recruit more high school students? I would argue it’s Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. Second, I want to see WVU earn membership into the Association of American Universities. I believe we belong in the group of 71 universities that are on the leading edge of innovation, scholarship, scientific progress and economic development. There is a certain renown that comes with an AAU affiliation — we would be the only university across West Virginia, Kentucky or South Carolina with that distinction.”
Yet the challenges awaiting him are real and immediate. Benson acknowledges there are numerous hurdles to clear in higher education today, including declining enrollment and cuts in funding at both the state and federal levels.
“Colleges and universities are not getting the support they once did, and part of it is their own fault,” he said. “We need to make a more compelling case to students about the value of an education. Beyond what they learn in the classroom, it teaches students time management, money management, getting along with others, setting goals, working hard and dealing with disappointment. And it increases their earning potential. I don’t think Americans appreciate the college experience like they once did, and that’s a shame.”
Beyond enrollment and academics, another reality looms. Benson is well aware that the role of a university president today includes making up for budget shortfalls through private fundraising. As the face of the university, Benson must call on donors personally.
“That’s fine with me because I like dealing with people — and, more importantly, it’s an easy sell,” he explained. “There’s nothing I believe in more than education.”
At the heart of his journey is something deeply personal. Benson said the lessons taught to him by his parents about the importance of faith, family, education and music still guide everything he does today.
“Both my parents have passed, and every day I think of them and try to make them proud. It’s not always easy. We recently lost two of our family members. My brother Steve, who won a Pulitzer Prize as a cartoonist at The Arizona Republic, died last summer of a stroke. My sister Stephanie, who was the mother of eight and a remarkable musician, was killed in a car accident two and a half years ago.”
Benson and his wife, Debi, are the parents of three children — Truman, Tatum and Talmage. He also has two older children from a previous marriage — Emma is a reporter for KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Samuel writes for Politico in Washington, D.C.
Still, Benson is not defined solely by his work. In his spare time, he is a regular at Orangetheory Fitness. He plays the piano, is an avid reader and, if time permits, enjoys playing golf with his sons or practicing yoga with his daughter.
And while his career has been defined by ambition and achievement, Benson said his ultimate goal as president is far simpler — to earn the respect of the students, faculty, staff and people of West Virginia.
“I hope one day people will look back and say, ‘Mike was not from here, but he fell in love with West Virginia. He made a difference and left it a better place than when he found it.’”
Jack Houvouras is the president of HQ Publishing Co. in Huntington, West Virginia. He was inducted into the Marshall University School of Journalism Hall of Fame in 2021 and the Greater Huntington Wall of Fame in 2025.