CCU President Michael T. Benson to serve in leadership roles in the Sun Belt Conference and Omicron Delta Kappa

Coastal Carolina University President Michael T. Benson, D.Phil., will serve in leadership roles in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) and Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK).

The SBC presidents and chancellors recently elected him to serve a two-year term as treasurer of the conference’s executive committee. This marks the first time since CCU joined the SBC in 2016 that the University will have a representative on the executive committee. Benson also will have successive opportunities to serve as vice president and president of the conference in the coming years.

“I’m delighted and honored to have the support of Commissioner [Keith] Gill and my colleagues and look forward to helping push the Sun Belt forward as the absolute best conference among the Group of Five leagues,” said Benson.

Benson served as one of four members of the SBC’s membership committee in 2022 when the league added four new institutions: James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss. These universities helped expand the footprint of the Sun Belt through contiguous states from Texas to West Virginia.

Founded in 1976, the SBC now features 14 member institutions across 10 contiguous states: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, and Troy. The conference supports more than 6,700 student-athletes in sponsoring 20 NCAA sports. The SBC has established itself as a leader among intercollegiate athletics leagues since its move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2001.

On July 1, Benson will begin his term as board chair of ODK, the nation’s largest leadership society. During the 2023-24 academic year, he served as board chair-elect and chair of the governance and trusteeship committee.

ODK recognizes superior leadership and exemplary character and encourages collaboration among members across the five pillars of leadership: academics and research, athletics, service to campus and community, communications, and creative and performing arts. Founded in 1914 at Washington and Lee University, ODK champions its leadership values of collaboration, inclusivity, integrity, scholarship, and service. ODK has more than 300 circles of record at colleges and universities across the United States.

“Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society, is thrilled to welcome President Michael Benson as the new chair of the board of trustees,” said Jennifer L. Waller., Ph.D., ODK’s president and CEO. “His exemplary leadership and commitment to academic excellence make him an outstanding choice to lead our organization as we meet the challenge of providing exceptional leadership development for students and members.”

Benson became the third president of CCU on Jan. 1, 2021. He also holds the title of professor of history at the University, where he has taught a graduate seminar on World War I and an upper-level course: History of the American University.

His scholarly work has focused on the development of the research university and its impact on society. Benson’s latest book, Daniel Coit Gilman and the Birth of the American Research University, was released by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Press in October 2022. He also is the author of Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel and the coauthor of College for the Commonwealth: A Case for Higher Education in American Democracy.

Benson previously served as president of Eastern Kentucky University, Southern Utah University, and Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.