The museum is notable as the oldest natural history institution in the state and the largest in the Southeastern United States.
RALEIGH, NC, September 04, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dr. Betsy Bennett has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Bennett enjoyed a fulfilling career in science, politics and education that spanned for over three decades, culminating in her role as the director and chief executive officer of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Located in Raleigh, the museum is notable as the oldest natural history institution in the state and the largest in the Southeastern United States.
First appointed to the position of director in 1990, Dr. Bennett arrived during a period of uncertainty and low enthusiasm. However, she worked tirelessly throughout her tenure to hire the best architects and exhibition designers in the field to revitalize the museum. By the time she retired in 2012, Dr. Bennett's stewardship of the museum had yielded the largest expansion for an institution of its kind in the Southeast region of the United States, attracting an average of 900,000 visitors every year and featuring as a premier destination for student field trips.
Prior to her endeavors at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Dr. Bennett began her career as a school teacher in North Carolina, Virginia and Alabama. Following this period, she joined the staff at the Discovery Place, a science museum in Charlotte, where she worked as an educator and grant writer. Utilizing a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, she penned a theater act on the life of Marie Curie, a two-time Nobel Prize winner in the areas of physics and chemistry. Eventually assisting the director with special projects and long-term planning, she eventually departed to work as a consultant for the Triangle Children's Museum.
Outside of her work in museum administration, Dr. Bennett also distinguished herself in politics and education as an elected member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board from 1978 to 1985. Following the turmoil that came in the wake of school system integration, Dr. Bennett and another parent formed the Citizens' Advisory Group, which drew up a pupil assignment plan that was meant to alleviate the tensions that arose from busing. The effort was successful, which led Dr. Bennett to stand for and win a subsequent school board election.
To remain active in her field, Dr. Bennett earned further distinction as a past president of the Association of Science Museum Directors. She is also a former board member and accreditation commissioner of the American Association of Museums and a past board member of the Natural Science Collections Alliance.
Since her retirement from the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Dr. Bennett served as a strategic counsel at Capital Development Services, an organization that seeks to improve nonprofit operations through philanthropy and executive leadership recruitment. She would ultimately retire from this position in 2022. Other civic affiliations to her credit include her board memberships with the Kidzu Children's Museum, the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the Triangle Land Conservancy, the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park, and the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science.
Dr. Bennett first studied physics and mathematics at Hollins University, from which she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1965. Following this accomplishment, she went on to attend the University of Virginia, where she received a Master of Science in education in 1972 and a Doctor of Education in physical sciences in 1990. Over the course of her career, she also benefited richly from the tutelage of various mentors, including Freda Nicholson, the first director of the Discovery Place.
Among her most cherished achievements, Dr. Bennett is particularly proud to have received several accolades, including the North Carolina Governor's Award for Public Service in 2013. She was also recognized as Tar Heel of the Year by The News & Observer in 2011. During her tenure at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, she was also gratified to lead the construction of the new North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in 2000 and a new wing, the Nature Research Center, in 2012. Looking toward the future, Dr. Bennett hopes to continue supporting the organizations she cares so deeply about, as well as help in efforts to build and establish the North Carolina Children's Museum.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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