Program Overview

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The Henry G. Bennett Global Fellows Award, housed in the School of Global Studies at Oklahoma State University, honors distinguished leaders, both international and local, who have provided leadership in addressing complex global issues, and honorees include many who have served at the highest level of their governments. Bennett Fellows are selected from a wide range of fields and disciplines, including academe, business, government, and non-profit sectors, who have distinguished careers through commitment to international engagement. Many of the honorees have ties to Oklahoma State University, but the program is not limited to OSU alumni, faculty, or staff. 

 

History

The Henry G. Bennett Global Fellows Award is named for Henry G. Bennett, former president of Oklahoma State University, who made outstanding contributions to OSU, US higher education, and to nations around the world.  Dr. Bennett served as President of Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, from 1928 until 1950, when he assumed the leadership of the Point IV Program. In his inaugural address in 1949, U.S. President Harry S. Truman outlined a program for peace and freedom “to embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of the underdeveloped areas.”  This idea was incorporated into what became known as the Point Four Program, which provided developing nations with technical assistance in education, public health, industry, and agriculture. The Point Four Program was the first US plan designed to improve social, economic and political conditions in underdeveloped nations. It marked the promotion of international development policy to the center of the U.S. foreign policy framework, and was the foundation for what later became known as the Agency for International Development.
 
The Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Fellows program began in 2001 to recognize global leaders who had made a significant contribution to addressing complex international issues. In 2022, it was changed to the Henry G. Bennett Global Fellows Award to better articulate the purpose of the award and to highlight those individuals with close ties to Oklahoma or Oklahoma State University who have made significant contributions to addressing international issues.

 

Criterion

• Bennett Global Fellows will include individuals who have achieved recognition for addressing issues in a complex global environment. They will be selected from a wide range of fields and disciplines including academe, business, government, the media, the military and the non-profit sector.

• Nominations for the Henry G. Bennett Global Fellows Award are ordinarily individuals who have a personal connection to Oklahoma State University or the Oklahoma A&M System institutions, or the state of Oklahoma. In rare circumstances, individuals who do not have an OSU or Oklahoma connection might be recognized as Bennett Global Fellows, but these should be the exception.

• Nominations for the Henry G. Bennett Global Fellows Award may be sent to the Dean of the School of Global Studies at Oklahoma State University. 

   

Honorees of the Henry G. Bennett Global Fellows Award will be invited to a public presentation of the award at Oklahoma State University where they will receive a medallion and certificate of their recognition. 

 

Previous Bennett Fellow Recipients

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• 2001

  Dr. Lawrence Boger

  • • Former President of OSU
• 2004

  Richard Boger

  Dr. B. Dell Felder

  Dr. Clifton Wharton, Jr

• 2005

  Dr. Duck Woo-Nam

  • • Former Fiance Minster and Prime Minister of South Korea
    • OSU Alum
• 2006

  Gen. Colin Powell

  Hon. Wes Watkins

  Harriet Fulbright

  Ana Salazar

• 2007

  Hon. Benjamin Gilman

  Conrad Evans

  Joy Evans

  Col. R. Alan King

  Paul Bass

  Dr. Robert Sandmeyer

  Judge Thomas Bennett

• 2008

  Hon. Vicente Fox

  • • Former President of Mexico

  Dr. M. Peter McPherson

  Charles Eitel

  Dr. B. Curtis Hamm

• 2009

  M. Steve Forbes

  Dr. Adnan Badran

  Dr. James Halligan

  Michael Hyatt

  Dr. Paul Liao

• 2010

  Dr. Condoloeezza Rice

  Dr. Gebisa Ejeta

  Hon. Rodger Randle

  Dr. Richard Poole

  Don & Cathey Humphrey

• 2011

  Jack Welch

  Tony Blair

  Dr. Alfredo Miranda

• 2012
  Robert Gates
• 2022

  Charles F. "Chic" Dambach

  Rosan Roeslani 

  • Indonesian Ambassador to the United States