George S. Benson

George Stuart Benson (September 26, 1898—December 15, 1991) was an American missionary, college administrator, and conservative political activist. After fleeing communist uprisings in China as a missionary, Benson became an anticommunist and conservative activist, taking stances against the New Deal, and later, racial integration. Benson served for many years as the president of Harding College, and oversaw a large propaganda network through his National Education Program, which sponsored short cartoons, "Freedom Forums" (gatherings of business people to promote the American way), and lecture tours for Benson.

Early life and education Benson grew up on a Dewey County, Oklahoma homestead. His parents, Stuart and Emma, were devout Christians, never missing the meetings in the Taloga schoolhouse church held by the various itinerant preachers who passed through. They instilled early the values of hard work and self-reliance, so that by age eight he worked full days on the farm. George completed eight grades in nearby Bonto and a year of high school each in Seiling and in Claremore, where his janitor job paid the rent for the shack he lived in. and Oklahoma Christian University, 1968.

Missionary career Benson started his career as a missionary to China for eleven years, 1925 to 1936. After only six months in Kwei Hsien, Communist propagandists arrived and "insisted that these intruders should be either killed or driven out". The Bensons had difficulty finding a boat to take them to Hong Kong because of threats against those who carried foreigners. While passing through 30 years later, Benson "found the church at Baguio still continuing faithful to the Lord". Together with a growing team, they opened the Canton English Finishing School opened in February 1933, which grew to over 100 students by year-end.

Towards the end of his career, Benson wrote "Missionary Experiences". He discusses preparation and attitude for effectively sharing the gospel, drawing on his and others' experiences in China, the Philippines, Korea, and Zambia as well as his "preparatory years" growing up in Oklahoma and in college.

In 1940, Benson announced the next major goal would be accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). This would aid Harding students seeking admission to graduate schools. From 1941-1948 he "significantly strengthened faculty qualifications, increased the institution's financial resources and endowments, and undertook a costly building program." He hired retired NCA Review Board members to evaluate the school and make recommendations. The 1953 NCA reviewers recognized "a top quality faculty", fully satisfactory physical plant, "one of the most stable financial situations among small colleges", and high quality graduates. However, there was strong opposition to Benson's work with the National Education Program on the NCA Review Board. The NCA rejected Harding's applications four times from 1948 to 1953. Continuing to engage with knowledgeable contacts, Benson learned that he could win over most of the Review Board by separating the NEP from the college. This was done in early 1954 and that March the NCA granted accreditation.

Another primary goal for Benson was increasing faculty salaries and "to retain this dedicated faculty, with its deep spiritual commitment to cultivating genuinely Christian character in students." One of the first things he did upon assuming the presidency was to establish a firm salary schedule that would be paid each month rather than paying "whatever the school could afford".

In 1937, Harding began holding "Distinguished Speaker" lectures on campus with speakers such as James L. Kraft and Charles F. Kettering. In 1943, Benson started and directed Camp Tahkodah, purchasing it himself after the board refused his suggestion that the college buy it. In 1958, the Harding Graduate School of Bible and Religion began operating on the King Estate in Memphis that had been purchased. Benson's proposal two years earlier to establish it on the Searcy campus had been rejected by a faculty vote over concerns it would lead to faculty members in other disciplines no longer being allowed to also teach Bible classes.

During Benson's 29-year presidency, Harding grew from 324 to 1228 students and 15 buildings were erected, increasing the campus value from $600,000 to $25 million. Following his 1965 retirement, he continued to assist in the development of several other Church of Christ-related institutions, including Oklahoma Christian University, Lubbock Christian College, Alabama Christian College (Now Faulkner University), and George Pepperdine College.

Desegregation Benson resisted a 1957 effort by students and faculty to desegregate Harding, While Benson's interest in global humanitarianism and worldwide evangelism indicate that he did not harbor stringent racial animosities, his positions were used by followers who believed that their faith in God and scripture mandated segregation in order to fulfill God's will. The following day, students posted an ironic "whites only" sign in the lily pool, a decorative pond that serves as the central gathering place on the Searcy campus.

Harding's graduate school in Memphis admitted four black students in 1962.

Integration proceeded slowly at Harding, with blacks comprising less than 2% of the student body in 1970, and challenges in areas like roommate assignments, dating and athletics continued beyond Benson's presidency.

Impact of 1964 civil rights legislation In 2012, Mike D. Brown wrote that Harding's 1963 decision to begin admitting black students was motivated by expectation that the coming Civil Rights Act would require "Harding to desegregate to continue receiving federal funds".

Oklahoma Christian College (1956–67) In early 1955, Central Christian College president Baird met with Benson and expressed that the school's situation in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was hopeless. He asked for Benson's help with moving the school to Tulsa or Oklahoma City. After a year of Benson "leading and guiding the moving program", the board named him chancellor so he could represent the college on a more authoritative basis, and asked Harding to release Benson for approximately a third of his time. Benson primarily focused on fund raising, delegating day-to-day operations to President Baird. When the college sought accreditation, the North Central Examining Committee's December 1965 report was critical of the college's dual leadership, so Benson made plans to retire. Benson connected the college with major donors such as the Gaylords and Davissons.

To avoid confusion with the nearby Central State College following the move to Oklahoma City, Benson recommended changing the name to Oklahoma Christian College.

Zambia Christian Schools (1964–84) In 1964, the newly independent Zambian government offered land to Church of Christ missionary J. D. Merritt if he would build a secondary school on it. Merritt asked Benson to help raise funds for that purpose. Namwianga Christian Secondary School opened in 1966 and Kabanga Christian Secondary School several years later. In 1989, George Benson Christian College opened as a teacher training college on the Namwianga Mission site.

Benson served as Chairman of the Board of Zambian Christian Schools until 1984. He was "heavily involved" because "he wanted a multitude of Zambians to receive an education where they would get to know Christ as their personal savior."

Alabama Christian College (1975–83) Benson was appointed as chancellor of Alabama Christian College in 1975. He served as interim president and chief executive in 1981. During his years as chancellor, debt was reduced from $3.5 million to $1 million and college operations were strengthened.

National Education Program At both Harper College and Oklahoma A&M, Benson displayed an interest in the mistakes that had felled great civilizations of past, taking as his debate theme "The Seventh Nation", in which America was compared with Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, Syria, Greece and Rome. Abroad, Benson observed much lower standards of living despite comparable natural resources. He concluded key differences were the stability of America's constitutional government along with innovation from its private enterprise economic system. Benson believed that only when the government is stable will individuals venture the capital that creates jobs. He also saw America's economic success as dependent on personal integrity, with that being grounded in faith in God. Benson viewed the federal government's role as "umpire" rather than "guarantor of security" that would take individual freedom to deliver that security.

As he embarked for China, Benson thought of Americans as "alert, ambitious, and hopeful", "self-reliant and "independent". Upon returning in 1936, however, he saw a "paralyzing change. Millions were on relief and their children were growing up without knowledge of any other way of life". The National Education Association had recently announced educational plans to "support President Roosevelt in taking [basic industries and utilities] over and operating them at full capacity as a unified national system". America seemed to be trending towards "the public tendency to live off the national pay roll" that had brought down the Greek and Roman democracies. Benson "promised himself that he'd do something in his small way".

The National Education Program (NEP) was set up as Harding's Department of National Education in 1941 and formally separated from the college in 1954.

In 1949, the NEP conducted its first Freedom Forum to help reach Americans with "the facts about our economic system, our constitutional government, and our spiritual heritage". Forums were a mixture of lecture and workshop and organized around a theme, such as "Collectivism – History's Greatest Failure". Enrollment at the first forum was limited to 160, intended for "thought leaders" who could then educate their organization, often businesses.

As the NEP grew in influence, it attracted increasing criticism. Its 1960 video "Communism on the Map" was attacked as "mingling fact and falsehood" and "misleading propaganda". Benson was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1972 and to the Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame in 1976. Benson was the Arkansas Democrat "Outstanding Arkansan" of the year in 1954, and received a Freedoms Foundation George Washington Medal from General Eisenhower in 1949.

Buildings are named in his honor at Harding University, Freed Hardeman University, and Faulkner University. There was formerly a building named for Benson at Oklahoma Christian University, where a student-led civil rights event in 1969 ultimately led to 18 students being arrested and expelled. In 2020, Oklahoma Christian removed Benson's name from the building because of his segregationist views.

Personal life He married Sally Ellis Hockaday in 1925, and within a week they left for China.