Poetry Foundation Names Henry S. Bienen President
CHICAGO – The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Henry S. Bienen, president emeritus of Northwestern University, to the position of Poetry Foundation president. Bienen has served as interim president of the Foundation since July.
“After four months of working with the Foundation’s dedicated staff and reconnecting myself to the world of poetry,” said Bienen, “I came to realize that I very much wanted to be a part of the future of this organization. I started out in undergraduate school at Cornell University thinking poetry might be a vocation of sorts for me. Little did I know that I would one day take a leadership role in furthering the mission to create a more vigorous presence for poetry in the culture. I am thrilled to have this opportunity, and I thank the board for offering me this exciting position.”
Bienen led Northwestern University from 1995 through 2009 and currently serves as president emeritus. He was the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University prior to his appointment at Northwestern.
A political scientist with interests in political and economic development, comparative politics, civil-military relations, and U.S. foreign policy, Bienen began his association with Princeton University in 1966 as an assistant professor. He was named associate professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton in 1969 and professor of politics and international affairs in 1972. He was appointed the William Stewart Tod Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton in 1981 and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in 1985.
Bienen is one of the first three university presidents awarded the Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award for innovative leadership in higher education. The honor carries a $500,000 award for the institution and recognizes leaders of institutions of higher education who have demonstrated an abiding commitment to liberal arts and have initiated and supported curricular innovations, including development of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programs that aim to bridge the gulf between the theoretical and the practical. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Until June 2011, Bienen was a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, serving on the executive committee and chairing the nominating and governance committees. He is a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and serves on its executive committee. Bienen is a former member of the board of the Chicago Public Schools. He was a member of the Argonne National Laboratory Board of Governors, serving on the board's executive, nominating, and audit committees.
Northwestern University awarded Bienen an honorary doctorate in humane letters in June 2009. He received a University of Chicago Professional Achievement Alumni Award in 2000 and the 2008 Niagara Peace & Dialogue Award from the Niagara Foundation.
Bienen earned a bachelor's degree with honors from Cornell University in 1960 and a master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1961. He earned a doctorate from Chicago in 1966. In 2008, the Northwestern Board of Trustees honored him and his wife, Leigh, a senior lecturer at Northwestern University School of Law, by naming the University's School of Music the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music. The Bienens have three daughters, five grandsons, and one granddaughter.
“In the midst of conducting a thorough and open search for president that yielded many excellent prospects, the board saw that Henry’s enthusiasm, experience, and deep connections in Chicago and beyond made him a clear choice for this position,” said Dick Kiphart, board chair. “We are confident that his leadership will be instrumental in strengthening the stature of the Foundation in the years to come.”
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About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit poetryfoundation.org.
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