A native of Weirton, West Virginia, Bill Bennett graduated from Kenyon with honors in economics, after which he earned an MBA at the University of Chicago, followed by a distinguished career in the banking and finance profession. Bill Bennett served Kenyon as a long-time trustee and, with his wife, Susan McPheron Bennett, served on the College's Parents Advisory Council as the parents of three daughters, Elizabeth (Beth) ’96, Katherine (Kate) ’00, and Melinda ’07. "I have to say I was shocked that any of them, let alone all three, wound up at Kenyon," says Bennett. "They were urban kids. But all of them thrived at Kenyon in different ways."
When Bill and Susan Bennett decided to establish the Bennett Family Scholarship, they did so in honor of their daughters, and to provide financial aid for Kenyon students from Chicago, Illinois. Bennett explained, "My daughters and I have had such fabulous experiences at Kenyon that we want to give other kids from Chicago an opportunity to get that some kind of education."