Prof. Benson received his B.A. in Zoology from the University of Vermont and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Chicago. He has been a leader in the areas of faculty development, learning enhancement, and curriculum assessment and reforms for more than 20 years.

He is a Carnegie Fellow for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (2001-2002) and the 2002 US-CASE-Carnegie Maryland Professor of the Year. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards including the 2011 American Society for Microbiology’s Carski Teaching Award, the University of Maryland Board of Regents Teaching Award, and the College of Life Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award.  Prof. Benson is the past chair of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Undergraduate Education Committee and past chair of the ASM’s International Education Committee.  He spent 2008-2009 as a Fulbright Scholar in Hong Kong working on GE [General Education] and Hong Kong’s 3-3-4 educational reform. He has directed Teaching and Learning Centers in the US and Macau, SAR China. In addition to Hong Kong and Macau, he has worked with universities throughout Asia; in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and S. Korea. He often works closely with the United Board for Christen Education in Asia (https://unitedboard.org/).

His expertise and research interests include faculty development, outcomes-based education (OBE), innovated pedagogies, teaching evaluation, STEM pedagogies for all students, assessment, accreditation, secondary science education, the use of technologies for learner-centered 21st-century education, future readiness and mentorship training for faculty, post-docs and graduate students. Prof. Benson has  organized local, national, and international meetings on STEM education, E-learning, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Whole Person Education, and faculty development.

He has published more than 50 articles on teaching and learning and has given talks and workshops on teaching and learning in more than a dozen countries around the world.  In addition to his teaching, administrative and leadership work in the US, Macau, and Hong Kong, he was taught both face-to-face and online courses at institutions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, and China.