UNC Greensboro today announced the appointment of a new member to its Board of Trustees. Margaret Benjamin, a UNCG alumna with significant civic, philanthropic, and community credentials, was appointed by the UNC System Board of Governors on Jan. 21 to finish the unexpired term of trustee Kathy Manning.
Manning’s resignation from the Board after almost four years of dedicated service followed her November 2020 election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Manning was appointed by the Board of Governors as of July 1, 2017, for a term ending June 30, 2021. Benjamin’s term begins Jan. 21, 2021, and will run through June 30; she will thereafter be eligible for appointment to a full four-year term.
A native of New Orleans, Benjamin is a 2001 graduate of UNCG with a master’s degree in liberal studies. She did her undergraduate work at Louisiana State University; while there, she met her husband William (Bill), who was a student at Tulane University Law School. Together they received the United Way of Greater Greensboro Legacy Award in 2018, presented to families who demonstrate a legacy of giving and community impact and who exemplify a shared dedication to United Way of Greater Greensboro’s mission, vision, and values through service and exceptional support of programs that transform lives in our community.
Benjamin currently serves on UNCG’s Campaign Steering Committee, the Board of Visitors, as well as both the Weatherspoon Arts Foundation Board of Directors and the Weatherspoon Art Museum Advisory Board.
An active member of the community outside of UNCG, Benjamin is the current Chair of the Public Art Endowment of Greensboro Steering Committee. She sits on the Greensboro Public Library Foundation Board of Directors, the Cone Health Cancer Center Advisory Committee, the Louisiana State University Museum of Art Advisory Board, and the Museum Trustee Association Board of Directors. She is former president of the Greensboro History Museum, Inc. Board of Trustees and has served on the Greensboro College Board of Visitors, Greensboro Cerebral Palsy Association Board of Directors, Greensboro Downtown Parks Board of Directors, and Children’s Home Society of NC Board of Trustees.
At a Congressional awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., Benjamin received the 2017 Champion of Museums award from the American Alliance of Museums for her exemplary advocacy for museums and was recognized as a 2018 AAM Star Advocate.
Said UNCG Board of Trustees Chair, Betsy Oakley, “We thank Congresswoman Kathy Manning for her invaluable service, dedication, and contributions to UNC Greensboro and to our Board. We congratulate her and will miss her but are thrilled that Margaret Benjamin has been appointed to finish Kathy’s term. Margaret has provided exceptional leadership and direction to the University, particularly with the Weatherspoon Art Museum. Her expertise in the arts and engagement in that area will be invaluable as we develop our Millennial Campus Arts District, and her broad network of connections and standing in the community will serve UNCG well. She will be a tremendous asset to our board, and we welcome her and look forward to working together to advance the mission, vision, and values of UNCG.”
