In Utah, the name Bennion is synonymous with education. Bennions have served as school superintendents, college presidents and classroom educators. The name also is synonymous with service.

Steven D. Bennion, president of Southern Utah University, is the perfect marriage of both of those virtues. Earlier this week, the veteran educator and higher education leader announced he will retire in June to lead the New York City South Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bennion, 64, expressed "gratitude for the privilege of serving and working with terrific people who are committed to a cause, who dedicate their lives and their careers to making a difference in the lives of young people."

The same could be said of Bennion, who has been a college president for 24 years, nine of those at SUU. He also was president at Snow College and Ricks College, now Brigham Young University-Idaho. He also worked as an associate commissioner in the Utah System of Education and a budget and academic planner for the University of Wisconsin System of Higher Education, where he earned his doctorate in higher education administration. Bennion earned his undergraduate degree in political science at the U. and a master's degree in public administration from Cornell University.

During his inauguration as SUU president in 1997, Bennion noted that his father, Lowell L. Bennion, the father of service-learning at the University of Utah, was his most influential teacher. Lowell Bennion made similar observations of his father and mentor, Milton Bennion, the first president of the institution that would become SUU. In fact, Steven Bennion and his grandfather served as presidents of the Cedar City institution a century apart.

Friends, colleagues and students say Bennion's intellect, integrity and personable manner will be missed. Part of his legacy will be his emphasis on the school's founding mission, that of a teaching university. Construction on a new College Education building is scheduled to begin in May. SUU has also started two new colleges during Bennion's term — the College of Performing and Visual Arts, and the College of Computing, Engineering and Technology. Two new degree programs have been added.

Bennion's term at SUU has included some tough economic conditions. In recent years, state funding of colleges and universities has lagged behind higher enrollments and inflation. Thus, students have been saddled with an increasing share of higher education costs at state institutions. In 2003, SUU imposed an unprecedented 23 percent increase. Bennion told the Deseret Morning News that he hopes the upswing in Utah's economy will result in better state funding for state colleges and universities.

While some college president's legacies are measured by endowment funds, enrollment and new construction, Bennion likely will be remembered for his immense grace, whether working through an issue during a tense Board of Regents meeting or resolving an on-campus dispute. Unlike some college presidents who spend their careers tucked away in administration buildings, Bennion's style has been to mingle among students, dole out high fives and offer other encouragement. In that respect, his human touch may be his greatest legacy of all.