Linda Louise M. Bennett was named president of the University of Southern Indiana

University of Southern Indiana

The University of Southern Indiana is a public university in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. This publicly funded institution has been among the fastest growingcomprehensive state universities in Indiana. Record fall enrollment in 2010 reached 10,702...

 (USI) by its Board of Trustees effective 2009 July 1, incumbent president H. Ray Hoops retiring on 2009 June 30.

Bennett previously served at Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...

, Northern Kentucky University

Northern Kentucky University

|type = Public|president= Dr. James C. Votruba|city = Highland Heights|state = KY|country = U.S.|endowment = $68 million|students = 15,405|undergrad = 13,206|postgrad = 2,199|faculty = 1,159...

, and Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...

 and as USI's provost

Provost (education)

A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....

 and vice president for academic affairs. A professor of political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

, Bennett has a publication record which includes joint-authorship, with her husband Stephen Earl Bennett, of Living with Leviathan: Americans Coming to Terms with Big Government (2007). According to Michael Margolis,

No other book has ordered and analyzed a comparable set of data regarding attitudes toward the power of the federal government.

Linda Bennett received her baccalaureate and master's degrees and her Ph.D. in political science all from the University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

. The Bennetts reside in Evansville, Indiana

Evansville, Indiana

Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...

.