On Monday evening, Midge Bennet walked down to HiRise to reveal secrets about the role of first lady at a higher-education institution, living in Middletown’s landmark house, and what retirement holds in store for her and President Doug Bennet. About 15 students attended the hour-long open conversation that ResLife scheduled as a follow-up to President Bennet’s campus-wide dorm visits last semester.

When ResLife mentioned to student staff members during August training that President Bennet was interested in visiting dorms, HiRise Residential Advisor (RA) Joe-John Sanchez ’07 extended the invitation.

“As soon as they said that [the president was coming], I said, ‘Can Midge come, too?’” Sanchez said.

Mrs. Bennet originally planned to accompany the president when he visited HiRise on Nov. 20, but she was unable to come due to a family obligation. Her attend visit this week is currently the only one that ResLife has scheduled. However, Bennet said that she would be happy to visit additional residences if students were interested.

“It’s almost even better with just her, to focus on Midge and [her views of] Doug Bennet beyond campus policy,” Sanchez said.

HiRise RA Emily Einhorn ’08 welcomed Mrs. Bennet and opened the discussion floor.

“We wanted this to be an informal discussion,” Einhorn said. “We wanted to learn about you during your last year at Wesleyan.”

Bennet graduated from the University of Georgia with a double major in English and Journalism. Her first professional experience was as a writer in advertising from which she moved on to volunteer in public television in Springfield, MA.

In 1978, Bennet transferred to Hartford’s public radio, joining its founding staff as Vice President. Bennet found herself with leadership in an industry dominated by white males but, as she recounted, with no shortage of initiative.

“You can’t be ignored for very long,” she said of being one of two women in large national meetings.

Bennet’s female counterpart at the meetings was a black leader in public radio.

“I don’t mind being the token, do you?” she recalled asking her co-worker.

In 1983, Mrs. Bennet joined the National Public Radio (NPR) presidential search committee that ultimately hired Doug Bennet. Several months later, she served under the station’s new president as vice president for representation. They collaborated for the next 10 years, until President Bennet began a two-year tenure in the Clinton administration’s Department of State.

The two co-workers began to date in November 1994. In 1995, Doug Bennet began his tenure as the University’s 15th president. In 1996, the two married and Bennet relocated from NPR in Washington, D.C. to Middletown. On campus, she found herself in a novel and challenging position.

“I remember asking myself that same question before I even got here,” Mrs. Bennet said when asked what her typical day at the University is.

During the Bennets’ first year on campus, Mrs. Bennet volunteered for so many projects that the Board of Trustees invited her to become a consultant.

“It’s a nice, round title,” she said. “It develops everywhere. We get to meet so many different kinds of people.”

Mrs. Bennet described the wide range of responsibilities that her position entails, from meeting parents and alumni to addressing new potential scholarships or a student’s death.

“It involves always knowing that somebody’s going to knock on the door,” she said. “You always remember these very high and very low points.”

Mrs. Bennet described her and the president’s campaigns at the University as an effort to invite Middletown into the campus and to improve town-gown relations.

To illustrate their efforts, Mrs. Bennet recounted the summer when she and the president first arrived on campus. They hired a construction crew to refurbish the decades-old, dilapidated president’s house on High St., a landmark that exhibits the craftsmanship of generations of Middletown construction workers. After the project was completed, the Bennets held a reception in their new home to thank the crew. Mrs. Bennet repeated what the construction workers said in response to the reception and how it launched her and the president’s involvement in the city.

“’In all the time we’ve been in Middletown, no one has ever been invited here before,’ they said,” Mrs. Bennet recalled. “We decided we were going to do what we could to change that.”

During the past 12 years, the Bennets have invested in local businesses and hotels, supported the development of Main St., and collaborated on such community-based efforts as the Green Street Arts Center. Mrs. Bennet also noted that her husband meets with Mayor of Middletown Sebastian Giuliano once or twice monthly, without an agenda, to discuss current local events and development ideas.

“A lot is going on behind the scenes that isn’t on the calendar every day, but that’s how you move things,” Bennet said. “One-on-one.”

As the president approaches the end of his tenure at the University, Bennet said that they are immersing themselves in campus events and anticipating a smooth transition from this administration to the next.

After May, the Bennets plan to spend time with their extended family. They have five children and eight grandchildren, expecting a ninth, between them. Midge Bennet’s youngest son, Richard Ramsey, and President Bennet’s youngest daughter, Holly ’94, are also married, having started dating shortly after they met at the Bennets’ wedding.

The Bennets also plan to re-enter the political sphere.

“All those things you put aside when you become president of a not-for-profit organization,” Mrs. Bennet said of political activism. “You really have to be non-partisan. I don’t care if I lick envelopes or whatever [after retiring]. I want to get back.”

Much like President Bennet’s visits in the fall, Mrs. Bennet’s audience on Monday appreciated the opportunity to interact with an administrator in an informal environment.

“It’s nice for her to come into our space and talk about things that we want to talk about,” said Petra Groeneveldt ’08.