Earl Bennett, PhD, retired University of Idaho
Earl Bennett earned a B.A. in Geology from the University of Delaware in 1968, an M.S. in Geology from North Carolina State University at Raleigh, North Carolina in1970, and a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Idaho in 1973. Earl began working with the Idaho Geological Survey at the University of Idaho in 1973. He became the Associate Director in 1986 and State Geologist in 1989. In 1997, he was appointed Dean of the College of Mines and Earth Resources at UI and the first Dean of the new College of Science established in July 2002. Earl retired from the university and the State Survey in 2003. As part of his survey/university duties, Earl has tracked mining activity in Idaho for the past 30 years. He is considered an expert on the history of the Coeur d’Alene Mining District in north Idaho. Although retired, Earl currently serves as the Latah County representative for the North Idaho Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, on the board of the Latah County Historical Society and a member of the Nez Perce County Historical Society. He was appointed as the District 2 representative for the Idaho State Historical Society in 2006. He continues to give lectures on the geology and mining history of Idaho and is an industrial consultant on mining history. In December, 2003, he was honored as a “life member” of the Northwest Mining Association.