July 27, 2025 • 19 mins
Dr. Michael Benson is the Executive Director of the Richland Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield. He is heading into his 3rd year in the role for the organization, which started in 1991. Benson shares about all of the wonderful programs they offer at the Richland Academy of Arts, which draws students from multiple counties in the area. The Academy is currently underway with a capital campaign to raise funds for a big renovation of their buildings. Michael, who is married, was born in Arkansas and has worked in several states before coming to Ohio in 1997. Learn more Dr. Michael Benson and about the Richland Academy of the Arts.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
CEOs you should know here from local leaders in the community,
made possible by Witcom and hess CPAs and Financial Advisors.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Our featured CEO this week is doctor Michael Benson, executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield.
Good morning, it is great to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
I'm well erin. Thank you for asking, and good morning
to you. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey, you're very welcome. I know you and I caught
up a couple months back. We were talking about your campaign.
You guys announced about a year ago all kind of
improvements or renovations to your buildings downtown.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
We'll get to that in just a moment.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
But the reason why I love this program and we've
been hearing, you know, so many new people moving into
north central Ohio and maybe for the very first time,
they're just hearing about the Richland Academy of the Arts.
I mentioned you're in downtown Mansfield. You guys have a
great tradition. But let's get a little bit of kind
of what you guys offer. If somebody's just new to
the area and they're hearing about you for the first time,
(00:59):
tell us about the Academy of the arts.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, that's such an important opportunity. Thank you, Erin, and
I would encourage people to look at the website Richland
Academy dot com if you have any questions. But we
offer arts education experiences for all ages, and we provide
mommy and me classes or music classes music together for
parents and newborns. We also have sixty plus program that
(01:23):
is very active from area agency on aging funding. But
in essence, we have dance, we have music, we have theater,
visual arts, martial arts. We've periodically had camps, summer camps
that have to do with film, and I have great
hope that in the future we'll have new and exciting
programs to be introduced to the community shortly.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
All right, now, as you say martial arts, is that
relatively new martial arts or no, has that been for
a while.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
From what I understand, Jason Farnsworth, who's the instructor, has
been doing our kimpo classes for many years and he's
known in the community for his kimpo instruction. And I'm
always excited. I see again all ages involved in the
chempo classes.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
All right, terrific again, Doctor Michael Benson the voice you
hear he is our featured CEO this week. He's executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts. I say
downtown Mansfield. Tell people who have never been there before.
I know there's been construction with everything going on downtown,
which is going to look great when it's finished.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
But where are you, guys located at in Mansfield?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So we're directly across from the carousel, and I always
use that as a reference point. A block from the
public parking space. But we're at Fourth and Walnut, So
we're right on the corner of Fourth and Walnut, and
it's a large space. It's a forty seven thousand square
foot building, and you'll see us if you're right there
at the corner, or if you ever visit the carousel.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Now, how about a little history. I mentioned you guys
have been around for quite a while. Talk about you know, founded,
and just a little bit of the background behind that.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Thank you for that opportunity. I always want to take
the opportunity to thank missus Marianne Cooper. She was the
founding director and her dream or her vision for our
community is something to be applauded. And the Academy began
in nineteen ninety one, she had a wonderful and supportive board,
and she dreamed of how this might impact our community.
(03:13):
And so to not talk about that, I think would
be a mistake. And I just have the greatest respect
for her for the work that she did for so
many years, from nineteen ninety one to when I was
fortunate to take over as executive director in July twenty two.
So we've been downtown for the entire life of the
Academy and while some buildings have been added, So it
(03:35):
started in the Majestic Theater, but then two furniture stores
were also added into the facility, and then it's been
renovated once in two thousand and four. But now we're
in a formal capital campaign to renovate the entire.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Space better than thirty years saying we're going to learn
a little bit more about that campaign, Doctor Michael Benson
and studio Executive Director Richland Academy of the Arts, Downtown Mansfield.
This week's featured CEO. You should you know, let's learn
you and I I remember when you guys launched this
campaign about a year ago in August of twenty twenty four.
(04:08):
Things have gone well in terms of raising dollars kind
of give us, if you would, some of the plans
you guys have. If people don't know about your all
the renovations, modernization, all of that, share with us about
the campaign.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Of course, I'd be happy to. So when I was
first hired, there was a strategic plan that was placed
before me by the succession Committee or the board, and
a part of that had to do with facilities, but
not a capital campaign conversation, but simply for having the
correct number of staff, the correct number of programs. You know,
what are some needs that as the executive director you
(04:42):
would vision for the community. And so the capital campaign
was something that I think came together fairly quickly. But
as you mentioned, we launched that in August of twenty
four and have been successful with raising dollars both from
the state of Ohio and we're grateful to the State
of Ohio and from our local community, both individuals and organization.
So we're moving forward. It's a complete renovation and modernization
(05:05):
of all areas, all teaching spaces, restrooms, facilities, all mechanicals.
Everything is under consideration and has been developed as a
probable cost as a part of the capital campaign. So
Dan Seckel is our architect is the gentleman who designed
all of the new spaces and he was a part
of the original plan way back when it started, so
he's seen the progress take place. He worked with Mary Anne,
(05:29):
he worked for the board. So it's nice to have
someone who most people in the community are going to
know and trust. And so Dan's been a great mentor
for me to talk me through, well, this is the
reason why we're doing this. Now here's the phase of
where we are, what we can do, what's easy to do,
what's low hanging fruit, you know, where we can invest
these dollars in the future of the academy. So it's
a very exciting time to be a part of the academy.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
All right, again, we are learning about the Richland Academy
of the Arts with doctor Michael Benson, Executive Director. This
week's CEO. You should know a lot of students, and
you mentioned you have people of all ages who come
see you guys, but it's not just and you and
I are talking in a studio in Mansfield, but it's
beyond Richland County.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You and I know when we.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Talked previously, multiple counties, right in terms of give people
a little radius on kind of where people come from
to see you guys at the academy.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Sure, well, we maintain that because as we file reports
with the State of Ohio for our sustainability grant with
you Hio Arts Council, we manage and we carefully document
where our students live. So we do that in a
variety of ways. But in short, you know, we serve
students from Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Licking, Marion, Morrow, Wayne, and
(06:41):
of course Richland County. And sometimes we'll have an individual
that will come or a family that will come for
different times of the year. Maybe they dance a nutcracker
in the fall and then they come back every year
for that. But in any event, we have a fairly
wide offering eight or nine counties every year that we
meet the needs of those individuals. Are real to do that.
We'd love to see even more.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
How many roughly students a year? Do you have a
ballpark number?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I know that someone over at the office is going
to be disappointed in me. I'm going to guestimate that
if I were to know class enrollment, you know, individuals
enrolled for class, that would be a very large number.
Because some people double up and they take multiple classes,
so I have to be careful with that number. The
number that I've been using is roughly nineteen hundred to
two thousand students a week come through the academy, so
(07:27):
I like to use that number. It gives us an
accurate placement for where we are, but it gives us
a goal for the future too. You can continue growing
our enrollment.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Terrific to hear that again, doctor Michael Benson, the voice
you hear as we shine a spotlight on the Richland
Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield. All right, so
we've learned a lot about the Academy of the Arts,
but we need to find out a little bit more
about you. So how long have you been in your
(07:56):
current role?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Third year? Because I begin in July twenty two, so
you know, here we are, and hopefully I'm meeting the
needs of the board and working well with the community
of stakeholders in our community, but also meeting the expectations
of the board maybe more clearly and the people I
work in the building with. I feel like I answered
to most everyone, but I'm going to always be an
advocate for arts education, so I'm excited about that. And again,
(08:19):
began in July twenty two.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Answer three years in that role. Let's find out a
bit more about you. People may wonder where was he born?
Where'd you go to school at? So tell us a
little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Oh wow, okay, erin, Well, let's see where to start.
If my mom were here, she might answer that a
little bit differently, So I wish she were to answer
that question. But now, I was born in northwest Arkansas,
in Springdale. My mom and dad were parents who loved
the arts and supported the arts. But both of my
parents were teachers, So my mom was a journalism English teacher.
(08:50):
My dad taught at the local community college and taught psychology, sociology, marriage,
and the family, along with different courses that were meaningful.
We moved to tech Arkana, Arkansas, where there was a
bistate criminal justice center, and we lived on the Arkansas side,
but I attended school on the Texas side briefly in
elementary school. And again I'm not sure how much of
(09:11):
this is relevant, but I grew up in a very
arts oriented community. I had a wonderful piano teacher. Her
name was Esther Wood, and when I talk about her,
I talk about her not just now, but I talk
about her all the time because she was painfully influential
in my life, and painfully I've chosen carefully because from
the time I was six till the time I graduated
in high school, she had a finger on me, making
(09:32):
sure I was doing the right thing all the time,
meeting her expectations. And I love to tell this story.
When my dad first took me for piano lessons, I
remember missus Wood meeting with me and saying, well, I
think I can work with him. And so all the
way home I was hearing from my father, Oh, this
is wonderful. She thinks she can work with you. And
so we had a good laugh about that. But she
(09:53):
knew how to work with me, and I think that
was an important part of it. She understood how I learned,
or she figured it out very quickly, and so there
were times when I maybe didn't concentrate as well as others.
So I'm five or I'm six, and she'll say she
would say to my father John, take him home, or
in my case, my mom Marie, take him home, bringing
back tomorrow. So I didn't have just regularly set weekly lessons.
(10:16):
Sometimes I would see her two or three times a week,
and in part that was because I wasn't in a
place to learn after ten or fifteen minutes, so she
would send me home and then she would bring me
back another day that week. The other thing I would
say is I didn't have a piano book for the
first year. She was very structured in how she taught.
She taught everything to me in her presence. She wanted
(10:37):
to make sure that I was always doing things correctly
because she knew she'd let me go home and practice
things probably wouldn't go well. So that was another reason
for multiple lessons a week. She was making sure that
everything I was doing was correct from an early age.
So you know, you really can't thank a teacher for
that kind of time and that kind of commitment until
you recognize that when you're much older. So when people
asked me about my instruction, I would have been very fortunate,
(10:59):
very blessed to have that kind of family that supported
the arts, that kind of teacher that supported the arts.
And then from there I went to university in Houston
at Rice University, and then masters and doctoral work at
the University of Texas Austin, and then I've lived all
over the Midwest, Illinois Wisconsin, Michigan, and finally Ohio became
home in nineteen ninety seven and been here ever since.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Okay, what brought you to Ohio.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
University in teaching? So, my first appointment in the state
of Ohio was Ohio State University in Lima. So I
taught there for a number of years, and then I
transitioned to a tenure track position in higher education at
Malone University in Canton, Ohio. And I retired from Malone
University in twenty twenty two after many years of service
(11:46):
and loving the christ centered environment that Malone provides.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
We are learning the story this morning about doctor Michael Benson,
who is our featured CEO this week. He's the executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts arts in
downtown Mansfield.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I know you're married.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
People may not know, but so if you would, I
don't know if you have any kids or now, but
share us a little bit about Michael and the family.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Of course, Again, thank you Erin. That's a privilege, Thank
you for that opportunity. So Denise Benson, who teaches high
school math at Lexington High School, who also serves as
the cross country coach. People may know her that way.
They may know her as an instructor, they may know
her as a middle distance coach for track. But we
were married in twenty ten. She has a wonderful son, Kevin,
(12:33):
who is by our marriage my stepson, and I'm very
proud of him. He and his wife Ali are now
living in Providence, Rhode Island, where he's in a postdoctoral
studies program at Brown University, and Ali is working at
a local children's hospital as a physical therapist. But returning
to the idea of Denise, we met and her family
encouraged her to consider me as a possible life partner,
(12:57):
and I'm so grateful that they did. I owe her
brother and so law a great deal of thanks for that.
We've been married since twenty ten, I'll say that again,
and it's been wonderful to watch her both in the
classroom and to support her on the cross country course
and at track events every year. It's just so wonderful
(13:17):
to see young people in our community expand their horizons
and grow and improve and take responsibility for their both
academic pursuits but also their athletic pursuits. And I'm very
grateful for how Denise speaks truth to them and holds
them accountable. Helps similar discipline, because I believe that's an
important part in life. How music might have taught me discipline.
(13:38):
I think what she's doing in the classroom and with
her athletes student athletes also allows them to learn discipline
and to trust, to trust an adult figure that if
they say to you you can do this, you can
run one pin fifty one in the eight you can
run one forty eight. Or if at that you know
five k cross country track time, you can run fifteen
(14:00):
thirty one, you can run fifteen fifty eight. I know
that when she tells them that they can do something,
that she knows the numbers, She knows how those opportunities
are provided, and the hard work it takes to get there.
So I have the greatest admiration for her, both in
the classroom and on the course, because I know she's
doing the right thing. For our community.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Conversation this morning, learning about doctor Michael Benson. We'll keep
him for a few more minutes, our featured CEO this week.
He's the executive director of the Rizland Academy of the
Arts in downtown Mansfield. Yes, Denise Benson, you know championships.
You mentioned cross country, track and field in the classroom
doing great work. So glad you could share about that.
What do you do when you're not working, she's not working.
(14:40):
What kind of hobbies do you guys have? What do
you do when you're trying to relax?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
And all that?
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Well, when people ask me that, I say, we're in nature.
We get out. So we get out and we exercise,
whether that's running or walking or hiking. We have two
wonderful dogs that we spend a lot of time outdoors with,
Rocky and Shelby. We spend time with family. Denise's mom
lives here in the community and so we try to
see Sharon and Ron on a regular basis. We see
our family, Mike and Steph. We just enjoy seeing our family.
(15:07):
My sister and brother in law recently moved from Dallas
to Mansfield and so they live right next door. They
built a home next to us. And so when we
talk about what do we do, we spend time with
our family, and we have to make an effort to
go see Kevin in Providence and Alle in Providence. But
family's very important to us, and so we spend a
lot of time with that. If it's just the two
(15:27):
of us. I would say that we're probably outside. We're
probably in a national forest. We're probably somewhere hiking, or
we're cooking on the grill, if you want to be
real direct, we're having a good time in enjoying nature
outdoors at home, all right, just being at home.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Well, before I let you go to doctor Benson, I
want to circle back to the Richland Academy of the
Arts and just want to let you share.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I always talk about, you know, what you're proud of.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
You started with everything that you guys offer from dance, music, theater,
visual arts, martial arts. You have the big campaign going on.
You guys have all these great plays for renovations and
all of that. Everything you offer. You know, all the
students from you know, eight nine counties that come see you.
You've been in the role about three years. What are
you proud about? Share with us a little bit about
(16:10):
the academy and kind of what you're most proud of.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
I'm proud of the fact, you know, Aaron, that arts
education in our community is valued. I'm excited to talk
about that. And for anyone who's lived in the community,
whether it's a short time or a long time, you
know how fortunate we are as a community to have
the mans Fell Art Center, to have the Renaissance Theater,
to have the Playhouse, which is also in a capital campaign,
(16:34):
to have Friendly House, to have the YMCAs that are
a part of our communities where different types of arts
opportunities are encouraged. We happen to be downtown. We happen
to have been a big part of the downtown and
what we consider to be a renovation of the downtown.
We're thrilled for the modernization that you know, our Mayor
(16:54):
Perry is overseeing and the beautification of downtown, and we
know that stretches our community, but we're happy for that.
So being a part of a community that's active, that
is passionate about arts or maintaining our community, growing our community,
that's what makes me happy. Within the Academy, within the walls,
I'm excited about new faculty that have been hired. Those
(17:17):
faculty will inspire future artists. After all, you know, that's
our mission to foster creativity and that's through artistic expression.
And that's not just for Richland County, but that's for
all of our surrounding counties. And whether someone has a
school program that they love at Lexington or Ontario or
Shelby or Manswell Senior High any of the local programs.
(17:38):
There are strong arts programs at our local schools, and
we just want to be a good partner with that.
And I think we can grow those bridges, We can
build those bridges if we're really intentional about that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
As I let you go, doctor Benson again with the
Richland Academy of the Arts executive director. You know here
you and I are talking, you know, month of August.
You know everybody's thinking, you know, back to school and
all those kind of things. You guys are what registrations,
all those kind of things. If somebody wants more information,
they want to sign up, they want a class, they
want to program, could you leave us with phone number, website?
(18:09):
How they get it all started with you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Thank you eron So our phone number at the Academy.
I always share this because I do think it's an
important part of communication. Talking to someone can always be helpful.
So our phone number at the Academy is four one
nine five two two eight two two four four one
nine five two two eight two two four. The website
(18:31):
is what you might imagine Richland academy dot com. All
of our registration information and program offerings are on the website,
so anyone who wants to learn more may not be
ready to make that phone call, I would recommend visiting
the website. You can also register on the website and
so most anything you'd want to know, class descriptions, what
(18:53):
age is appropriate for what class will allow you to
gather information and pick the perfect classes for your young
person or your child for the fall and hopefully continuing
into the spring.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
All right, great conversation this morning, doctor Michael Benson, executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield.
It was great to see you in studio learn about
all the great things you have happening. Thank you for
being in and we wish you continued success.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Thank you Erin and wish you continued success as well.
It's a great conversation. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
The CEO you should know shares the background in vision
of area leaders. Hi, I'm Aaron Bates, CEO of wickhaman
Hess CPAs and Financial Advisors, helping you plan, grow and
thrive in your business and in life.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
We are excited to highlight dynamic CEOs from middle Ohio.
Visit us at witcomb dot com,
CEOs you should know here from local leaders in the community,
made possible by Witcom and hess CPAs and Financial Advisors.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Our featured CEO this week is doctor Michael Benson, executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield.
Good morning, it is great to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
I'm well erin. Thank you for asking, and good morning
to you. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey, you're very welcome. I know you and I caught
up a couple months back. We were talking about your campaign.
You guys announced about a year ago all kind of
improvements or renovations to your buildings downtown.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
We'll get to that in just a moment.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
But the reason why I love this program and we've
been hearing, you know, so many new people moving into
north central Ohio and maybe for the very first time,
they're just hearing about the Richland Academy of the Arts.
I mentioned you're in downtown Mansfield. You guys have a
great tradition. But let's get a little bit of kind
of what you guys offer. If somebody's just new to
the area and they're hearing about you for the first time,
(00:59):
tell us about the Academy of the arts.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, that's such an important opportunity. Thank you, Erin, and
I would encourage people to look at the website Richland
Academy dot com if you have any questions. But we
offer arts education experiences for all ages, and we provide
mommy and me classes or music classes music together for
parents and newborns. We also have sixty plus program that
(01:23):
is very active from area agency on aging funding. But
in essence, we have dance, we have music, we have theater,
visual arts, martial arts. We've periodically had camps, summer camps
that have to do with film, and I have great
hope that in the future we'll have new and exciting
programs to be introduced to the community shortly.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
All right, now, as you say martial arts, is that
relatively new martial arts or no, has that been for
a while.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
From what I understand, Jason Farnsworth, who's the instructor, has
been doing our kimpo classes for many years and he's
known in the community for his kimpo instruction. And I'm
always excited. I see again all ages involved in the
chempo classes.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
All right, terrific again, Doctor Michael Benson the voice you
hear he is our featured CEO this week. He's executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts. I say
downtown Mansfield. Tell people who have never been there before.
I know there's been construction with everything going on downtown,
which is going to look great when it's finished.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
But where are you, guys located at in Mansfield?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So we're directly across from the carousel, and I always
use that as a reference point. A block from the
public parking space. But we're at Fourth and Walnut, So
we're right on the corner of Fourth and Walnut, and
it's a large space. It's a forty seven thousand square
foot building, and you'll see us if you're right there
at the corner, or if you ever visit the carousel.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Now, how about a little history. I mentioned you guys
have been around for quite a while. Talk about you know, founded,
and just a little bit of the background behind that.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Thank you for that opportunity. I always want to take
the opportunity to thank missus Marianne Cooper. She was the
founding director and her dream or her vision for our
community is something to be applauded. And the Academy began
in nineteen ninety one, she had a wonderful and supportive board,
and she dreamed of how this might impact our community.
(03:13):
And so to not talk about that, I think would
be a mistake. And I just have the greatest respect
for her for the work that she did for so
many years, from nineteen ninety one to when I was
fortunate to take over as executive director in July twenty two.
So we've been downtown for the entire life of the
Academy and while some buildings have been added, So it
(03:35):
started in the Majestic Theater, but then two furniture stores
were also added into the facility, and then it's been
renovated once in two thousand and four. But now we're
in a formal capital campaign to renovate the entire.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Space better than thirty years saying we're going to learn
a little bit more about that campaign, Doctor Michael Benson
and studio Executive Director Richland Academy of the Arts, Downtown Mansfield.
This week's featured CEO. You should you know, let's learn
you and I I remember when you guys launched this
campaign about a year ago in August of twenty twenty four.
(04:08):
Things have gone well in terms of raising dollars kind
of give us, if you would, some of the plans
you guys have. If people don't know about your all
the renovations, modernization, all of that, share with us about
the campaign.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Of course, I'd be happy to. So when I was
first hired, there was a strategic plan that was placed
before me by the succession Committee or the board, and
a part of that had to do with facilities, but
not a capital campaign conversation, but simply for having the
correct number of staff, the correct number of programs. You know,
what are some needs that as the executive director you
(04:42):
would vision for the community. And so the capital campaign
was something that I think came together fairly quickly. But
as you mentioned, we launched that in August of twenty
four and have been successful with raising dollars both from
the state of Ohio and we're grateful to the State
of Ohio and from our local community, both individuals and organization.
So we're moving forward. It's a complete renovation and modernization
(05:05):
of all areas, all teaching spaces, restrooms, facilities, all mechanicals.
Everything is under consideration and has been developed as a
probable cost as a part of the capital campaign. So
Dan Seckel is our architect is the gentleman who designed
all of the new spaces and he was a part
of the original plan way back when it started, so
he's seen the progress take place. He worked with Mary Anne,
(05:29):
he worked for the board. So it's nice to have
someone who most people in the community are going to
know and trust. And so Dan's been a great mentor
for me to talk me through, well, this is the
reason why we're doing this. Now here's the phase of
where we are, what we can do, what's easy to do,
what's low hanging fruit, you know, where we can invest
these dollars in the future of the academy. So it's
a very exciting time to be a part of the academy.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
All right, again, we are learning about the Richland Academy
of the Arts with doctor Michael Benson, Executive Director. This
week's CEO. You should know a lot of students, and
you mentioned you have people of all ages who come
see you guys, but it's not just and you and
I are talking in a studio in Mansfield, but it's
beyond Richland County.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You and I know when we.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Talked previously, multiple counties, right in terms of give people
a little radius on kind of where people come from
to see you guys at the academy.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Sure, well, we maintain that because as we file reports
with the State of Ohio for our sustainability grant with
you Hio Arts Council, we manage and we carefully document
where our students live. So we do that in a
variety of ways. But in short, you know, we serve
students from Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Licking, Marion, Morrow, Wayne, and
(06:41):
of course Richland County. And sometimes we'll have an individual
that will come or a family that will come for
different times of the year. Maybe they dance a nutcracker
in the fall and then they come back every year
for that. But in any event, we have a fairly
wide offering eight or nine counties every year that we
meet the needs of those individuals. Are real to do that.
We'd love to see even more.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
How many roughly students a year? Do you have a
ballpark number?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I know that someone over at the office is going
to be disappointed in me. I'm going to guestimate that
if I were to know class enrollment, you know, individuals
enrolled for class, that would be a very large number.
Because some people double up and they take multiple classes,
so I have to be careful with that number. The
number that I've been using is roughly nineteen hundred to
two thousand students a week come through the academy, so
(07:27):
I like to use that number. It gives us an
accurate placement for where we are, but it gives us
a goal for the future too. You can continue growing
our enrollment.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Terrific to hear that again, doctor Michael Benson, the voice
you hear as we shine a spotlight on the Richland
Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield. All right, so
we've learned a lot about the Academy of the Arts,
but we need to find out a little bit more
about you. So how long have you been in your
(07:56):
current role?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Third year? Because I begin in July twenty two, so
you know, here we are, and hopefully I'm meeting the
needs of the board and working well with the community
of stakeholders in our community, but also meeting the expectations
of the board maybe more clearly and the people I
work in the building with. I feel like I answered
to most everyone, but I'm going to always be an
advocate for arts education, so I'm excited about that. And again,
(08:19):
began in July twenty two.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Answer three years in that role. Let's find out a
bit more about you. People may wonder where was he born?
Where'd you go to school at? So tell us a
little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Oh wow, okay, erin, Well, let's see where to start.
If my mom were here, she might answer that a
little bit differently, So I wish she were to answer
that question. But now, I was born in northwest Arkansas,
in Springdale. My mom and dad were parents who loved
the arts and supported the arts. But both of my
parents were teachers, So my mom was a journalism English teacher.
(08:50):
My dad taught at the local community college and taught psychology, sociology, marriage,
and the family, along with different courses that were meaningful.
We moved to tech Arkana, Arkansas, where there was a
bistate criminal justice center, and we lived on the Arkansas side,
but I attended school on the Texas side briefly in
elementary school. And again I'm not sure how much of
(09:11):
this is relevant, but I grew up in a very
arts oriented community. I had a wonderful piano teacher. Her
name was Esther Wood, and when I talk about her,
I talk about her not just now, but I talk
about her all the time because she was painfully influential
in my life, and painfully I've chosen carefully because from
the time I was six till the time I graduated
in high school, she had a finger on me, making
(09:32):
sure I was doing the right thing all the time,
meeting her expectations. And I love to tell this story.
When my dad first took me for piano lessons, I
remember missus Wood meeting with me and saying, well, I
think I can work with him. And so all the
way home I was hearing from my father, Oh, this
is wonderful. She thinks she can work with you. And
so we had a good laugh about that. But she
(09:53):
knew how to work with me, and I think that
was an important part of it. She understood how I learned,
or she figured it out very quickly, and so there
were times when I maybe didn't concentrate as well as others.
So I'm five or I'm six, and she'll say she
would say to my father John, take him home, or
in my case, my mom Marie, take him home, bringing
back tomorrow. So I didn't have just regularly set weekly lessons.
(10:16):
Sometimes I would see her two or three times a week,
and in part that was because I wasn't in a
place to learn after ten or fifteen minutes, so she
would send me home and then she would bring me
back another day that week. The other thing I would
say is I didn't have a piano book for the
first year. She was very structured in how she taught.
She taught everything to me in her presence. She wanted
(10:37):
to make sure that I was always doing things correctly
because she knew she'd let me go home and practice
things probably wouldn't go well. So that was another reason
for multiple lessons a week. She was making sure that
everything I was doing was correct from an early age.
So you know, you really can't thank a teacher for
that kind of time and that kind of commitment until
you recognize that when you're much older. So when people
asked me about my instruction, I would have been very fortunate,
(10:59):
very blessed to have that kind of family that supported
the arts, that kind of teacher that supported the arts.
And then from there I went to university in Houston
at Rice University, and then masters and doctoral work at
the University of Texas Austin, and then I've lived all
over the Midwest, Illinois Wisconsin, Michigan, and finally Ohio became
home in nineteen ninety seven and been here ever since.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Okay, what brought you to Ohio.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
University in teaching? So, my first appointment in the state
of Ohio was Ohio State University in Lima. So I
taught there for a number of years, and then I
transitioned to a tenure track position in higher education at
Malone University in Canton, Ohio. And I retired from Malone
University in twenty twenty two after many years of service
(11:46):
and loving the christ centered environment that Malone provides.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
We are learning the story this morning about doctor Michael Benson,
who is our featured CEO this week. He's the executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts arts in
downtown Mansfield.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I know you're married.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
People may not know, but so if you would, I
don't know if you have any kids or now, but
share us a little bit about Michael and the family.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Of course, Again, thank you Erin. That's a privilege, Thank
you for that opportunity. So Denise Benson, who teaches high
school math at Lexington High School, who also serves as
the cross country coach. People may know her that way.
They may know her as an instructor, they may know
her as a middle distance coach for track. But we
were married in twenty ten. She has a wonderful son, Kevin,
(12:33):
who is by our marriage my stepson, and I'm very
proud of him. He and his wife Ali are now
living in Providence, Rhode Island, where he's in a postdoctoral
studies program at Brown University, and Ali is working at
a local children's hospital as a physical therapist. But returning
to the idea of Denise, we met and her family
encouraged her to consider me as a possible life partner,
(12:57):
and I'm so grateful that they did. I owe her
brother and so law a great deal of thanks for that.
We've been married since twenty ten, I'll say that again,
and it's been wonderful to watch her both in the
classroom and to support her on the cross country course
and at track events every year. It's just so wonderful
(13:17):
to see young people in our community expand their horizons
and grow and improve and take responsibility for their both
academic pursuits but also their athletic pursuits. And I'm very
grateful for how Denise speaks truth to them and holds
them accountable. Helps similar discipline, because I believe that's an
important part in life. How music might have taught me discipline.
(13:38):
I think what she's doing in the classroom and with
her athletes student athletes also allows them to learn discipline
and to trust, to trust an adult figure that if
they say to you you can do this, you can
run one pin fifty one in the eight you can
run one forty eight. Or if at that you know
five k cross country track time, you can run fifteen
(14:00):
thirty one, you can run fifteen fifty eight. I know
that when she tells them that they can do something,
that she knows the numbers, She knows how those opportunities
are provided, and the hard work it takes to get there.
So I have the greatest admiration for her, both in
the classroom and on the course, because I know she's
doing the right thing. For our community.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Conversation this morning, learning about doctor Michael Benson. We'll keep
him for a few more minutes, our featured CEO this week.
He's the executive director of the Rizland Academy of the
Arts in downtown Mansfield. Yes, Denise Benson, you know championships.
You mentioned cross country, track and field in the classroom
doing great work. So glad you could share about that.
What do you do when you're not working, she's not working.
(14:40):
What kind of hobbies do you guys have? What do
you do when you're trying to relax?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
And all that?
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Well, when people ask me that, I say, we're in nature.
We get out. So we get out and we exercise,
whether that's running or walking or hiking. We have two
wonderful dogs that we spend a lot of time outdoors with,
Rocky and Shelby. We spend time with family. Denise's mom
lives here in the community and so we try to
see Sharon and Ron on a regular basis. We see
our family, Mike and Steph. We just enjoy seeing our family.
(15:07):
My sister and brother in law recently moved from Dallas
to Mansfield and so they live right next door. They
built a home next to us. And so when we
talk about what do we do, we spend time with
our family, and we have to make an effort to
go see Kevin in Providence and Alle in Providence. But
family's very important to us, and so we spend a
lot of time with that. If it's just the two
(15:27):
of us. I would say that we're probably outside. We're
probably in a national forest. We're probably somewhere hiking, or
we're cooking on the grill, if you want to be
real direct, we're having a good time in enjoying nature
outdoors at home, all right, just being at home.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Well, before I let you go to doctor Benson, I
want to circle back to the Richland Academy of the
Arts and just want to let you share.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I always talk about, you know, what you're proud of.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
You started with everything that you guys offer from dance, music, theater,
visual arts, martial arts. You have the big campaign going on.
You guys have all these great plays for renovations and
all of that. Everything you offer. You know, all the
students from you know, eight nine counties that come see you.
You've been in the role about three years. What are
you proud about? Share with us a little bit about
(16:10):
the academy and kind of what you're most proud of.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
I'm proud of the fact, you know, Aaron, that arts
education in our community is valued. I'm excited to talk
about that. And for anyone who's lived in the community,
whether it's a short time or a long time, you
know how fortunate we are as a community to have
the mans Fell Art Center, to have the Renaissance Theater,
to have the Playhouse, which is also in a capital campaign,
(16:34):
to have Friendly House, to have the YMCAs that are
a part of our communities where different types of arts
opportunities are encouraged. We happen to be downtown. We happen
to have been a big part of the downtown and
what we consider to be a renovation of the downtown.
We're thrilled for the modernization that you know, our Mayor
(16:54):
Perry is overseeing and the beautification of downtown, and we
know that stretches our community, but we're happy for that.
So being a part of a community that's active, that
is passionate about arts or maintaining our community, growing our community,
that's what makes me happy. Within the Academy, within the walls,
I'm excited about new faculty that have been hired. Those
(17:17):
faculty will inspire future artists. After all, you know, that's
our mission to foster creativity and that's through artistic expression.
And that's not just for Richland County, but that's for
all of our surrounding counties. And whether someone has a
school program that they love at Lexington or Ontario or
Shelby or Manswell Senior High any of the local programs.
(17:38):
There are strong arts programs at our local schools, and
we just want to be a good partner with that.
And I think we can grow those bridges, We can
build those bridges if we're really intentional about that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
As I let you go, doctor Benson again with the
Richland Academy of the Arts executive director. You know here
you and I are talking, you know, month of August.
You know everybody's thinking, you know, back to school and
all those kind of things. You guys are what registrations,
all those kind of things. If somebody wants more information,
they want to sign up, they want a class, they
want to program, could you leave us with phone number, website?
(18:09):
How they get it all started with you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Thank you eron So our phone number at the Academy.
I always share this because I do think it's an
important part of communication. Talking to someone can always be helpful.
So our phone number at the Academy is four one
nine five two two eight two two four four one
nine five two two eight two two four. The website
(18:31):
is what you might imagine Richland academy dot com. All
of our registration information and program offerings are on the website,
so anyone who wants to learn more may not be
ready to make that phone call, I would recommend visiting
the website. You can also register on the website and
so most anything you'd want to know, class descriptions, what
(18:53):
age is appropriate for what class will allow you to
gather information and pick the perfect classes for your young
person or your child for the fall and hopefully continuing
into the spring.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
All right, great conversation this morning, doctor Michael Benson, executive
director of the Richland Academy of the Arts in downtown Mansfield.
It was great to see you in studio learn about
all the great things you have happening. Thank you for
being in and we wish you continued success.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Thank you Erin and wish you continued success as well.
It's a great conversation. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
The CEO you should know shares the background in vision
of area leaders. Hi, I'm Aaron Bates, CEO of wickhaman
Hess CPAs and Financial Advisors, helping you plan, grow and
thrive in your business and in life.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
We are excited to highlight dynamic CEOs from middle Ohio.
Visit us at witcomb dot com,
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