Austin BennettAustin Grant Bennett, MFA

Instructor, General Education, CC

Self-described as a “son, brother, friend, husband, and father,” emerging writer and instructor Austin Grant Bennett is described by colleagues and students as innovative, encouraging, idea-generating, and collaborative. Because of his innovative spirit, he is the recipient of the City College Faculty Leadership Award.

Bennett hit the ground running when he joined City College in 2017 as a tenure-track instructor and has not slowed down since. He strives to bring out the best in others and encourages conversation, idea sharing and taking action.

Bennett employs and advocates for innovative teaching methods and active learning strategies. As an early adopter of High Impact Practices (HIPS), he has made advancements not only in the writing program but across City College as he seeks out opportunities for cross-curricular collaboration among departments. These partnerships give students real-world experiences while expanding the ways they think and challenging their pre-conceived beliefs.

His success as an instructor is reflected in positive and strong student reviews, which include phrases such as “organized and fair, very passionate, always in a great mood, and genuinely interested in each students’ opinions.” Students voiced their appreciation for Bennett’s teaching style and knowledge with more than one sharing, “we would love to have him again.”

Innovation and collaboration does not stop at the classroom level for Bennett. A respected leader at MSU Billings, he serves on various committees and taskforces including the Institutional Review Board and as secretary of Academic Senate. Bennett’s leadership extends outward to the community where he is a reader for the High Plains Book Awards, a judge for the Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals, and an engaged member of a local church.

As a writing expert and an advocate of progressive teaching practices, he has spoken at local, national, and international levels, often providing professional development workshops for instructors. A recent recipient of a multi-year National Endowment for the Humanities grant, with his Co-Principal Investigator Roger Madplume, Bennett hopes to extend the impact of HIPS and further advance City College’s mission of evolving into a comprehensive community college.

Unmistakably, Bennett makes City College at Montana State University Billings a better place for students, instructors, and staff.