Dan and Marty (Martha McGarvey) Benson met on the University of Denver campus in 1967 when Dan’s sisters introduced them. All the girls lived in Johnson-McFarlane Hall, so the Bensons are happy that, despite all of the magnificent changes on campus, their meeting spot still exists.
Today the Bensons live in Boston and are receiving the Founders Day Randolph P. McDonough Award for Service to Alumni. But the couple is surprised by the award, saying they “haven’t done anything outstanding and spectacular.”
“I think it’s just the consistency with which we’ve been dogging alumni in Boston area,” says Dan (BSBA ’71). “Our idea has always been to build a stronger chapter so that everyone who lives here has a network to pull from.”
“We’ve been able to connect young alumni who just moved here with people who are already very successful in their careers,” Marty (BA ’71) adds. “They’ve been instrumental in helping younger alumni advance their careers.”
Dan says their commitment to DU originates in the great undergraduate experiences they both had.
“The whole idea of going west was huge for me. I had never been out of the East Coast,” he says. “I never had a bad day at DU. There was something magical and mystical about it. I met Marty there.”
Marty adds, “We’ve told so many fond stories about DU and Colorado that our kids went there!”
The Bensons say that their children, Anne (BSBA ’07) and Brendon (JD ’08), also had great experiences and want to stay in Colorado to begin their careers.
Helping young alumni launch their dreams seems to be a significant part of the Bensons’ motivations in Boston.
“You pay tuition for four years and I think it’s important for alumni to know that the University is here to help with your career,” says Dan.
“We both believe strongly in mentoring while you’re in college and after you get out,” Marty says. “It’s important that we give young alumni a well to draw from.”