152. Former College President Gets Back to His Passion: Conservation
Marv Henberg
Marv Henberg, for seven years the president of The College of Idaho, a liberal arts college in Caldwell, is beginning an active retirement with plans “to engage in my other great passion, conservation. I’ve got an international and a local conservation organization that are considering me for their boards.”
How Did You Start Using Your Talents?
A native of Wyoming, Marv’s impressive academic life took him to Washington and Lee University and Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. “Early on I developed an interest in environmental philosophy. My Ph.D. thesis was on theories of justice. It combined my personal passion for the environment and my academic passion together.”
The Most Impactful Turning Point?
His parents—a Swedish father and first-generation American mother—were hard workers who never went to college. But they held an expectation that Marv would. A scholarship to Washington and Lee started him on an academic career that lasted through his recent retirement, and included professorships and top administrative posts.
The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?
“I’m always very grateful to my parents that they had high expectations of me. When you have that, in a loving way, you rise to it.” Marv experienced this from professors and mentors, and applied the lesson to students, helping many win major national scholarships and increasing the diversity of student bodies.
On His Bookshelf
A lifetime of study has filled his bookshelves, but he found this book especially useful in dealing with management of conflict as a college president:
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Connecting With Marv Henberg
Email: mhenberg@gmail.com
mhenberg@CollegeofIdaho.edu
