Ben Graf Henneke
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Ben Graf Henneke (May 20, 1914 – November 13, 2009) was the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of the
University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
("TU"), in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
,
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, from 1958 to 1967. A professor of speech and theatre, he wrote an early textbook on radio announcing, and was instrumental in the creation of the university's radio station,
KWGS KWGS (89.5 FM) is a listener-supported, non-commercial, public radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. KWGS and its classical music sister station 88.7 KWTU are owned and operated by the University of Tulsa. The studios and offices are located in ...
. Henneke also wrote the TU
fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...
when he was an undergraduate student at the school. Henneke has been cited as one of the most influential figures in the university's history.


Early life and education

Henneke was born in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
. After graduating from
Tulsa Central High School Central High School is the oldest high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1906 as Tulsa High School, and located in downtown Tulsa until 1976. The school now has a campus in northwest Tulsa. Tulsa Central is part of the Tulsa Publ ...
, he enrolled at the University of Tulsa in 1931, with plans to become a journalist. In 1932, as a
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
in the College of Arts and Sciences, Henneke entered a contest, sponsored by a local clothing store, for a new fight song for the school's athletic teams, the
Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the Universit ...
. Henneke won the contest and a $25 prize. He had not written a song before; he later said that the opening sounds of his composition were inspired by the sounds his family's
Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 201 ...
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made when he performed his household chores. His winning entry, "Hurricane Spirit Song" (now also commonly known as the "Hurricane Fight Song"), remains in use today. Henneke graduated in 1935 with a bachelor's degree in English, and later received a master's degree in theatre from the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
and a doctorate in speech from the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
.


Academic career

Offered a job with the ''
Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...
'' after graduation, Henneke instead began teaching speech and theater at TU in 1936. He created a radio
quiz show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating whe ...
, "Going to College," which aired nationally from 1945 to 1952. Henneke was instrumental in the founding of a radio station for the university, which commenced operations in 1948 as KWGS, its initials in honor of Tulsa oilman
William G. Skelly William Grove Skelly (June 10, 1878 – April 11, 1957) was an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the oil business. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he moved to Kansas in 1916, then to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1919, where he founded Skelly Oil Company. B ...
, who supplied the funding. Henneke's textbook, the ''Radio Announcer's Handbook'' first published in 1949 and revised in 1959, was reportedly the first textbook on radio announcing. He also wrote another textbook, ''Reading Aloud Effectively''. Henneke became academic vice president of the university in 1953, and was named its 16th president in 1958. He was the first TU alumnus to become president of the university. He was credited with upgrading TU's faculty and academic reputation: during his tenure the university established new doctoral programs, increased the proportion of faculty with doctorates, started new publications including ''Petroleum Abstracts'' and the ''
James Joyce Quarterly The ''James Joyce Quarterly'' (''JJQ'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1963 that covers critical and theoretical work focusing on the life, writing, and reception of James Joyce. The journal publishes essays, notes, reviews, le ...
'', developed a North Campus center for
petroleum engineering Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...
research, and expanded many other facilities. Henneke also initiated the university's efforts to obtain a chapter of
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
; after it was chartered in 1989, Henneke was inducted as an alumni member in 1991. Also during his presidency, the university received a $34 million gift from the estate of Tulsa philanthropist J.A. Chapman, which greatly improved the school's previously difficult finances. After his tenure as president, Henneke returned to teaching in 1967 as a professor of humanities. He retired in 1979, having spent the first 48 years of his adult life at TU as a student or faculty member. He was named TU's "president emeritus" in 1982. He continued to write and teach extensively, including numerous articles, a weekly column in the ''
Tulsa Tribune The ''Tulsa Tribune'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1919 to 1992. Owned and run by three generations of the Jones family, the ''Tribune'' closed in 1992 after the termination of its joint operating agreement ...
'', and a radio lecture series on KWGS. In 1990 he published a biography of 19th century actress and theatrical manager
Laura Keene Laura Keene (20 July 1826 – 4 November 1873) was a British stage actress and theatre Actor-manager, manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York. She is best known for being the le ...
, best known for her production of the play ''
Our American Cousin ''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...
'', which
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
was watching on the evening of his
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at
Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...
. One reviewer of this book commented that it would "rectify shoddy theatre history" and "re-inscribe" Keene's place in that history. Henneke also published a book-length poem entitled ''A Ravenna Mosaic''. Henneke married Ellen Eaves in 1940; she died in 2004. Also in 2004, his 90th birthday was honored with a proclamation by Oklahoma Governor
Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he previously served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1992 to 2003. As of 2025, he is the last ...
naming it "Dr. Ben Graf Henneke Day". After Henneke's death in 2009, current TU president
Steadman Upham Steadman Upham (April 4, 1949 – July 30, 2017) was an American archaeologist and university administrator who served as president of Claremont Graduate University from 1998 to 2004 and the University of Tulsa (TU) from 2004 to 2016. Prior ...
commented, "No one has had a greater impact on the University of Tulsa than Ben Henneke."


References


External links


Ben Graf Henneke: Celebrating over 70 years at the University of Tulsa
at
University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
website (retrieved November 16, 2009).
President Emeritus Ben Henneke, 1914-2009
at
University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
website (retrieved November 16, 2009).
Voices of Oklahoma interview with Dr. Ben G. Henneke.
First person interview conducted on September 10, 2009, with Dr. Ben G. Henneke. Original audio and transcript archived wit
Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henneke, Ben Graf Central High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma) alumni University of Tulsa alumni University of Iowa alumni University of Illinois alumni University of Tulsa faculty 1914 births 2009 deaths Educators from St. Louis Academics from Tulsa, Oklahoma Presidents of the University of Tulsa 20th-century American academics