Benjamin Bolger

Updated on Oct 02, 2024

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Name Benjamin Bolger		Role Professor

Full Name Benjamin Bradley Bolger Born 1975 (age 39–40) Flint, Michigan, U.S. Alma mater Muskegon Community CollegeUniversity of Michigan, Ann ArborYale UniversityUniversity of OxfordUniversity of CambridgeStanford UniversityColumbia UniversityHarvard UniversityBrown UniversityBoston CollegeDartmouth CollegeBrandeis UniversitySkidmore CollegeAshland University Education University of Michigan, University of Oxford

Benjamin Bradley Bolger (born 1975) is a perpetual student who has earned 14 degrees and claims to be the second-most credentialed person in modern history after Michael W. Nicholson (who has 29 degrees). Like Nicholson, Bolger hails from Michigan. Bolger is a visiting assistant professor in sociology at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Biography

Bolger was born to Donald Bolger, an engineer with General Motors, and Loretta, a teacher. At the age of two, his family was involved in a near-fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver; Bolger says this encouraged him to make the most out of his life. In first grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Special education programs did not help him, and in fourth grade, his mother began home-schooling Bolger, while undergoing a divorce. At the age of 12, Bolger began taking classes at Muskegon Community College, graduating with an A.A. by the age of 17. He then transferred with those credits to the University of Michigan, majored in sociology, and graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade point average in sociology. From there, he took an internship with the Clinton Administration with Press Secretary Mike McCurry. Bolger's mother moved with him to each college and university he attended and read his assignments to him aloud.

At the age of 19, he entered Yale Law School, but dropped out when he was unable to compensate for his dyslexia. After receiving additional training for his dyslexia, he enrolled at Oxford University, thus beginning his quest for degrees. After accumulating many master's degrees, he received his first doctorate at the age of 33 in Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2008. Six additional master's degrees or doctorates are in the process of completion. His mother accompanied him through much of his education to help with his work, from Ann Arbor to Oxford.