Bonnie Newman
Encyclopedia
Jane Ellen "Bonnie" Newman (born June 2, 1945) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 administrator and business executive who was selected to be the United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 but did not take office when the vacancy she was to fill did not materialize.

Education and early life

Newman was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

, the daughter of Louise (née Casey) and William Newman, who work at New England Telephone
New England Telephone
The New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, more commonly known as New England Telephone, was a Bell Operating Company that served most of the New England area of the United States as a part of the original AT&T for seven decades, from the creation of the national monopoly in 1907 until...

  She Attended St. Augustine's School in Tower Hill in Lawrence,Mass. She now resides in North Hampton, New Hampshire
North Hampton, New Hampshire
North Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,301 at the 2010 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited Atlantic seacoast.-History:...

.

Newman has a B.A. degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 from St. Joseph’s College of Maine and M.Ed. degree in higher education administration from The Pennsylvania State University.

Career

Newman was the Assistant Dean of Students at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

 from 1969 to 1972 and Dean of Students from 1972 to 1978.

She served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for economic development in the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....

 from 1984 to 1985. She then served as president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire in Concord
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

 from 1985 to 1988, before taking charge of administrative operations during the administration of George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

. She was chief of staff to Judd Gregg
Judd Gregg
Judd Alan Gregg is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former United States Senator from New Hampshire, who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics...

 when he was in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in the 1980s.

Later, Newman was interim Dean of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire from 1998 to 1999. She also served as the executive dean at the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 Kennedy School of Government from 2000 to 2005. Newman also served as interim president of the University of New Hampshire and is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Newman is chairman of the United States Naval Academy Board of Visitors.

Political activities

Newman was one of the first Republicans to publicly endorse John Lynch, a Democrat, in his successful 2004 challenge
New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2004
In the 2004 New Hampshire gubernatorial race, multi-millionaire businessman John Lynch, a Hopkinton Democrat, defeated Republican incumbent Governor Craig Benson of Rye, and won a two-year term. Lynch was the first candidate to defeat a one-term incumbent governor in New Hampshire in 78 years...

 of then-Republican Governor
Governor of New Hampshire
The Governor of the State of New Hampshire is the supreme executive magistrate of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.The governor is elected at the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Vermont, to hold...

 Craig Benson
Craig Benson
Craig R. Benson is an American politician and businessman. He served as Governor of New Hampshire from 2003 to 2005...

, and co-chaired Republicans for Lynch. Presumably as a result of this endorsement, she was banned from the exclusive Golf Club of New England in 2005.

Appointment to United States Senate

On February 3, 2009, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 announced that he would appoint Republican Sen. Judd Gregg
Judd Gregg
Judd Alan Gregg is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former United States Senator from New Hampshire, who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics...

 as the Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...

. Later in the day, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch announced that he would appoint Newman to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 to fill Gregg's seat. Newman announced that she would not run for reelection in 2010
United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 2, 2010, alongside other midterm elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as to the United States House of Representatives. A primary election was held on September 14th. Incumbent Republican U.S....

, nor would she endorse any candidate in that race. The choice to nominate Newman came after initial discussions of Gregg being appointed to be the Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...

. In face of Senate Republican Leaders asking Gregg to reconsider, Gregg reached a deal with Gov. John Lynch that he would appoint a placeholder in order to avoid changing the partisan makeup of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. However, on February 12, 2009, citing "irresolvable conflicts," Gregg announced he was withdrawing his nomination for the position of Commerce Secretary and remaining in the Senate.

Political positions

During the nine days she was slated to succeed Judd Gregg in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, Newman stated that she had interests in serving on committees dealing with issues relating to national security, the economy and education.

Awards and honorary degrees

Newman has honorary degrees from the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

, Rivier College
Rivier College
Rivier College is a Catholic liberal arts college located in Nashua, New Hampshire.-History:Named in honor of the blessed Anne Marie Rivier, foundress of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, Rivier College was founded in 1933 by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary in Hudson, New Hampshire...

, Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College (New Hampshire)
Notre Dame College was a Roman Catholic college located in Manchester, New Hampshire and affiliated with the Sisters of Holy Cross of Montreal, Canada...

, Keene State College
Keene State College
Keene State College is a liberal arts college in Keene, New Hampshire. It is a member of the University System of New Hampshire and of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges....

, St. Joseph’s College
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine is a Catholic liberal arts college in Standish, Maine that grants bachelor's degrees in a traditional on-campus setting, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees via online education. The college’s campus in southern Maine is located on the shores of Sebago Lake,...

, and New Hampshire College
Southern New Hampshire University
Southern New Hampshire University, also known as SNHU, is a private university in Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and also has numerous specialized...

.
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