Ben Whisenant currently teaches communications classes at BYU, UVU and the University of Utah.
Ben Whisenant has centered his professional life around both law and journalism, two facets of society that have always interested him.
Born in New Jersey, he later grew up in Salt Lake City, where he lived until he went to college at Brigham Young University. While at BYU, Whisenant received his bachelor’s degree in comparative literature.
After graduating in 2000, he worked as a legislative correspondent for Utah Senators Hatch and Bennett. Working for Senator Hatch inspired Whisenant to go into law, but it would be several years before he fulfilled that dream.
“I was in touch with publisher and had a lot of writing experience, and he asked me if I wanted to try my hand at journalism,” Whisenant said. “I really enjoyed it, so I applied to both law and journalism graduate schools. I got into a fantastic journalism graduate school, so I decided to go into journalism first and law after.”
As a journalist, Whisenant worked for the business publications, “The Enterprise” and “Wasatch Digital IQ” as well as for the newspaper “American Banker.” After receiving his master’s degree, Whisenant completed a law degree (JD) from the University of Utah in 2008. To garner experience in the realm of law, he worked a year with the Pro Bono Initiative at the University of Utah.
He began teaching at BYU in 2009, later expanding his reach to the University of Utah and Utah Valley University.