of  
Ben Snyder III
Ben Snyder arrived at Cranbrook in 1948 as a history instructor with a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina and a master’s degree from Harvard University. He also served three years in the United States Air Force during World War II.

Snyder helped institute an annual World Affairs Seminar, which continues to bring notable figures to Cranbrook's campus to discuss political and social topics. He also worked on numerous committees, served as head of the Lower School and assistant headmaster, and also coached varsity basketball, soccer and track.

One of Snyder’s key attributes was his persistence in bridging Cranbrook to communities outside the campus. In 1965, he was among the group that founded Horizons-Upward Bound, an education enrichment program for disadvantaged youth. Snyder also helped initiate Cranbrook Schools’ participation in foreign exchange programs.

As perhaps a final piece to his legacy, Snyder published "Once More With Joy," a sequel to Bruce Coulter’s "Forty Years On," celebrating Cranbrook’s subsistence from 1964 to 1985.
9/24/2008 - Angela Jordan
After God and my mother, one of the people who added so much to my life was Ben Snyder. A lot of who I am and how I view the world came from my Cranbrook HUB experience. I believe HUB helped open my mind to broader diversities. I know my time in HUB allows me to see so many perspectives I may have never considered with the experienced. I only been back a few times physically since I left but thoughts and memories take me back to that beautiful campus often.
9/2/2007 - Tia Simoni
Ben Snyder brought me into a rarefied universe of old photos full of smiling people, well-thumbed books, wide-open laughing. I am most grateful for that: it was the other side of my own knowing. He showed me that I did have the stuff I needed to be more that I thought I was. I am a Kingswood graduate because I was a HUB student, and I am a teacher and a mentor in my own school because he showed there could be such a person in any school. Thank you.
4/4/2006 - James Saylor
I have gotten to know Ben better since Cranbrook days since we are both reading tutors for the Oakland Literacy Council. I have been extremely impressed with his role in founding HUB. His patience and persistence have given the Cranbrook experience to many who otherwise would have not had the chance.
3/28/2006 - Doreen Tarrant
I was this little african american girl with little sense of diversity or class. Everything I have become I owe to the HUB program at Cranbrook. It was the day I talked with Mr. Snyder and he asked me, why I hadn't participated in the homestead program that weekend. I was nervous about going to (strange people)homes, I replied. I finally got an opportunity to see my full potential on my first homestead through the success of others. I'm currently a RN and a college grad. I know God has smile on you.
3/9/2006 - David Landry
Ben Snyder is Cranbrook. He taught us to live it's ideals. To "aim high" in the classroom, on the track and in life. Ben took the ideals of George and Ellen Booth and spread them throughout the inner city. He also took a liitle bit of the inner city and spread it throughout Cranbrook. Through the HUB program he touched and improved the lives of thousands of young people. Offering nothing more than a chance he taught us all to take a chance on ourselves. No single person ever has or ever will embody Cranbrook like Ben Snyder.
3/9/2006 - Kamau Williams
Without the forethought and vision of Mr. Snyder, the HUB program would not be the great and flourishing program that it is today. I, as well a countless other people from the tri-county area owe him an unpayable debt of gratitude for presenting us an excellent educational opportunity matched by no other school in the country. My solemn wish is for the HUB program to go on forever. This will allow children to receive the wonderful experiences that I and many of my life long friends have experienced as well.