Benjamin Allan Archer

DOB: 3/18/65
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 158

Benjamin ("Ben") Archer was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1965. His parents, Dr. Thurston Archer and Vivian Thomas Archer, separated when Benjamin was four years old. Ben continued to live in Jackson with his mother, a librarian. Dr. Archer moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and remarried in 1967; throughout his childhood Benjamin visited Dr. Archer occasionally during school holidays.

Benjamin graduated from Fair Lawn High School in 1983 and took a year off from school to work as a clerk in a local shoe store. He applied to several colleges and was awarded a partial scholarship at the University of Mississippi, where he matriculated in the fall of 1984. For the first two years of college he studied primarily history and political science, with the intention of becoming involved in government; at the beginning of his junior year, however, he switched to accounting. As a student Archer held a work-study position in the admissions office and volunteered at the Oxford Historical Society, where he remains an active participant.

Upon completion of his degree in December of 1988, Archer accepted a position in the University bursar's office, and has worked there ever since as a financial aid officer. He served as a representative in the University Senate in 1991, and remains active in alumni outreach.

Archer's mother, Vivian, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and moved to Oxford that year to be close to her son. She and Archer attend Oxford's Community Episcopal Church together and volunteer at the church's thrift shop. Archer is currently unmarried and has no children.