 She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005.While at Tulane University, Bennett was on the committee that established the first women's center at Newcomb College (the women's college at Tulane) and taught a popular course on the biology of women beginning in 1975.After Professor Bennett joined the Rutgers faculty, she was appointed Associate Vice President to establish an Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering & Mathematics  which promotes gender and racial equity in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.