Robert Bennett, a former U.S. Senator and School of Media and Public Affairs fellow, died Wednesday from a stroke and battle with pancreatic cancer, The Week reported. He was 82.

Bennett served as a Republican senator for the state of Utah from 1992 until 2010, when he lost his bid for re-election.

After leaving Congress, Bennett opened a consulting firm and began teaching at the University of Utah, The Week reported.

Bennett was named an SMPA fellow for the 2011-2012 academic year. Along with Arun Chaudhury and P.J. Crowley,

A University release published in 2011 listed many of Bennett’s congressional achievements, like his tenure on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water and as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“[Bennett] co-sponsored the Healthy Americans Act, the first major bipartisan healthcare legislation in more than a decade,” the release said. “He has also been a successful public relations and business executive, having served as CEO of several technology companies and Franklin International Institute, now known as Franklin Covey.”

Bennett said in the release that his close connection with the University was a result of home-state and family pride.

“I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for GW because so many Utahans have gone to school there including my father-in-law, who got his law degree at GW,” Bennett said.

Bennett is survived by his wife, six children and twenty grandchildren, according to The Week.