Bentley University Magazine - Centennial

CENTENNIAL ISSUE 1917 – 2017

MAGAZINE

BENTLEY MAGAZINE CENTENNIAL ISSUE 1917 – 2017

2016

On September 8, more than 800 members of the Bentley community — alumni, faculty, staff and friends — gathered at the State Room to kick off a year of celebratory events.

This issue of Bentley Magazine offers you a digital experience. ownload the free D Layar app at the iTunes or Android store.

Whenever you see the icon at right, scan the magazine page to see photo galleries and videos.

This one launches the centennial video, shown at the Boston gala.

PHOTO BY GRETCHEN ERTL

Contents CENTENNIAL ISSUE

6 | HISTORY

The Story So Far 18 | ACADEMICS

Teachers and Scholars 34 | CAMPUS

Bold Moves 50 | STUDENT LIFE

Live and Learn 74 | INNOVATION

Inspired Thinking 84 | LIFE AFTER BENTLEY

Lasting Ties 96 | GIVING BACK

How Bentley Lives On 104 | FUTURE

What’s Next 112 | ENDNOTE Photographs are courtesy of the Bentley University Archives unless otherwise credited.

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT

B

entley University is extraordinary. Ever since Harry C. Bentley opened his school of accounting and finance in 1917, Bentley has been redefining and advancing business education. Now, as our centennial celebration begins, Bentley stands as a leading U.S. and international business university

that prepares students to thrive in a fast-changing global economy.

Serving as president has been one of the single most rewarding adventures of my career in law and business. Over the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a generation of smart, savvy and dedicated young men and women who have grown into creative, confident and civic-minded adults.

Every fall begins with the exhilaration of Convocation, a day when first-year students arrive with families, friends and overflowing cars, excited to experience the world beyond their childhood homes and schools. Every spring ends with bittersweet goodbyes at Commencement, a day when newly minted alumni receive their hardearned diplomas (and a hug from me!) and step off the stage, sights firmly fixed on the fulfilling careers and lives they will build.

Through the years between these pivotal moments, our students are immersed in an exceptional, hands-on educational environment directed by world-class faculty. I am inspired by how Bentley professors teach and mentor students while producing their own internationally recognized scholarship and research — a balancing act executed at the highest levels, as recognized in Bentley’s reaccreditation by the elite European Quality Improvement System. At the same time, I am consistently impressed by what our staff and students achieve outside the classroom.

One of my most treasured Bentley moments actually occurred in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2014: the day our women’s basketball team won the DII National Championship, capping an unforgettable season of 35 wins and 0 losses. This victory joins scores of accomplishments that Bentley has collected in the past century. From now until June we are celebrating them all, while looking ahead with eager anticipation to another hundred years. Please enjoy this special issue of Bentley Magazine as a chronicle and keepsake of where we've been. I can’t wait to see where Bentley goes next!

GLORIA CORDES LARSON

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 3

WELCOME FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

O

n a June day in 1960, I took the bus from Harvard Square to 921 Boylston Street to enroll in accounting school. I was a young man unwittingly starting an extraordinary journey that would span more than half a century — and more than half of Bentley’s history.

I can stack the memories: doing my homework on the commute, with then-professor Gregory Adamian sitting across from me correcting papers; hearing the pile drivers roar and watching the Prudential Center rise from the dust, across the street from class; stretching with satisfaction after every nine-hour accounting exam and feeling more than a bit of pride when my papers — though worked over with “chain error” stamps from the Correcting Department — squeaked through with A’s.

When my original two years were over, there was buzz that the school would become a college. I stuck around and continued my role as class president through graduation, the first from Bentley College. As an alumnus, I continue to stick around, attending reunions, hiring talented Bentley interns, becoming a trustee … I couldn’t let my free parking passes for the Waltham campus go to waste! Thankfully, the campus has grown and now there is always room for alumni who want to come home.

Bentley is one of the most important influences on my life. To have seen it mature from humble beginnings to a lofty place in higher education has been remarkable; it shows the work ethic that is the foundation for my and every graduate’s success.

I’m proud to lead and celebrate this legacy with you. And I thank you for raising the Bentley family mast to honor our past.

GEORGE FANTINI JR. ’64, TRUSTEE EMERITUS

4 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

The Story So Far 1940s

The faรงade at 921 Boylston Street, Boston.

The Story So Far 19XX 6 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 7

HISTORY >>

“The long-range success of the Bentley School must depend upon far-sighted planning, in which recognition of a changing world in education should not be obscured by traditional prejudices or by lack of progressive thinking.�

Harry C. Bentley

8 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< HISTORY

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 9

President From Tenure Education

Harwinton, Conn.

Eastman Business College; New York University Established the Winsted Business School and later taught accounting at several colleges

Anecdote

Legacy

Hobbies or Passions

A portrait of the founder as a young man; a bowtie worn with his distinguished, tailor-made suits; the book that inspired his love for the accounting profession; the Bentley family Society of Mayflower Descendants membership card; his gymnastics tumbling shoes; his monogrammed briefcase, reflecting his commitment to etiquette and professionalism

1917-1953

Professional Background

Archival Treasures

Harry C. Bentley

Seminal Accomplishments

Charting Leadership

Founding Bentley in a single classroom

The Boston Braves, 20th-century American art, opera and gymnastics To quote the epitaph of another great builder, Sir Christopher Wren: “If you seek his monument, look around you” He sometimes canceled classes on opening day of the Boston Braves baseball season

Quotation

We teach like hell from bell to bell.

PHOTO OF OBJECTS BY TASLIM SIDI

HISTORY >>

A Vision and a Leap of Faith

BY CLIFFORD W. PUTNEY

T

HE INSTITUTION WE KNOW AS BENTLEY UNIVERSITY BEGAN QUITE HUMBLY AS A SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE. Its founder — Harry Clark Bentley — was one of America’s foremost authorities on accounting practice. His teaching skills were just as formidable. His students at Boston University, learning their instructor was soon to depart, pressed Mr. Bentley to open his own school so they could continue studying with him. That’s how it all started.

The first class, a group of 30 men, met on February 26, 1917, in the unremarkable Huntington Chambers building at 30 Huntington Avenue in Boston. There, Mr. Bentley taught classes three evenings a week plus Saturday morning. He had picked a promising time to enter the academic business. The U.S. government had implemented a federal income tax just a few years earlier, and the newly created Federal Reserve Board started to require uniform financial reports from companies. Such actions created a business boom for people with accounting skills.

There were, at the time, a number of small, privately owned business schools in Boston. So the arrival of the Bentley School — a for-profit vocational institution that offered certificates and diplomas rather than degrees — did not make any ripples in established academic circles. Like other small schools of the day, Bentley had a more modest and focused mission than the larger, older colleges and universities in the area. Mr. Bentley sought to educate the next generation of accountants.

MILESTONES 1917

Bentley School of Accounting and Finance is founded in Boston by Harry C. Bentley. Thirty students, soon to be known as the Bentley Associates, attend.

1919

1957

Bentley defeats MIT 7-0 in football, in what is believed to have been the school’s first sporting event.

The first computer science course is offered — without a computer!

1961

Bentley graduates from a school to a college, granting Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting.

1920

The first class graduates; the average salary of these 18 men is $2,973 (the national average is $1,407).

1942

Bentley becomes coed.

1955

The Alumni Association is founded.

11 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

FIRST-GENERATION DREAMS Early students at Bentley were typically older than those attending four-year institutions. Many came from Boston-area working-class families and, therefore, needed jobs to pay their tuition. They were, in most cases, the first of their family to pursue any sort of post-secondary education.

From the start, and through its first few decades, Bentley focused on teaching students the information they needed to succeed in the accounting profession and to pass the state’s Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.

Admission in those early years was based primarily on a student’s ability to pay. But that pragmatism did not compromise Mr. Bentley’s commitment to delivering a rigorous education. As he liked to put it: “We teach like hell from bell to bell.”

Mr. Bentley had other aspirations as well. One was changing perceptions of accounting, uplifting the field from what some saw as menial bookkeeping to a genuine profession. Accordingly, he often counseled students on the grooming and social graces needed for the business world.

at Bentley — at least temporarily. Still, the school retained a more liberal stance on admissions than most others of the era. Mr. Bentley, a progressive Republican in the tradition of Theodore Roosevelt, opened up his growing classrooms to ethnic, racial and religious minorities, who faced either limited acceptance or outright rejection by established academia of that time.

Such stories illustrate the complex environment in which Mr. Bentley and the school operated at the start. Moreover, they speak to who Mr. Bentley was: a deeply ethical and generous person. He was known to lend money to students, particularly during the Great Depression, so they could finish their studies. But he also could be very hard-headed and determined.

These characteristics helped the Bentley School survive through war and economic hardship. Time and again, Mr. Bentley and his team of academics exercised tremendous leadership against such challenges. They made smart decisions that kept this school growing, even as other small private schools closed. In 1942, for example, as another large number of young men went off to war, Mr. Bentley moved again to admit women; the policy remained in effect thereafter.

OPENING CLASSROOMS The school was designed to admit only men. Given the biases of the times, professions open to women were often viewed poorly by the general public. Mr. Bentley took note and was reluctant to see the same happen for accounting.

The times brought changes to the young institution, however.

The United States entered World War I just months after the Bentley School opened. As millions of men nationwide went off to fight, Mr. Bentley saw student enrollment dwindle precipitously.

The school faced this first major hurdle with a willingness to adapt that has become a hallmark. Mr. Bentley decided to admit women to stay afloat.

The end of World War I would also mean the end of female students

AMBITIOUS AIMS New challenges arose in the wake of World War II. The federal government and individual states became major players in post-secondary education, paying for veterans to attend college and funding expansion of community colleges and state universities. The hugely popular GI Bill and growing public interest in post-secondary education spiked enrollment at Bentley — but also at competing schools.

Mr. Bentley came to believe that, to flourish, his school must award four-year degrees rather than diplomas and certificates.

He noted that a college degree was often a prerequisite to receive an officer’s commission in the U.S. military, for example, while 120 semester hours of college credit was required to take the CPA exam in New York (as it soon would be in other states). He saw,too,

1962

1968

Land is purchased for the new Waltham campus; the price for 103 acres is $365,000.

The Waltham campus opens in the fall with two existing buildings (Lewis Hall and Dovecote) and 12 new ones: the library, student center (LaCava Center), Faculty and Administration Building (Morison Hall), lecture hall (Lindsay Hall), Classroom Building (Jennison Hall) and seven Tree Dorms.

1963

The beaver is our first mascot … but not for long.

The falcon becomes our official, beloved mascot; the Falcon Society is established the following year, to recognize stars in the classroom and campus community.

how his students were ineligible for educational deferments from the Selective Service System and could be drafted to fight at any time.

These factors inspired a critical move in 1948. Mr. Bentley converted the private for-profit school into a self-governing nonprofit institution with a Board of Trustees. And the board’s first task: Transform the Bentley School into a degree-granting college.

The work involved redressing many noncollegial characteristics of Bentley. These included an extremely high student-to-teacher ratio, an absence of small and even medium-size classes, an emphasis on teaching that kept instructors from doing research, and an accountant-heavy Board of Trustees that lacked professional diversity. The school also had a shortage of faculty with master’s and doctoral degrees.

These obstacles discouraged the trustees. But Mr. Bentley persevered and worked hard to win others to the cause. As he wrote in a February 1950 letter to the board’s executive committee: “We should not assume the smug attitude that because the school has done well thus far, it can continue to do equally well without regard to the consequences of future developments in the field of education.”

Mr. Bentley, by then in his 70s and moving toward retirement, identified his successor’s biggest priority as overseeing Bentley’s evolution into a college.

GRADUATING TO A COLLEGE Maurice M. Lindsay assumed the role of president in 1953. A vice president who had joined Bentley in 1920 as an accounting instructor, he steered a steady course. The school retained its focus on training accountants, and continued to draw mostly working-class white men from the Boston area who could afford its exceptionally low tuition ($475 a year for day students in 1958). Bentley remained in Boston, even as rising enrollment fueled expansion in and around its headquarters at 921 Boylston Street.

Among other accomplishments, President Lindsay strengthened Bentley’s ties to alumni, and prompted the school to launch its first capital campaign, which helped enlarge the footprint of the Boston campus. Notable milestones also included establishing the first cafeteria, first respectable library, first nonrented dormitory, first scholarships, first student newspaper and alumni magazine, first standing faculty committees and first ranking system for faculty.

All were important steps toward gaining collegiate status.

In 1961, the school received authority to grant a four-year degree, specifically, the Bachelor of Science in Accounting. The Bentley College of Accounting and Finance was open for business.

LOOKING OUTWARD Becoming a college set the stage for dramatic changes throughout the 1960s. Under its third president, Thomas L. Morison, Bentley added a liberal arts program and an athletics program, and expanded the ranks of faculty and administrative staff. It instituted a system of faculty tenure and, in 1966, gained accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

There was significant growth in student enrollment during the 1960s. Bentley doubled day-school enrollment over the course of the decade, thanks in part to the baby boomers who reached college age. Enrollment was 1,894 students in the 1969-1970 academic year.

The faculty expanded accordingly, reaching 109 professors by 1969.

To accommodate such growth and position Bentley for the future, college leaders determined that Bentley could no longer get by with its cramped facilities in Boston. They considered other locations in the city as well as in several nearby communities. Acknowledging that a move to the suburbs would be risky, they nonetheless took action upon seeing a prime 103-acre suburban property with stunning views. Bentley bought the land in 1962 and solidified plans to build a campus in Waltham, within the growing Route 128 industrial and commercial corridor.

1982

1994

More students live on campus than commute.

The Multicultural Center is founded.

1995

1984

The Hughey Center for Financial Services (Trading Room) debuts.

Laptops are distributed to all freshmen.

1971

1991

We become Bentley College.

The Service–Learning program is founded.

1973

The Graduate School is founded, offering master’s degrees in accounting and taxation.

1976

The Center for Business Ethics is established.

1989

The footbridge is built.

1990

Majors for Bachelor of Arts degree are offered.

Breakfast by Moonlight starts a pancake tradition.

<< HISTORY

President Morison and Dean of Faculty Rae Anderson wrote of the plans in 1965: “The campus that will rise on the academic plateau now being created on the crest of the great hill of the North Campus has been articulated in New England colonial architecture of the Georgian period. The style of architecture selected was not chosen by chance or happenstance. As an institution with deep roots in New England, Bentley College chose a style that would take full advantage of the spectacular location and capitalize upon the natural beauty of the surroundings, in full harmony with our New England heritage. The goal is to create something of beauty — beauty of a lasting character. Hence, the decision to forgo contemporary design of an ephemeral nature.”

PUSH AND PULL Not everyone was so entranced. Bentley had long drawn most of its students from Boston and nearby neighborhoods; many chose the school because it offered a solid education they could reach by public transit. Would students follow Bentley west? The Waltham site was large enough to meet the school’s needs, but its location in a city then on the downswing inspired concern. Some trustees and other leaders saw a threat to the well-being of the institution.

Robert O’Connor, a longtime dean of Bentley’s evening division, spoke for many in calling the move to Waltham “a huge leap of faith.”

The change of venue signaled the final transition from a city night school to a residential day college. Leaders had to contend with a range of new administrative requirements, from maintaining campus security to caring for 12 new buildings and expansive grounds. It was a whole new ballgame and victory, not assured.

Indeed, Bentley entered the 1970s with a dimmer outlook than it had 10 years earlier. Enrollment dipped, expenses outstripped income and layoffs ensued.

2000

The campus grows by 53 acres, gaining the Greenspace, athletic fields and more.

2010

HOLDING FIRM Yet college leaders, under the direction of Gregory H. Adamian, held firm to their vision. Moreover, President Adamian brought new rigor and vitality to the institution. During his presidency, from 1970 to 1991, Bentley would not only cement its reputation as a center of excellence for accounting education, it would emerge as a strong, well-rounded establishment.

In 1971, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education authorized Bentley to offer a full range of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees. With that, the Bentley College of Accounting and Finance became, simply, Bentley College. The school’s graduate program started in 1973, offering Master of Science degrees in accounting and taxation. Academic initiatives included creating the Center for Business Ethics (1976) and extracurricular options expanded with the opening of the Dana Athletic Center (1973).

The wisdom of moving from Boston was becoming clearer all the time. Waltham and other suburbs saw an explosion of business growth that brought a new class of companies to the state and the country. Boston-based industrial firms like United Shoe Machinery Corporation and United Fruit Company, which once hired scores of Bentley graduates, were falling victim to changing times. Businesses focusing on technology emerged in their wake. Bentley College officials took steps across the institution to ensure that students were prepared for this new economic era.

PLAYING ON A NATIONAL STAGE President Adamian oversaw Bentley’s transformation from a regional accounting school to an institution recognized nationally for innovative business education. The number of faculty jumped from 42 to 350 during his tenure, and full- and part-time enrollment doubled.

Plans called for recruiting more women and more students from outside Massachusetts.

The Bentley team wins the annual College Fed Challenge.

2014

The women’s basketball team wins the NCAA Division II National Championship.

2005

Bentley is approved to grant doctoral degrees in business and accountancy.

2008

We become a university.

2016

Bloomberg ranks Bentley as a Top 10 business school in the U.S., and the Princeton Review ranks our Career Services program as No. 1 in the nation.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 14

Gregory H. Adamian

Joseph M. Cronin

Joseph G. Morone

Gloria Cordes Larson

From Tenure

1953-1961

1961-1970

1970-1991

1991-1997

1997-2005

Since 2007

St. Croix, New Brunswick, Canada

Medford, Mass.

Somerville, Mass.

Milton, Mass.

Staten Island, N.Y.

McLean, Va.

Education

Shaw Business School; Bentley School; Hamilton College of Law, Chicago

Bentley School; Suffolk University (BSA, MSA and JD)

Harvard College; Boston University Law School; Harvard University (MPA)

Harvard College; Harvard University (MA); Stanford University (EdD)

Hamilton College; Yale University (PhD)

Vassar College; University of Virginia Law School

Professional Background

President

Thomas L. Morison

Principal, Kinyon’s Commercial School

Executive, H.P. Hood

Lawyer and professor of law

Top state education official for Illinois and Massachusetts

Executive at General Electric; dean, Lally School, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Senior government official; partner, Foley Hoag; corporate boards

Expanding residential and student life options without a true campus

Planning and executing the move from Boston and building the Waltham campus

Leading change to firmly establish Bentley as a suburban, residential college with a regional reputation for excellence and innovation in business education

Guiding Bentley though the challenge of economic recession and declining interest in business study

Establishing Bentley as the “business school for the information age”

Creating the Center for Women and Business; championed an innovative fusion model of undergraduate education; breaking ground for the multipurpose arena

Painting: His works were auctioned to support the scholarship fund he established

An expert pinochle player who entertained alumni and donors over games at the Algonquin Club

An avid and accomplished golfer, he did much fundraising on the course

He painted scenes from faculty and staff honeymoon photos as gifts

College hockey; during his presidency, Bentley hockey moved to Division I

Her three Labrador retrievers: Harry Jr., Sally and Teak

Securing authority to grant Bachelor of Science degrees

The beautiful new Waltham campus and expanded academic programs

Contributions so numerous he has been called Bentley’s “second founder”

Championing international education and student advising

Launching the PhD program; adding the DeVincent land and the Army Corps land to the campus, totaling 53 acres

Transforming Bentley from a regional business school into an internationally recognized and accredited university

An astute investor, he did extremely well on Wall Street and started a student investment club — a forerunner of the Bentley Investment Group

The first Bentley president to travel the country extensively, meeting alumni and raising funds for the new campus

Enjoyed surveying the campus from the balcony in Morison Hall, puffing on a ubiquitous cigar

Made use of an antique Bentley automobile, a gift from a professor, in local parades and at college events such as Reunion and Homecoming

Renowned for remembering the name of virtually every faculty and staff member

First woman to chair the Boston Chamber of Commerce; oversaw construction of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center; ranked in the Top 50 “Most Powerful People,” Boston magazine

Education is a continuing process.

It does not end with a college degree: indeed, it is only well begun.

For nearly half a century, the common denominator among Bentley students has been, and is, a motivation that is uncommon.

The final measure of a college’s success is the enduring influence on all whom it touches. For all that we have accomplished, the influence of Bentley College is just beginning.

We teach productivity and profitability, yes, but we also teach that the world is more than a marketplace.

In academics, we must offer the most advanced business education possible.

In student life, we must be every bit as appealing as the good liberal arts colleges with which we are beginning to compete.

Students are the reason I fell in love with Bentley. They are focused, motivated and prepared. They want to do something important with their lives and are here to learn how.

Quotation

Anecdote

Legacy

Hobbies or Passions

Seminal Accomplishments

Maurice M. Lindsay

FAR RIGHT PHOTO BY DAVID YELLEN

921 Boylston Street in the 1960s

Moreover, academic offerings expanded from a single program in accounting to undergraduate degrees in 11 business and liberal arts disciplines. The school’s endowment benefited as well, going from $385,000 in 1970 to $60 million in 1991. The years saw construction of 27 buildings, including residence halls and academic, administrative and athletic facilities.

The school’s long commitment to ready students for the professional world surged forward. In fall 1984, Bentley gave all first-year students portable computers. It would shortly become the first college to require laptop computers for all students.

EBB AND FLOW Growth slowed during the last decade of the 20th century. Student enrollment stalled or decreased in the midst of economic recession and declining interest in business studies. There were staff layoffs and campus construction came to a halt.

Still, Bentley leaders stayed focused on the future. Joseph M. Cronin, president from 1991 to 1997, worked with students, faculty, administration and alumni on a new strategic plan. In particular, it called for globalizing a Bentley education. Students gained opportunities to study abroad and more international students arrived to study in Waltham. President Cronin was instrumental in fostering a spirit of diversity and acceptance on campus, particularly through outreach to gay and lesbian students.

The school welcomed its sixth president, Joseph G. Morone, in 1997. He led efforts to build on longtime strengths across the college, and increased funds for research, teaching and curriculum development. There were significant improvements to campus infrastructure and new facilities that positioned Bentley as “the business school for the information age.” Construction boomed again, with the opening of the Smith Center for Academic Technology and the Student Center as well as a $13 million renovation of the library.

Campus aesthetics improved with the addition of a Greenspace, made possible by repurposing parking lots and acquiring nearby property.

16 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

BECOMING A UNIVERSITY The expansion of programs, faculty and reasearch capacity under President Morone helped Bentley achieve another ambitious goal: university status. The school met the chief criterion for the elevated position in 2005, when Massachusetts granted authority to award PhDs in business and accountancy. Three years later, the state approved Bentley’s petition to call itself a university.

In 2007, the school named its first female president: Gloria Cordes Larson. Milestones during her tenure include launching a distinctive 11-month MBA program, establishing the Center for Women and Business, and facilitating research on how well colleges and universities are preparing students for the 21st-century workplace. The school’s visibility and reputation have grown apace. For example, Bentley is one of only three U.S. educational institutions to earn accreditation by the European Quality Improvement System, which benchmarks quality in management and business education. An annual ranking by Bloomberg BusinessWeek lists Bentley as one of the Top 10 business schools nationwide for 2016.

Now, the centennial year is upon us. Mr. Bentley would certainly be astonished at what his school has become. In his time, he had questioned the need for his students to study much other than accounting. But he did see the wisdom of adapting to changing times. (Witness his push for teaching students how to use the adding machine and other new technologies of the day.) Moreover, as a man who appreciated opera and other fine arts, he understood the value of a broadened perspective. As he often told students: “I can teach you everything about accounting, but accounting isn’t everything.”

At age 100, the university is striving to deliver on the “everything” that Mr. Bentley envisioned.

Associate Professor of History Cliff Putney is writing a history of Bentley.

HISTORY

FALCON FACT S Bentley Beginnings First Field Day: 1918 First Bentley Reunion: 1934 First Homecoming: 1975 First Rainbow Breakfast: 1999

$120 102 $1,000 $350

1917

Undergraduate tuition

1942

Average class size

1967

Room and board

1992

Price of books

BEST WAY TO REACH HOME

1917

Phone operators or handwritten letters

1967

Waiting in line to use rotary dial telephone

2016

Cellphone, text message, Facetime or email

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 17

Teachers and Scholars 1970s

Women are a growing presence in Bentley classrooms.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 19

ACADEMICS >>

Success by Degrees

BY GEORGE GRATTAN

I

N FEBRUARY 1917, 30 YOUNG MEN EAGER TO STUDY ACCOUNTING GATHERED IN A RENTED ROOM ON BOSTON’S HUNTINGTON AVENUE. They came to learn from a man who had left his teaching job at Boston University a few months earlier, at age 40. These students couldn’t know what the future would bring. But they surely knew that the field of accounting was growing in prestige and profitability, and they knew that Harry C. Bentley was the best teacher of the subject they’d ever had.

For his part, Mr. Bentley had a tightly focused vision of business education: “… in preparing young men for a business career, it is better for them to be qualified to do some one thing particularly well rather than to be superficially trained in a number of things.”

The singularly focused Bentley School did well by its students, readying them for the CPA exam. Bentley graduates often outscored those of four-year colleges and universities. From 1917 to 1937, in fact, the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants awarded more than 30 gold and silver medals to Bentley graduates based on their CPA exam scores, which on at least one occasion ranked highest in the nation.

Still, as early as 1919, the accounting-only approach began to shift, as courses in taxes, economics and corporate finance joined the curriculum. “Practical, business” English courses arrived in 1920 — the founder was said to be appalled by how poorly his students wrote — and the school hired its first full-time English teacher, John W. Sullivan, in 1924. Psychology courses first appeared in 1929 to bolster students’ understanding of business marketing, and business statistics debuted in 1937.

The overwhelming emphasis was on accounting and other business courses. But the founder’s vision for the school was pivoting to recognize that doing “some one thing particularly well” might require a breadth of knowledge in other subjects.

20 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

HEAD OF THE CLASS Whatever their specialty, teachers were expected to be exceptionally skilled instructors, which Mr. Bentley saw as a chief calling card of the school. Accounting instructors in particular had to meet high standards and proceeded through an apprenticeship system.

All new faculty had to observe Harry Bentley teach his own classes, or sit in on the classes of a senior instructor whom he had trained.

Textbooks were written by the founder and faculty members themselves, and published by the institution. Many graduates returned as instructors, helping to foster a uniform approach to teaching accounting at the school.

“From President Bentley all the way down the line, everyone was engaged in producing superior professional accountants,” observed Kenneth R. Dorr ’29.

The year 1948 brought two watershed moments with implications for faculty and curriculum. First was Bentley’s conversion from private ownership to a nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Trustees. Second, Harry Bentley called on the board to transform the school into a college: a four-year, degree-granting institution of higher education.

<< ACADEMICS

THE ROAD TO COLLEGE STEADY ON External factors were on the founder’s side. The Korean War had Change came in small, steady increments. Management and mathematics introduced the possibility of educational deferments, but only for students courses were first offered in 1953, and computer science courses in enrolled in degree-granting institutions. Moreover, the accounting 1957. President Maurice Lindsay began a campaign to build faculty profession was moving to make a four-year degree credentials, through hiring and by encouraging a prerequisite for taking the CPA exam. New York current instructors to pursue bachelor’s, master’s instituted this change in 1938 and Massachusetts and doctoral degrees. (Many did so at Suffolk and By 1917, accounting was considering it as early as 1950. By that year, Northeastern.) was shedding the 40 percent of all Massachusetts CPAs were Bentley By 1958, trustees had adopted a set of educational association with menial alumni, so the implications of such a shift were huge objectives for a baccalaureate program in accounting, labor that bookkeeping for both the school and the commonwealth. one that would create graduates who were not merely had in the 19th century Securing degree-granting privileges was going to “trained” but also “thinking, balanced, social beings.” and accountants were increasingly viewed as be an uphill climb for Bentley, however. Some chief In language that will be familiar to friends of skilled professionals. impediments: a high student-to-faculty ratio, large the modern Bentley, trustees argued for students classes, a shortage of faculty with college degrees, an receiving “a balance of general and professional emphasis on teaching over research, an inadequate education” to “become familiar with the economic, library and a Board of Trustees that lacked professional political and social climate in which modern business diversity. The school would also need to further diversify course offerings. is conducted” while developing “their capacities for objective analysis, In 1953, 10 of the school’s 11 full-time professors taught accounting, their leadership qualities, their appreciation of cultural values, and with a standard teaching load of five days and two evenings a week an awareness of social responsibility.”

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 21

ACADEMICS >>

Right: A class meets outside Jennison Hall in 1983 Below: Professor Edward Zlotkowski, founder of the Service–Learning Center, in the classroom, ca. 1990s

RISE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS ACCELERATING CHANGE The school hired John S. Gibson, professor of history and literature at Academic programs grew at a rapid clip through the 1960s. New courses what was then the Babson Institute of Business Administration, to arrived in management, political science, philosophy, management, create a curricular plan for the forthcoming baccalaureate program. economics, mathematics, data processing, humanities, history and His report and recommendations, delivered in the natural sciences.

May 1959, stipulated that at least 40 percent of Standards were also on the rise, for students the curriculum be devoted to liberal arts courses. and for faculty. The college became more selective, The plan called for 45 credit hours of course work requiring day-school applicants in 1965 and Bentley’s faculty grew from 24 in accounting, 12 hours in other business subjects later to submit SAT scores. A system of academic to 34 full-time professors in and 63 hours in nonbusiness subjects/liberal arts. probation began in 1964 to balance the rise of 1960 -1961. By then, all but two Faculty governance and rank arrived in the athletics. Students who couldn’t maintain a high of the school’s full-time teachers 1960-1961 academic year. With the latter change, enough grade point average weren’t allowed to had at least bachelor’s degrees, full-time faculty could progress from instructors participate in extracurricular groups such as the 23 had master’s degrees, two or assistant professors to associate or full professchool’s popular basketball team. had PhDs and three had other sors. By 1960, all but two of Bentley’s 34 full-time In the quest for accreditation by the New England types of doctorates. teachers had at least a bachelor’s degree.

Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), All of the changes bore fruit: In 1961, the President Morison continued the push to hire Massachusetts Board of Collegiate Authority faculty with a terminal degree in their field. The granted the school’s petition to award degrees in NEASC bid met success in 1966 and, by 1970, accounting. The Bentley College of Accounting and Finance awarded Bentley had 109 full-time professors. They hailed from business two-year associate’s degrees in 1962 and presented its first bachelor’s and liberal arts disciplines, but by design formed a single faculty degrees in 1964. It was a timely change for would-be accountants. Mas- committed to the same educational objectives. sachusetts had recently joined many other states in requiring a bachelor’s degree to sit for the CPA exam.

22 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< ACADEMICS BY 1917, accounting was shedding the association with menial labor that bookkeeping had in the 19th Century and accountants were increasingly viewed as skilled professionals. At the same time, the need for accountants was growing thanks to the 1913 passage of the 16th Amendment and the institution of a federal income tax, as well as the Federal Reserve Board’s beginning to ask for uniform financial receipts from businesses in 1917.

Students work on film and television production techniques in the Media and Culture Lab, 2013

GROWING PAINS ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE The move to Waltham, in 1968, resonated across every part of the The 1970s and 1980s were boom years for academic initiatives. The institution. More and better classrooms, along with facilities such Center for Business Ethics, spearheaded by Professor of Philosophy as natural science laboratories, were poised to support growth of W. Michael Hoffman, established Bentley as a thought leader in this academic programs. brand-new discipline. Faculty have gone on to create By 1971, Bentley was granting Bachelor of numerous other centers, institutes and networks Science degrees in all business disciplines. Then that share their own scholarship while advancing came Bachelor of Arts degrees in liberal arts knowledge and practice in a particular area. ExThough a handful of female instructors and professors subjects, starting with English. The additions amples include the Center for the Integration of taught at Bentley part time transformed the Bentley College of Accounting Science and Industry and the Center for Marketing going back at least as and Finance into “Bentley College.”

Technology. More recent entries are the Health far as the 1950s, the first The change had been hard won. According to Thought Leadership Network and the Bentley Data full-time female professor, interviews with then-President Gregory H. Adamian, Innovation Network.

Marion Graham Willis, many members of the Board of Trustees were In a move that made national news, each incoming was hired to teach English against expanding degree offerings. The president freshman in 1984 received a portable computer. in 1962. and a few key allies fought for the idea that The stage was set for integrating technology across awarding degrees in subjects other than accounting the curriculum; courses in accounting, computer was essential to the school’s survival. Their information systems and English were first in line. arguments won the day, prevailing even beyond The work extended beyond the classroom, with the undergraduate study. Bentley added graduate courses and, in 1973- addition of facilities such as the Trading Room, User Experience 1974, began Master of Science programs in accounting and taxation. Center and Computer Information Systems Sandbox. All continue to provide students with hands-on experience using the technology tools of the day.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 23

ACADEMICS >>

President Adamian with students in 1987. They are testing the HP Portable Vectra CS personal computer, the "laptop" of choice for the freshmen and sophomores at the time.

APPRECIATION GROWS RECENT MILESTONES Growth in the liberal arts disciplines continued, with majors in Sixteen years into the present decade, Bentley has logged impressive gains.

English, History and Philosophy established by 1990; seven others PhD programs in business and accounting accepted their first students would follow. in 2006. The undergraduate portfolio expanded Whereas students of the 1960s voiced some skeptiwith a program in Liberal Studies, an optional second cism at the addition of such courses to their business major to complement a student’s major in business. curriculum, by the 1970s and 1980s students were An 11-month, full-time MBA program, launched in The Jeanne and Dan Valente enjoying the challenges of history, philosophy, English 2012, has innovative elements such as trips abroad.

Center was established in and the natural sciences.

We are, indeed, a long way from 30 men and one 2006 to sustain the arts and sciences as an integral part “Dr. Fessenden was lively and spirited and instructor, gathered in a rented room on a February of a Bentley education. managed to tweak my interest in geology far quicker evening in 1917. than I expected,” observes Heather Brown Colbert And yet the seeds of Bentley’s 100-year evolution ’81, MBA ’87. “His mnemonics were great … I can are in that first encounter: a mutual commitment to still recite Moh’s Scale of Hardness. Although my excellence, a determination to advance, and a willingness undergrad and MBA degrees were business oriented, geology courses to see what worked. Bentley University no longer trains students (much are my fondest memories.” less only men) to do “some one thing particularly well.” But neither has Another student from the era, Marc Levesque ’86, recalls lectures by it fallen prey to a superficial education in many things. Instead, it is a Professor of Government Tony Kimball as “so entertaining that you world-class, internationally accredited research and teaching university would not ever consider blowing off even an early 8:00 a.m. class.” with 24 undergraduate majors and 35 minors, scholars who regularly publish in leading journals and with top university presses, and a mission to shape the future of business education.

George Grattan is senior associate director for academic communications.

The narrative draws on research by university historian Cliff Putney.

24 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< ACADEMICS

A Very Sweet 16

Alternative Routes

THE HONORS PROGRAM

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

The Honors Program launched in 2000 to provide extra challenge for a diverse group of academically talented students.

“Our main goal has never changed: to offer students strong academic experiences in the classroom,” says Professor of Economics Aaron Jackson.

He has directed the program since 2012, following program founder Linda McJannet, professor emerita of English, and Gregory Hall, associate professor of natural and applied sciences. “What differs today is the larger focus on the importance of and opportunity for student research.”

Less than 10 percent of each entering class (around 100 students) are invited to participate. Students take nine honors courses and, as seniors, complete a capstone research project. The Honors Program publishes a newsletter, Columnus, and in October 2016 started its own student research journal.

“Honors students learn not only from professors, but from their peers,” says Jackson. “The research component teaches students to think critically about problems that don’t have a clear answer.”

Moreover, he says, student researchers learn to pivot.

While best known for traditional undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Bentley has long offered alternative paths to professional development.

The newest entry is the Online Degree Completion program. Launched in January 2016, it serves adults who stepped away from their education for personal or professional reasons. Those who complete the 16-course program receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“This degree can really open doors for someone looking to advance in their career or increase their earning potential,” says Roy “Chip” Wiggins, dean of business and interim co-provost. “This could be a person who put college on hold for parenting but is ready to resume study or someone with an associate’s degree interested in pursuing the next level of education.”

Bentley operated a continuing education program from 1971 to the early 2000s. Real estate, public relations and paralegal studies were among the offerings.

Today, mid- to senior-level managers turn to Executive Education to enhance skills.

Debra Kennedy directs the programs, which include innovative courses such as effective leadership, digital marketing and the business of bio-pharma.

“For more adults, a career spans many decades; people need refreshment to keep up with market needs,” says Kennedy.

“ They have to be flexible when unexpected results or roadblocks develop in their projects. All of these skills are crucial for success beyond Bentley.”

“Executive Education offers business professionals high-quality, universitylevel content at a point in their career when they need it most.”

Education without Borders STUDY ABROAD Back in 1990, then-Director of International Programs Jerry Bookin-Weiner was thrilled to have 40 Bentley students studying abroad.

Speculating on the future, he spoke of seeing the number reach 150 to 200 students per year. It was an ambitious forecast for a threeyear-old program that had exactly seven relationships with universities overseas.

Today, the vision has come to pass — and then some. In 2015-2016, what is now the Joseph M. Cronin Office for International Education sent 709 students to 31 countries around the globe. Close to 50 percent of graduates in the Class of 2016 studied outside the U.S. during their Bentley years.

“The growth is a testament to the value of hands-on learning in a cross-cultural context,” says Director of International Education Natalie Schlegel, MBA ’08.

“Regional knowledge, adaptation skills and global perspectives develop Bentley grads who are prepared for constant change in the workplace and the world.”

Over the past 30 years, destinations have expanded to countries such as China, Singapore, Ghana, South Africa, Argentina and Chile.

Students can study abroad anywhere from one week, through programs led by Bentley faculty, to a single semester to a full academic year.

— Stories by Meredith Mason

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 25

ACADEMICS >>

Accounting Then & Now ca. 1965

The year 1917 marks a centennial not only for Bentley, but also for the nationally standardized Certified Public Accountant exam. As the discipline upon which the school was founded and the only subject taught continuously for the institution’s whole existence, accounting holds a special place in Bentley’s past, present and future. Here, seven faculty members talk about teaching and scholarship in accounting today and changes they have seen through the years.

Jay Thibodeau | Rae D. Anderson Professor of Accountancy My average schedule is teaching two sections of one course per semester.

I’m on what’s known as a “scholarly profile,” having switched over in 2006 to work on the PhD program.

The Accountancy Department was given the task of creating a doctoral research program that could, in President Joe Morone’s words, “Make Bentley for business what MIT is for science: a top-notch, internationally known, research-producing institution.” We realized that we couldn’t be all things to all people — we weren’t going to compete with the economics research at the University of Chicago, for example — so we focused in on systems and auditing. We made sure that the rigor of our research in those fields matches that of the premier schools throughout the world.

The biggest change I’ve seen in accounting is the outsourcing of basic accounting jobs. CPA firms have figured out that many structured tasks can be offshored. About 10 percent of audit hours once done at the client site are now being done by service centers, whether onshore or offshore. As a result, the students who go into auditing find themselves doing tasks in the first year that they used to do in the second year — and so on. That means we need to focus on the more advanced tasks in our classes, because new auditors are being asked to do them. This also makes critical thinking skills and professional judgment that much more important.

26 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Mahendra Gujarathi | Rae D. Anderson Professor of Accountancy My teaching week is short (two course sections per semester) but my week as an educator has no defined boundaries. I am constantly thinking of how to deliver rigorous courses to meet the demands of the profession, demonstrate the relevance of accounting, convince students that accounting is an interesting profession, and make them the critical thinkers and problem solvers that society needs.

I also attempt to develop instructional resources for the accounting academy at large.

The typical pedagogical tool I use — beyond the textbooks, computers and Internet resources — is Socratic questioning. If getting students excited about the subject matter and demonstrating alternative approaches to address a problem are my primary goals in the classroom, I must engage students in a deep dialogue, rather than delivering a lecture or showing slides.

Priscilla Burnaby | Professor of Accountancy When I started at Bentley 40 years ago, we taught Freshman Accounting three times a week for 75 minutes each. Classes were 80 to 90 students, so we had graders that helped us keep up with the workload.

Currently I have a 2/2 teaching load with 35 students per class. I get a reduced teaching load because I publish two to three articles a year.

For graduate students, the most important thing to teach them

<< ACADEMICS

Many nonaccounting majors have difficulty seeing the discipline as relevant to what is going on in the world of business. So, it’s valuable to bring in current news to show the impact of the accounting function on how businesses operate and how businesses get into and/or avoid trouble. Accounting is not simply a cost-center, but rather a valueadding function in a business.

2013

is that no two days will be alike on the job. We can teach some basic skills, but they will have to figure out new ways to add value to their companies. I use case studies in internal auditing that require students to do research and use critical thinking skills to determine the issues and possible solutions to improve the systems.

While I have the students read a textbook and study the standards for a basic understanding of how to do an internal audit, I also use case study discussion, ACL (an analytic software program), journal articles, guest speakers and a one-day visit to an internal audit department for a mock quality review — all to provide as much of a real-life work experience as possible.

William Read | Professor of Accountancy and Department Chairman Looking at what has changed since the school’s earliest days, we can’t underscore enough the crucial role of research at today’s Bentley.

New faculty hired for a tenure-track, assistant professor position are expected to hold an earned doctorate in accountancy and, accordingly, engage in quality research that helps advance the state of knowledge in the accounting profession. In addition to having the promise and potential of being solid researchers, new assistant professors are expected to be solid teachers and effective in the classroom.

Elliott Levy | Associate Professor of Accountancy I’ve been involved with the department’s introductory courses for more than 15 years, having taught Auditing, Intermediate Accounting and Introductory Accounting in the past. I currently teach two large sections — 70 students — of the introductory Accounting and Finance course, GB 112. Preparing for class is a daily activity for me during the school year. When I started teaching, I made a commitment to prioritize my students, which has me always thinking about how to best present material and manage class time.

I use PowerPoint slides, a Smart Board or chalkboard and a document camera. We use a customized textbook that is available in hard copy and electronic formats. I like the document projector’s ability to easily and quickly share news articles, reminders and so forth.

Karen Osterheld | Senior Lecturer in Accountancy Inside the classroom, I have witnessed the increased maturity and sophistication of our students. From the questions they ask to their interest in learning all aspects of the subject matter, it has become a very different classroom. Each freshman class that I meet seems to be more impressive than the last. I have also learned that we must constantly engage the students during a class session — you need to “change it up” every 10 or 15 minutes, from lectures to group activities to case studies, and so forth.

I’ve also witnessed a major change in the content and timing of our introductory accounting and finance curriculum. Eight years ago, we pioneered a change whereby we now teach an integrated two-semester course to freshmen that covers introduction to accounting, finance, and business. This enables our students to focus on the major they want to pursue earlier in their tenure and helps make them ready for internships earlier in their college career. There has been a huge increase in the number of students who receive internship opportunities.

Jean Bedard | Timothy B. Harbert Professor of Accountancy One of the key differences between Bentley at its founding and now is that in addition to valuing high-quality teaching, we have a research mission as a highly ranked university. Our faculty produce knowledge through developing original research, cases and textbooks, in addition to imparting knowledge to students in and outside of the classroom.

Another important factor is that our faculty have deep professional experience and knowledge of the business and professional environment. This enables us to teach about topics that are most meaningful in contributing to the current practice of accountancy and auditing.

Since my arrival at Bentley in 2005, my teaching has been all in the graduate programs: PhD and MSA. In the PhD program, we usually admit four students every other year. I teach the seminar on auditing research, but most of my PhD teaching is one-to-one, with regular interaction from the time a student enters the program and begins thinking about important topics to study, through the final stages of writing the dissertation.

My MSA teaching takes place in a more traditional classroom format (usually 25 to 30 students), but still involves a lot of discussion with students about important current topics. Given that MSA students have undergraduate degrees from Bentley or elsewhere, they have a good grasp of the basic rules. My goal is to layer on the larger questions in the business context of accountancy and auditing. For example: Who makes the accounting and auditing standards rules, and what are the goals of those individuals? What are the political structures within which they operate? Why are the rules the way they are? How do the financial markets use the information we produce? What is the regulatory context of auditing, and how do regulators’ decisions affect how auditors do their job?

At both the PhD and MSA levels, I spend about two days for prep time for each class session the first time I teach it: considering the best topics, looking for good sources of material, and developing projects or in-class exercises for students. Each semester, I always revise some of the material in each course to keep my syllabus current.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 27

ACADEMICS >>

1970s

Moments & Memories The Early Years Being 84, I can’t remember the names of my favorite teachers at night school on Boylston Street, but they were excellent. My first teacher said, and he was right, you’ll learn more, pick up more vocabulary and have more fun than that new television set. His name was “Ray” and was with Bentley’s as the outstanding teacher for years. You know who I mean! [Rae Anderson] George Bailey ’52 When I arrived at my first class, I was motioned by the instructor, Earl Haskins, to take a seat up front, even though there were many empty seats throughout the room. Mr. Haskins asked me if I had done my homework; I had. He took it and proceeded to teach the class with it. From that day forward I had to be prepared with my homework, as Mr. Haskins had let the word out and other teachers began to ask me for my work before class. I doubt that I would have accomplished what I did without the challenge and support given to me

by Mr. Haskins.

Karl Taylor ’57

I was interviewing for a job for the Burlington Industries Internal Audit Staff. After a vigorous all-day session of interviews and tests, we ended our day with a short one-on-one with Mr. Henry Rauch. He said “Burlington is going to offer you a job; certainly not based on your grades at Bentley — they’re mediocre at best — it was your quick thinking in answering the test question of ‘What state is north of Georgia?’ Your answer of ‘New York’ made for a good laugh in the executive dining room today.”

Mike McCarty ’65 I have no other option for domestic harmony other than to proclaim that Professor Elliott’s first semester, sophomore year Cost Accounting course was my favorite.

Not because it was a great course (and indeed it was!), but rather because the girl who took the seat next to me in the front row was one Janice Weiner who had the longest black hair.

We were married in June 1969 and have been married for over 47 years.

Bernard Fellner ’68

Favorite class was law with Professor Adamian. The classes used to fly by as he was so interesting to listen to.

Kermit Kimball ’64

“ There is only one excuse for missing my class. Death.

Yours.” Gregory Adamian to freshman law class.

Richard Saltzman ’69

28 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

My favorite professor was Dr. Greg Adamian, and my favorite class was his Business Law I class in the fall of 1969. It was my first class and my most poignant moment at Bentley. He has been one of the most influential people in my personal and professional life whom I have used as my role model, blueprint and inspiration throughout my career.

Don Wetmore ’70 Harry Zerigian, accounting professor in the ’60s and ’70s. When he was trying to make an illustrative point at the chalkboard, he’d blow into his hand while holding a piece of chalk and say: “PEOPLE!!! YOU’VE GOT TO …”

Ed Dornig ’71 My freshman year Business Law professor would often refer to a specific paragraph or two of law that was contained in our textbook.

He would always begin his reference with, “It goes something like this …” and it would ALWAYS be a word-for-word match to the law. He was 100% consistent, never missing or substituting even one word. It was brilliant!

That professor happened to go by the name of Gregory Adamian.

Rick Brodmerkle ’73

1980s Dr. Fessenden was lively and spirited and managed to tweak my interest in geology far quicker than I expected.

His mnemonics were great and I still can recite Moh’s Scale of Hardness (“The Girls Can Flirt And Other Queer Things Can Do”). He sparked my interest enough that I signed up for the Geology of Cape Cod field course — and then I was hooked!

Heather Brown Colbert ’81, MBA ’87 I have to say my favorite class was Calculus in winter of 1978, since that is where I met my now-husband of 31 years!

Laurie (Galer) Riccio ’81

Favorite academic moment: getting the only 4.0 Dr. Kennedy ever gave out in History.

Paula (Hains) Rolleston ’78

I had Professor Flynn in the early 1980s and she had a policy that if everyone got the same question wrong on an exam then obviously she hadn’t taught the concept well and we won’t be penalized for getting it wrong. My entire class got together and we decided that on the next test we would all select B for every answer. We all ended up with an A — she couldn’t believe we had pulled it off and that we all trusted one another that much.

Melissa Howley ’82 One of the craziest memories of Bentley is being in Professor Agnes Messarian’s Business Policy class and the kid next to me brought in a very large dog who proceeded to sit under his desk quiet as a mouse for the whole 45 minutes. It seemed he was watching this dog for a friend. And to this day I am not sure anyone but he and I had any clue that dog was there.

David Marino ’82 One of my favorite classes was Geology with Professor Fessenden. I took Geology as my science series as I figured, how many types of rocks could there be?

Quite a few, as it turned out.

Hiel Lindquist ’83 Harry Zerigian was the most influential professor at 19811983 Bentley. I’ll never forget the man or the lessons.

Randy Roberge ’84, P ’15 ’19 My favorite professor was also my hardest professor, Dick Cross. In Principles of Accounting, Professor Cross actually determined the negative grade point for failing grades! I never saw another professor do this.

Howard Barnes ’86

Dr. Tony Kimball’s U.S. Government lectures were so entertaining that you would not ever consider blowing off even an early 8:00 a.m. class. I’ve been fortunate to keep in touch with Dr. Kimball since graduating; usually getting his take on pending presidential elections.

Marc Levesque ’86 “Look around the room at your classmates; only half of you will still be sitting here at the end of the semester.

This is one of the toughest classes at Bentley. You’ll have to show up and work hard in my accounting class.”

— Dick Cross. Sure enough, the giant lecture hall was only half full by the end of the semester and I was so happy to be one of those students! He scared us but we knew his expectations right from the start!

Michele (Mann) Shea ’88

1990s My favorite professor was Frank Wolpe, founder of the MST Program. His approach to teaching was such a blend of theory, textbook and realworld experiences which led to true learning of the subjects!

Steve Elliott, MST ’92 For alumni like me who attended Bentley in the late ’80s, one of our shared defining experiences was carrying our 18-lb. HP “laptops” all over campus. Memories of that black screen and green type seem like ancient cave drawings today, but, at the time, Bentley was at the forefront of colleges across the nation by providing all students with their own personal computers and integrating their usage into every one of its classes.

(Note: How do I know our HPs were 18 lbs.? I still have mine in my garage!)

Melanie (Mowdy) Otero ’91, MBA ’92

<< ACADEMICS

Professor Richard Geehr, specifically his World War II History class. There was no one as passionate or excited to share his knowledge and experiences as Professor Geehr. One happy memory was when Professor Geehr brought in his own personal Victrola and played us Enrico Caruso. The look on his face was magic.

Jeff Carlton ’93 Freshman English: The professor reminded us of our high school days and how smart we are. She then started to hand our papers back: all D’s and C’s, grades we had never seen on our papers. She then calmly stated, “Now I am going to teach you how to write.”

Today I am constantly sought after by my coworkers and industry peers to write for or review their writing because of this wonderful professor that pushed us to be better.

Neil Abramson ’94

2000s My all-time favorite professor was Professor Grayson who taught English. I didn’t like her at all at first because she always seemed to challenge me and every question I asked she would always play devil’s advocate, but that in turn pushed me to think outside of the box and later shape the way I thought about academia.

Demetria Johnson ’01 I knew I wanted to be in business, which is why I went to Bentley, but I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to do as far as a career.

That all changed when I took Professor Mike Tesler’s Retail Marketing class; it just clicked. Today I celebrate 10 years in the retail industry, which is a fast-paced, exciting and ever-changing place to be.

Maureen (Fedorchuk) Cuddy ’04

Dr. Paul-Emile's World Literature class was the first time I was introduced to literature by Caribbean people. I felt proud and happy to read books about girls like me.

Cheryl-Ann Weekes ’95

Bill Gribbons tops the list!

I still remember our first assignment in Graphic Design and Production: Take a white square and, using four smaller black squares, illustrate a list of words like order, chaos, etc.

He really helped spark my creative side, for which I will always be grateful!!

Erika Vardaro ’94 I remember having to go to the library to get hard copies (!) of some MBA case packages for our assignments. Yup, you had to physically go to the library, wow.

A lbert Savadian, MBA ’97

Community Involvement with Professor Rick Frese: After our mandatory volunteering, I was inspired to dedicate close to two years to City Year Boston, a nonprofit organization that focuses on community service and social justice.

Elba Valerio ’05 I’m pretty sure I took every history class that Mr. Putney taught. We would play games based on the readings: Jeopardy!, Family Feud, etc. Now I'm a professional tour guide and history teacher myself; I hope that my students are enjoying my instruction even half as much as I did with Mr. Putney.

Stefanie Vestal ’05

It took me until the third to last class of the semester to realize Professor Schiano’s genius. Each week he would give us way too much reading (sometimes 300-plus pages) and ask for a maximum 400word memo describing the reading. I finally realized — and can honestly tell you it is the most important lesson I learned in the whole program ­— how to communicate with executives.

Ryan Hayden, MSIT ’07, MBA ’07 Negotiation: hands down the best class at McCallum.

I still use what I learned there on a weekly basis. The class was as practical as it gets. Professor Starner was amazing. His various stories of negotiations that he had done throughout his life provided the perfect color to the practical portion.

Dan Berlin, MBA ’08, MSHFID ’08

2010s Andy Aylesworth. He has such insane energy and a zest for the industry and for teaching that I often refer to his lessons (including how to watch a commercial).

Mariela Spillari ’10 My favorite classes were Math Logic and Math Graphics with Professor Nathan Carter. On the first day of class, Professor Carter could name every student, based on the student photo directory.

Marla Strykowski ’11 My favorite professor of all time was Dave Carhart!

He made me a confident public speaker; even though he taught a math class by assigning us projects that had real-world applications which we needed to present to others.

Jessica Jacovino ’14 My favorite class at Bentley was The Music Industry, with Ben Aslinger. It’s only offered once in a while, and I did all kinds of scheduleshifting to get into the course.

It gave me such confidence and a welcome push in the right direction.

Jenna McPhail ’15

Professor Spinace-Casale.

I visited her class during a recruiting trip and immediately knew that her style of classroom was what I wanted in college and it was a crucial factor in me picking Bentley.

Frank Elenio ’19 Even though I had to trudge up the Smith stairs for this 0-credit class, Professor Vidic made CDI 101 worth more than any of my other classes.

She empowers students by giving them the tools to deliver elevator pitches with assurance, master job interviews and build flawless résumés. Professor Vidic forces students to focus on themselves during this difficult time in our lives when we are so caught up in finding our career paths.

Brooke Jameson ’19

Faculty I was thrilled to begin teaching Abnormal Psychology at Bentley. It is inherently such a fascinating topic, and almost every student has some personal reason for taking it: an uncle who is bi-polar, a nephew who is autistic, a cousin struggling with alcoholism or addiction, not to mention that some students have a touch of OCD, or anxiety or depression themselves. Of course, if they become managers, it will be important to recognize an employee or co-worker who has a problem. The students seem to like the course, and I couldn’t be happier teaching it.

Barbara Nash Department of Natural and Applied Sciences

Favorite class: anything taught by Jeff Shuman.

You’ll learn the most real world, first-person things about business.

Cole Horgan ’16

For me, it’s Professor Joe Dery, Customer Data Analysis for Marketing. He’s extremely knowledgeable, both in theory and practice. He’s very engaging and funny, and his lectures and slides are well thought out. His course moves quickly but he is also patient to make sure every student learns the material.

It’s easy to see why his class fills up so quickly every semester.

Samuel Swartz, MSBA candidate

We teach EC 454, College Fed Challenge. Not only is it our favorite class to teach, it is the best thing we do as professors at Bentley. Year in and year out, the Bentley students have excelled, winning the regional competition four times and the national championship once.

The effort, teamwork and camaraderie that the teams display is truly special.

We are so happy to get to work with such motivated and engaged students.

David Gulley and Aaron Jackson Professors of Economics

Read more stories and add your own at bentley.edu/100 BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 29

ACADEMICS >>

ca. 1970

At right, top: A graduate classroom in the 1970s Middle: Students in the Jennison Hall science lab, 2010 Bottom: Graduate students in the MBA studio, established in 2011

30 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< ACADEMICS

ca. 1980

1983

2005

Above: A professor conducts class in the 883 Boylston Street building

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 31

ACADEMICS >>

FIRST PERSON

FIRST PERSON

Rae D. Anderson ’35

Katherine (O’Keefe) O’Leary ’64

Professor of Accountancy, 1940–1983 Dean of Faculty, 1949–1969

“ Growing up, I went to St. James,

“

Mr. Bentley allowed me to begin teaching … after a year of observing classes.

A well-groomed man with tailored suits, he placed a big emphasis on gentlemanliness. All of the professors took his cue and would leave our jackets on for the entire day. I can remember teaching in a jacket for up to three hours in a room that could accommodate 135 students, where any fresh air that arrived got there by sheer accident. …

For a tuition payment of $10 per month, students received instruction in commercial law, business law, economics and corporate finance. We didn’t have very high admissions standards — but we did have high graduation requirements. Mr. Bentley’s philosophy was “Give them a chance! If the boy’s any good he’ll make good, and if he isn’t, down the drain he’ll go.”

Our rigorous demands on the students led to a high attrition rate at first, but then we started to see more committed students in the years after World War II. … Teaching them was a joy.

They were serious-minded, mature and so sharp! Many of them had spent at least four years in the war, so they wanted to make up for lost time. People — not just GIs — started to realize that there was no future in menial jobs. Our culture began to understand that an education could serve as a road to a successful future.

”

— Excerpted from an interview conducted in 1992.

Rae Anderson died in 1999.

32 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

an all-girls school in my hometown of Salem, Mass.

Since I was athletic and couldn’t play sports in school, I spent a lot of time playing with kids down at Salem’s Mack Park. The guys never minded that I was a girl.

I had as many male friends as female friends.

When it was time to pick a college, I felt confident going with Bentley. I chose it because my godfather had gone there — and he made more money than anyone else I knew. He told me I’d do all right, even though there weren’t a lot of women who went there at the time.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said.

I started at Bentley in September of 1960, when it was on Boylston Street and the sounds of the Prudential Center’s construction seemed ever-present in our classrooms. There wasn’t a whole lot going on besides class.

After Bentley became a four-year school in 1962, a lot more female students came into the picture. The sorority Delta Omega started around my junior year, and I became its president. There were no more than 15 or 20 members, and all we did was have meetings and raise a bit of money to give back to the community.

In 1964, I was one of three women to graduate. Being a class officer, I walked ahead of the others, so I became the first woman to receive a bachelor’s degree at Bentley College.

I got a CPA job right out school, working right down the street from Bentley for Harris, Kerr, Forster. I made $100 a week, a really good salary at the time. They didn’t let me leave the office — women didn’t do that back then. But I had a few clients that I did accounting and bookkeeping for. There was another woman there, also a Bentley grad, who’d worked on the consolidation of a large hotel chain.

Accounting was a maledominated field, and it still is, but we didn’t feel things were tougher for us at Bentley because of that.

The professors were supportive and the guys coming out of Bentley treated us with the same respect we gave them.

”

— As told to Deblina Chakraborty

ACADEMICS

FALCON FACT S

1953

10 of 11 PROFESSORS TAUGHT ACCOUNTING

1917 First CPA exam administered 1950 40% of all Massachusetts CPAs were Bentley alumni 2016 709 students studied abroad

1917

Number of FACULTY

1

2016

Number of FACULTY

287 BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 33

Bold Moves 2016

Aerial view of the Waltham campus, minutes from Boston.

PHOTO BY CHRIS CONTI BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 35

CAMPUS >>

Building a Sense of Place

BY PAUL CARBERRY

T

HE STORY OF BENTLEY’S CAMPUS BEGINS IN A SINGLE ROOM THAT HOUSED A WHIST CLUB. We all know of the school’s decades on Boylston Street in Boston before moving to Waltham. But the story has an even more improbable start in this obscure card room in the Huntington Chambers building located on Huntington Avenue.

When Harry Bentley decided to start his own school, his search for a suitable classroom ranged across the Back Bay and Fenway sections of the city. It eventually led to 30 Huntington Avenue, a space that was home to the Howell Women’s Whist Club. The club agreed to lease the room to Mr. Bentley several evenings a week and on Saturdays.

Thus was launched a campus.

Of the many benchmarks that chart Bentley’s growth over 100 years — numbers of students, faculty, alumni, academic programs, extracurricular offerings — the story of the campus may be the most fascinating.

EDUCATION WITHOUT PRETENSE Though offered in modest quarters, Mr. Bentley’s instruction quickly proved popular and his basic marketing methods — a catalogue, newspaper ads, word of mouth — were highly effective. Within a couple of years, enrollment reached 2,100. The growth spurred moves across the Back Bay, from Huntington Avenue to sites on Tremont Street, before reaching Boylston Street. He leased floors at what was 915 Boylston Street (later renumbered 921) for what had become the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance.

This four-story structure, once an automobile dealership and today owned by the Berklee College of Music, was an unpretentious but effective home for a school that offered an unpretentious but effective education. In 1922, Bentley spent nearly $44,000 to renovate and improve the facility; still, it housed little more than classrooms, offices and a few lounges. The rectangular classrooms were fitted with desks, lecterns for instructors, blackboards and electric lights.

As touted in the school’s promotional literature: “Probably you are now impressed with the spaciousness of the rooms, the lighting effects, and the careful systematic planning which is common to all.”

There was a “reception hall,” unusual in being luxuriously appointed in oak with expensive furniture. It too was featured in advertising of the day, to entice young men to enroll. To read between the lines: A Bentley education could lead to this kind of opulence in your own life.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE CITY Every floor of the school had one or more smoking lounges. In the 1920s and many later decades, smokers included practically every36 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

one — students, faculty, staff and Harry Bentley himself. A planning analysis from 1952 noted that most classrooms and offices did not have windows, and that “the best lighted areas have been set aside for ‘Smoking Lounges.’ These lounges have no doubt been located in order to insulate the classrooms from the noises of traffic on Boylston Street and the nearby rail yards.”

The sounds and sights of Boston punctuated life for Bentley students of the time. There was no library, no dining hall, virtually no facilities at all to support what is today called student life. The single exception was the Placement Department, which helped students and alumni find employment.

ADDING AMENITIES In 1948, Mr. Bentley purchased 921 Boylston Street for $300,000 and began renting other nearby space for classes. The new decade brought steady improvements to enrich life outside the classroom.

Additions included a library, a cafeteria, an infirmary, and guidance and counseling offices.

The school also made small steps toward becoming residential.

Thus far, as a “streetcar school,” Bentley had turned its city location near public transit into a competitive advantage. Adding a residential component was a logical move as the school attracted more students from outside the Boston area, and even outside New England. The first dorms were rented facilities around the Back Bay. In 1960, the purchase of 373 Commonwealth Avenue, for $167,000, created Bentley’s first permanent residence hall.

Enrollment growth during the 1950s strained facilities. As one faculty member observed: “There was no place for faculty or students to lounge about in the ‘old’ Bentley. Faculty offices were crammed; there were no spare classrooms standing empty. The alleyway behind the buildings, between Boylston Street and Newbury Street, was used by cars seeking parking places. Stairwells provided seating to those waiting for classes to empty so new groups could enter, and the broad sidewalks on Boylston filled every day.”

Talk of expansion grew. Leaders soon ruled out remaining in the city, given the cost and inability to have exactly the facilities they needed. And while many Bentley students preferred a city school, many more desired a traditional collegiate experience. In 1962,

trustees authorized President Thomas Morison to move the college to a suitable suburban locale.

LOOKING WEST Bentley considered sites in Belmont, Lexington, Needham and Dedham before settling on the Lyman Estate in Waltham. The purchase price was $365,000 for approximately 103 acres. A 1966 article in The New York Times announced the impending move, describing the site as a “100-acre knoll … that overlooks the industrial fringes of this suburban city” and noting that the nearby neighborhood features “a new development of ranch homes in the $40,000-and-up range.”

Many in the Bentley community, including some trustees, balked at the change. As Gregory H. Adamian, then a faculty member, observed many years later: “Surely there were those at the time who said the move would fail, and that it was better to stay in Boston and try to stick it out than to assume the incredible risk of moving an entire college. Tom [Morison], Rae [Anderson] and the institutional leadership of the day were not discouraged. They saw the risk, recognized the challenge and took it.”

‘TWELVE SHALL RISE’ The campus master plan called for 12 buildings (a handful, including today’s Lewis Hall, were already on the site). A fundraising publication of the time was titled Twelve Shall Rise Together.

These were the library, the Faculty and Administration Building (today’s Morison Hall); the Classroom Building (Jennison Hall); lecture hall (Lindsay Hall); the Student Center (LaCava Center) and seven dorms (the Trees). The cost was approximately $15 million, which came largely from government loans and grants, operating funds, the sale of the various Boston properties and some support from alumni.

The campus was carefully designed to be both

ca. 1964

highly functional and attractive, and to make a statement about the institution. The style chosen was Georgian Colonial. As described by Dean Rae Anderson, who played a pivotal role in the move: “The buildings, featuring fine, solid New England brick relieved by white trim and embellished by graceful arches, stand in full harmony with the regional heritage of the college.”

This traditional design, with a few variations, has remained the basic look of the campus.

FORM AND FUNCTION The new campus was dedicated in 1968. In a special supplement to The Boston Globe, published that November, President Morison spoke of Bentley taking “a giant, bold stride toward meeting today’s demands on American higher education.”

Thus began two decades of almost continuous construction, expansion and grounds improvements. From 1970 to about 1990, Bentley opened 17 new buildings and made several additions to existing facilities, totaling more than $70 million. Residence halls accounted for much of the expansion, as Bentley progressed steadily from weekend commuter college to a fully residential community. By the mid-1980s, for the first time ever, more students lived on campus than commuted — changing the culture of the institution in step with its physical development.

Other construction projects of the day were the Rauch Administration Center, Adamian Graduate Center, Dana Athletic Center and natatorium, and various athletic fields. The athletic facilities, as well as some new residences, were located on the “lower campus” (now south campus), across busy Beaver Street. To make foot traffic easier and safer, the college added a pedestrian bridge, which quickly became a highly visible symbol of the school.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 37

CAMPUS >>

“Bentley now possesses a beautiful and highly functional physical facility that makes possible the fulfillment of our academic mission,” observed Greg Adamian, who led much of the development as president from 1970 to 1991.

ROOM TO GROW The next major phase of campus development unfolded in the late 1990s, under Bentley’s sixth president, Joseph G. Morone. Two nearby properties had become available in quick succession. The DeVincent Farm land, contiguous to the south campus, along with land on Forest Street owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, had long been considered prime expansion sites for Bentley. The DeVincent family, which for decades had operated a farm stand on the site, decided to sell its 33 acres in 1999. After a brief negotiation, Bentley acquired the site for $17 million. The next year, Bentley worked through the federal government to acquire 20 acres of the Army Corps land.

The additional acreage gave the campus a more bucolic feel. Bentley replaced one of its many parking lots with a large grassy quadrangle, which quickly became a hub for outdoor activity and events. Parking was relocated to garages and to the newly acquired land on the south campus, which also became the site for athletic fields and student residences. Bentley built two apartment-style residences on the former Army Corps land; there is also space for future development.

BUSINESS, PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGY President Morone championed the use of technology in business education and facilities built during his tenure reflect the emphasis.

These include a constellation of high-tech labs and centers, the oldest and arguably best known of which is the Trading Room.

The development strategy also understood that education for “the whole person” was critical. So facilities of this period had seminar rooms and smaller classrooms, along with many “breakout” rooms where students could work in teams — as they would continue doing in their career.

The Smith Academic Technology Center was a centerpiece of this effort. As then-Vice President for Academic Affairs H. Lee Schlorff put it, “The Smith Center is where business, technology and the well-rounded individual will come together.”

The center opened in 2000, boasting 20 classrooms, 13 small-group classrooms and five seminar rooms; its expanded Trading Room was the most advanced in the country.

Another project that supported educational, research and co-curricular needs involved the college library — one of Bentley’s 12 original buildings. Approaching age 50, it no longer supported the ways that students and faculty studied, conducted research and used information. Though centrally located on the main campus, it lacked amenities and aesthetics; admission tours for prospective students would sometimes skip over the facility.

The $16 million upgrade enhanced technology, expanded collaborative study space, and added features such as compact electronic stacks, an online room reservation system and floor-to-ceiling windows — even an art gallery, 38 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

café and other informal gathering space. The library director called the result “a true information commons” that ranked among the most technologically advanced business libraries anywhere.

At the end of this flurry of expansion and renovation, President Morone observed, “I doubt that any business school in the world can match this array of teaching and learning facilities.”

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY Growth and improvement have continued under President Gloria Cordes Larson, as Bentley looks to its second century.

Projects include refurbishing and expanding Jennison Hall. The former “Classroom Building” was — like the library — a fixture on the main campus and a workhorse teaching facility from Bentley’s first year in Waltham. Again like the library, it needed to modernize obsolete systems and — more important — change layout, design and resources to meet the challenges of 21st-century business education.

The building is set to reopen in January 2017.

Another undertaking was improving the Student Center that had been constructed in 2002. The goal at that time was to address a source of competitive disadvantage for Bentley: space that fostered students’ sense of community. The addition completed in 2015 meets the goal at an even higher level, with office space for student organizations, new dining options and ample room to hang out.

“This project was focused on connection and collaboration,” said J. Andrew Shepardson, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “It gives students a place to interact in a relaxed setting that is slightly removed from their busy and demanding lives.”

A project begun in fall 2016 is one of the most eagerly anticipated in decades: a multipurpose arena. Sited on the south campus, the arena will provide much-needed space for large events like Convocation, concerts and lectures. It will also be the home rink for Bentley’s Division I hockey team. The projected opening is early 2018.

As President Larson observed, “We will continue to invest in important strategic initiatives that raise academic quality, as well as those that provide a rich student life, which all place-based higher education institutions 1975 should offer.”

IMPRESSIVE GAINS From one man to 700 faculty and staff. Eighteen students to more than 5,600. A single room to 163 acres and 45 buildings (with one more coming soon).

Of all the ways to chart Bentley’s rise to international prominence over a century, this last measure — the development of campus — may top them all. One reason is the audacious nature of the move to Waltham. Another is the role of physical facilities in making education possible, and assuring competitiveness in a crowded higher education marketplace. Perhaps most important, the growth vividly illustrates an entrepreneurial spirit that defines this institution and the students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni who call it their own.

Paul Carberry is director of foundation relations and served for many years as secretary of the college corporation.

<< CAMPUS

The Boston Years 1917 to 1968

ca. 1950

Top right: Students on Boylston Street in 1964 Middle: Students practice calculation in the Machine Room on the Boston campus Bottom: Kappa Pi Alpha fraternity house, ca. 1920s

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 39

CAMPUS >>

Top left: Brothers of Kappa Phi Alpha in 1932

Middle left: Aerial view of Boylston Street and rail yard before construction of Prudential Tower Middle right: Present-day Commonwealth Ave., where the first Bentley dorm was located

40 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Bottom left: Dining room at 373 Commonwealth Ave. in the early 1960s

Above top: Baseball cap signed by members of the Class of 1922 Above bottom: Librarian Linda Tenney

<< CAMPUS

FIRST PERSON

Alexander Zampieron, P ’05 Professor Emeritus of Economics

“ Fifty-two years ago, when

I was asked to interview at Bentley, I thought, an interview wouldn’t hurt. So off I went to talk with the

chairman of the Economics Department, who was also chairman of the Math Department, Science Department and Finance Department all in one.

After about 15 minutes, he asked if he could introduce me to Rae Anderson, who was the vice president and dean.

We went from 867 Boylston to 925 Boylston, to an office that faced the Prudential Center. It was lined with banks of shelves. They were stuffed with blueprints showing the future of what would become Bentley University.

Dean Anderson told me that we were going to build a school, not merely brick and mortar, but also a whole new curriculum — for business, of course, but for liberal arts too.

His vision was, in a lot of ways, challenging the whole concept of what a college was and should be. Rae Anderson might have been one of the best accountants in the United States, but he was also a lover of art and opera and politics and history. He was absolutely fantastic.

I asked myself, is there a possibility that this institution is going to go someplace?

I’ve spent more than half my life associated with the development of this university, and I’m proud of it. It started with one major, no female students and no real campus — my first office was on the fourth floor of a building that also housed a girls’ school with more students than Bentley and a jewelry store. It grew into the incredible university we are today, one that merges business and arts to give students a total education, all within a setting that is one of the most beautiful campuses around.

I’m retired now, but the profession of teaching, and Bentley, both mean a great deal to me. I came back to teach a class this fall. I’ve always had butterflies on the first day of class and, yes, I had them again this year.

”

— As told to Jen A. Miller

PHOTO BY BRIAN SMITH BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 41

CAMPUS >>

The Waltham Campus Since fall 1968

Above: Groundskeeping contract from 1963 with the DeVincent brothers, owners of the farm later purchased by Bentley Top right (from left): President Thomas Morison, Waltham Mayor Austin Rhodes and Dean Rae Anderson at the groundbreaking for the Waltham campus on April 24, 1965

Check out more photos from the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s archives.

42 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Middle: The main campus quad under construction in the fall of 1967 Bottom: The Beaver Street footbridge marks the centennial

<< CAMPUS

Top: The library clocktower being installed in late 1972 Left: A hike from the Trees, ca. 1970s Right: The bridge over Bentleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pond, ca. 1970s

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 43

CAMPUS >>

1981

Top: View from the upper floor of LaCava, ca. 1980s Bottom: Sledding on campus, likely during the Blizzard of â&#x20AC;&#x2122;78

44 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< CAMPUS

FIRST PERSON

John Collins ’69, Hon. ’02

Trustee Emeritus and former Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Chairman, The Collins Group

“ One of my most vivid memories is from my freshman year, in 1964.

I’d been at Bentley, then located in downtown Boston, for one semester when my parents ran out of money to pay for my education. So I went to the bursar’s office and I told them I needed a break.

They asked why and I said, “Well, my parents can’t afford to pay anymore, and I’m getting a job and I need a couple of months without paying. I’ll make it up to you, I’ll pay you back.” They said, “No problem.” I’ll never forget that generosity.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one asking for a break in the payment schedule that year. A lot of the kids I was going to school with came from Dorchester and Roxbury and South Boston. None of us had any money in our pockets. We were all working and going to school at the same time.

For us, college wasn’t so much about the social experience.

It was the means to get where we wanted to go in our business careers. I never considered going to school anywhere else.

Because I’d excelled in high school finance courses, teachers advised that Bentley was the right college for me. I also liked that I could stay at my family’s home in Watertown, since I didn’t have the money to live at school.

Bentley helped me get a job in the accounting department of Humble Oil and Refining Co. in Everett. At one point, I had to work nights and go straight to school when worked ended at 6:30 a.m. Most of the time, I took public transportation.

Boylston Street Station was the train stop for those of us going to Bentley’s downtown campus. We took classes in two buildings on Boylston Street — the “professional building” and the “classroom building” — that were a block apart. The rooms weren’t air-conditioned, so the windows were open and we could hear workers drive the piles for the Prudential Building, which was under construction at the time.

Between classes, we would congregate on Bolyston Street.

There was a coffee shop next door that was not affiliated with the college, but we gave them a lot of business. We’d hang out either outside or in the shop. That was the extent of the socializing many of us did on a regular basis.

When Bentley moved to Waltham in my senior year, it was a very different story. It was a beautiful campus with dorms, a massive library and a true college atmosphere.

Incoming freshmen were getting a very different social experience: Many were living on campus, talking about parties on Friday night and pledging sororities and fraternities.

The classroom experience never changed, however, and that’s what really mattered. We got the same kind of dedication from our professors.

”

— As told to Deblina Chakraborty

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 45

CAMPUS >>

Moments & Memories

The Early Years We stayed in a rooming house on Marlborough Street and pooled our lunches together. Once a month, when we received our GI check, we ate at Durgin Park.

From Marlborough Street we walked around the corner to Boylston Street, where Bentley School of Accounting and Finance was located. Harry Bentley would not recognize your campus today.

JJ Scully ’48 I attended summer night classes: There was no air conditioning, so we had the windows wide open. We not only listened to the classes, we also heard the music playing in the alleys behind the buildings.

James Tallo ’50 Those of us who went to Bentley in 1960-1961 will never forget the constant “thud” of the pile drivers that were driving the piles that would hold up the future Prudential tower across the street in what was then a railroad yard. It went on for a year!

Al Bergeron ’61 One memory was sitting in class on Boylston Street and listening to the pounding of the pilings for the Prudential Center that was not there when I started. It is amazing to see what is on Boylston Street now! I was one of the last classes to graduate from downtown Boston, and to see the campus today is really great. The school has come a long way and I am proud to be a graduate.

Ron Baird ’62

46 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

I worked during the day for New England Electric System in the building behind the Copley Plaza Hotel and walked down Boylston Street to my evening accounting and finance class. Professors had the challenge of competing with the construction taking place at the Prudential Center. The swinging wrecking ball and the jackhammer noise was deafening, plus there was the flying dust. We survived, as did the Prudential Center, and I went on to graduate as part of the evening Class of 1964.

Those were the good days of Bentley, Boylston and Boston!

Donald Nicholson ’64 In the mid-60s just about all freshmen students who were not commuters lived in the dorm on Commonwealth Ave. I lived in the dorm my freshman year, then in an apartment on Comm.

Ave. sophomore and junior years, and on Marlborough Street in my senior year. In May of my junior year there was a fire that started in an apartment below ours. Marty Kolb ’68, a student living in the dorm, spotted the flames and ran across the street and rang all of the buzzers, awakening the residents and telling them to get out of the building. The floor under my feet was hot as I climbed out of bed. Our apartment was severely damaged, and the college arranged for the four of us to live in the dorm for the remainder of the academic year.

Bob Boehm ’68

I was in the last class to spend the entire four years at the Boylston Street campus. At the time, Bentley did not have a gymnasium.

If we wanted to play basketball and were not on the team we had to go to the YMCA to practice: a long, cold walk down Mass. Ave. to Huntington Ave. past Symphony Hall. Every time I go back to the campus for Homecoming I make it a point to visit the gym. I sure wish I had the opportunity to use such a nice facility when I was there.

Ralph Reckis ’68 I have such fond memories of the then-brand-new campus in the fall of 1968 as I entered my senior year.

Having spent my first three years in two buildings in Back Bay, the opportunity to experience the new campus was wonderful. That fall, winter and spring, there were not even paved walkways between the original five buildings, so we had to trudge through snow and lots of mud to get from building to building. But we didn’t really mind, because it was great to be part of the new Bentley. Congratulations, Bentley, as you approach your 100th anniversary and as the 50th anniversary of the new campus is not far behind!

Rich Silver '69 The winters were mean, but they were always beautiful from the top of the hill; the springs brought life back to the campus.

Stanley Feather ’74

1980s Back in the late 1970s, the steps from the back of the library down to the space between Jennison (then “the Classroom Building”)

and LaCava (the “Student Center”) had walls on either side that were wide enough to sit upon. Every day, that wall was crowded with students; I met and befriended so many people at that spot.

I even met my husband there. We would discuss classes, assignments, concerts, campus events and just about anything going on at school at the time.

I loved being at that wall after classes.

Enza A. RapatanoO’Connell ’80 I loved the path cutting through the Trees from up top to Brook Hall (circa 1979-1983). All gone now ... ah! Progress!

Perry St. Louis ’83 I was in Waltham from 1981-1985 and there was construction the whole time.

I vividly remember being in class many times when a construction whistle would blow, followed by a blast that shook the building.

Mark Semanie ’85 My father was born on Forest Street, not far from Bentley, and I spent a lot of time in Waltham visiting family.

To me, Bentley looked like a classic New England college. It was self-contained, proud-looking and the perfect size. I imagined going there when I got older. So attending Bentley was like a dream come true!

Sharon Nikosey, MBA ’87 My now-husband (Hugh Rooney ’88) and I met at Bentley and started dating my senior year. We both loved the winter, so every time it snowed we would meet at the park bench on the pond at the entrance and drink champagne to celebrate.

We have kept up the tradition ever since, just not at Bentley.

Monica (Colby) Rooney ’87

I love the landscaping, especially the hibiscus shrubs in the summer.

Christine Powers, MBA ’01

2000s The Greenspace on the first warm day of spring!

Bill Mortimer ’03 My favorite time on campus was playing rugby with my fellow ruggers on the football field (since we didn’t have our own field).

Andrew Packin ’05, MBA ’11 I liked the Falcon, which to me was a symbol of the power that my education at Bentley could offer.

Patricia Sorenson, MSHFID ’06 Best hidden spot on campus is the big rock near Slade Hall toward the right side of the dorm. Late at night, you can climb up and mellow out with conversations about how the night went or get into deeper conversations about where your life is going. It’s a small campus, but being up on that rock looking up at the sky makes you realize how big the world is.

Daniel Menendez ’08 I have so many great memories at Bentley that I can’t peg just one. The only thing they all have in common is stairs. Sometimes sprinting up the stairs from Maple 211 in what I woke up in, other times trudging up them in winter boots while puddles of melted snow settled in the corners of the stairs by the overpass from lower campus.

Lots and lots of stairs.

Missy (Martineau) Orr ’08 In early December 2005, six inches of snow fell. With no cars and no ski club trip, Jason Kroot ’09 and I decided the time had come to ski the campus. Over the course of the day, we picked out lines from Lindsay down to the Trees.

Stephan Demers ’09

2010s My favorite spot on campus is the library. It’s a lovely open space, very neat and clean, and sunny with a very nice

<< CAMPUS

My room is my favorite place!

Adina Sklar ’19

view. People there are full of energy, even if the place is silent!

Aljohara Alafaleq, MBA ’14 I love finding parking on the first level of the Orchard deck!

Austin Demski ’17 My favorite spot at Bentley is the lower Greenspace!

Perfect location to chill.

Molly Gross ’17 After my freshman year, I accepted that maybe college wasn’t going to be the amazing experience for me that everyone else says it is. Then I transferred to Bentley, and everything changed. Kresge 409 might not be the most glamorous room on campus, and I never actually lived there, but it is the place where I got to know the people who have become some of the best friends I’ll ever have — the people who made me fall in love with Bentley and college itself.

For that, it will always be my favorite place on campus.

Kasey Huntress ’17 I secretly love walking up to 8:00 a.m. classes.

While it’s early and the walk is actually a hike, I know every student is genuinely eager to learn and that makes me excited for the future of not only Bentley, but the world.

Erika Rouleau ’17 My favorite place to study is the bottom floor of the Adamian Academic Center.

There are tables and couches and never more than a few people down there. Also, it’s very convenient if you need to get help from a professor or tutor.

Jordan Alexander ’18 My favorite place is the benches outside of the library that look to Smith.

Claudia Beguiristain ’18 I always liked Bentley as my school, but God knows I love it as my home.

Erika Garcia ’19

I transferred to Bentley second semester of senior year. Once I got there, I got stuck having a class at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the beginning of the semester, I hated it. I was always so hungry during class and it was pitch black by the time I got out. But one day, I walked out of Smith and down the dreaded stairs and noticed it was still light out.

I looked up because I was blinded by the sun and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen right over Bentley’s campus. That was one of the best walks I’ve ever had back to my dorm, and because of that, 6:20 is now my favorite time of day at school and 5:00 classes are now my favorite.

Abigail Souza ’18 My favorite spot is the pool with my swim team family.

Brooke Jameson ’19

Staff When we were located in Lewis Hall while our Rauch offices were under renovation, I had chosen a great office on the first floor at the far end of the hall.

The office had an exposed brick wall, and a view of the woodsy ravine overlooking the Dana Center.

I had my own back door that led out to a grassy area where the picnic tables were set up. There was a small landing just outside my door where I could store my bicycle on days that I rode in. The best part was the iron rail fence where I could hang my biking clothes. I used to wonder about the history of that room. It was a terrific place to spend the summer months!

Diane McNamara Human Resources

From top: Brooke Jameson ’19 and her swim teammates; Molly Gross ’17 and friends relax on the Greenspace; Stephan Demers ’09 and Jason Kroot ’09 ski the Bentley campus in 2005; the room that Adina Sklar ’19 calls home.

Read more stories and add your own at bentley.edu/100 BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 47

CAMPUS >>

The landscaping and grounds team in front of the Fall Open House harvest display. Front (l. to r.) Jim Smith, Lyn Hartel, Bob Cappucci, Bill Hart; back (l. to r.) Larry Kelley, Dan Leurini, Jesse Devault, Ryan Gaffey

FIRST PERSON

Don LeBlanc

Retired Grounds Foreperson

“ I worked in the facilities

department at Bentley for 29 years before retiring in August. Even in the

beginning, it felt kind of like home. Both my dad and my uncle worked at Bentley in custodial. In 1987 I started working alongside them until a couple of years later when I got a job working with the grounds crew.

In my years working on the grounds, I saw both the university and my department change so much. The campus of course continued getting larger and larger, with new buildings going up. Naturally, our department grew too.

When I started there were 11 of us, and we got up to 14 in the department before I retired. The way we did our work changed as well. We used to work as a complete team — focusing on specific areas of campus all together, as a unit. But for the last 10 years or so, we’ve each been assigned our own area to be responsible for.

48 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

On a typical day, our hours were 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The first hour of the day or so, we’d go around and make sure there wasn’t trash on the ground. The rest of the day was spent taking care of our assigned areas. In the summertime, that meant cutting grass and weed whacking and blowing, making sure everything was clean. In the fall, of course, the focus was getting rid of leaves. In the wintertime, we took care of the snow and also pruning when there wasn’t snow on the ground. The spring was all about getting the grounds mulched and edged and ready for graduation.

Some of our biggest challenges came in the winter.

Sometimes you’d have major snowstorms and we’d work overnight, around the clock, and still have to put in our regular hours the following day. Snow removal was tough.

The phone could ring at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. and you’d have to get in as soon as possible and make the campus safe.

We had a different kind of challenge getting ready for Commencement. In the weeks leading up to graduation, that deadline was always hanging over us. We had to step it up a little more to get the place ready and immaculate for the big day. But we were always proud of that day, just to step back and look at what we did and how beautiful the campus looked.

It was those challenges that made our team, the facilities team, so close. No matter what the season, we all had the same goal to achieve. After all the hours we spent together, we were almost like second family. I miss some of them already.

”

— As told to Deblina Chakraborty

PHOTO TOP BY BRIAN SMITH

CAMPUS

FALCON FACT S

163 CAMPUS ACRES

1

14

1922 Building

1966 Buildings

46

2018 Buildings

2016 Student beds: 3,362 Bark mulch distributed: 600 yards Lightbulbs purchased: 5,400 Campus lawns mowed: 65 times a year

32 2015

HOURS

The grounds crew was on site for the longest snowfall

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 49

Live and Learn

2006

Students in their home away from home.

50 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

PHOTO BY LEN RUBENSTEIN

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 51

One of the “recreation” or “lounging” rooms at 921 Boylston Street, 1934

Student Life as We’ve Known It

BY J. ANDREW SHEPARDSON

I

T IS FITTING THAT THE STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSION TOOK SHAPE IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, JUST AS HARRY BENTLEY WAS STARTING HIS OWN EDUCATIONAL ENDEAVOR. Our founder cared very much about students’ development as professionals and for them personally (in lending money to those in need, for example). The sentiment carries through our history, more evident now than ever as we aim to develop students who go on to have great careers and great lives.

True to form, Bentley approaches student life with a distinctive philosophy. An education here was never meant to separate students from the real world, but rather to prepare them for that world — whether at work or at home. By helping students form relationships, develop autonomy, balance emotions, discover what inspires them and, of course, celebrate their successes, we graduate alumni who are more engaged at work and report higher levels of well-being than their national peers, according to a survey by Gallup Inc.

52 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

ROOM TO GROW Until the 1960s, student life outside the classroom was virtually nonexistent. Becoming a four-year college spurred change and the new Waltham campus made room — literally — for wide-ranging programs and activities.

Today, student life is a key element of the university’s strategic plan, recognizing the educational value of a fully immersive residential experience for undergraduates.

<< STUDENT LIFE

Multicultural Center, 2012

Opportunities come in many forms: living and learning communities in residence halls, such as the Global Living Center or the Women’s Leadership floor; social activities nearly every night of the week; concerts that boast an attendance of 3,000; spirited hockey games; a signature trip to the Bahamas just before Commencement.

Students themselves are strong partners in shaping campus life.

They serve as effective advocates for their community, balancing academics with opportunities to gather around common interests and causes.

Looking back and ahead, student life is rooted in three commitments: engineering change, building community and developing services. A handful of stories illustrate these themes.

RAISING SCHOOL SPIRIT WITH ATHLETICS An athletics program did not exist at Bentley until the early 1960s. This was due in part to a lack of space on the Boston campus, but also because students were encouraged to devote themselves fully to academics.

It was students who lobbied for change. David G. Kennedy ’65 shares his pride in “convincing the triumvirate of [Thomas] Morison, [Rae] Anderson and [E. William] Dandes — with an assist from [Henry Y.] Porter — that as Bentley was about to transition to collegiate standing with a vision for a ‘real’ campus, there needed to be embracing of an athletic program. Bowling on Wednesday afternoons with [Accounting] Professor Harry Zerigian, while a delightful break, would not suffice!”

Most recently, students were staunch advocates for the multipurpose arena rising on the south campus. The Student Government Association was instrumental in proposing the venue to trustees.

The facility will host events such as concerts, academic lectures, and career and activity fairs, along with providing a first-ever home for the university’s Division I hockey team.

STANDING UP FOR DIVERSITY Unlike the university today, Bentley was an all-white school until the 1930s and men only until 1942 (though women were admitted for a brief period during World War I). Sadly, enrollment reflected the workplace of the time, as employers rarely hired either women or men of color as accountants.

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

Still, the school strived to be an inclusive place for women and students of color. The Black United Body, established in the 19691970 academic year, is one of Bentley’s oldest student organizations.

Student groups now represent and support a wide range of cultures and ethnicities. Students have been at the center of ensuring tolerance on campus. An incident of intolerance in the 1990s, when posters for cultural organizations were defaced and torn down, demonstrates this. Bob Minetti, retired vice president for development, corporate and alumni relations, shares this story.

“Following the incident, a group of students organized a nighttime walk around campus to post flyers with the message ‘This is our home.

Bigots not welcome.’ It not only brought the campus together but forced the institution to confront racial issues. It was phenomenal because the student body enlisted the support of faculty and staff; they saw Bentley as their community.”

My immediate predecessor as vice president, Kathleen Yorkis, was an early supporter and leader of the Multicultural Center. She credits the center for “providing support to a great community, whose presence contributes to the cultural richness of Bentley as a whole.” Today, with the Center for Women and Business and programs like Bentley Brave, we move from reflecting the workplace to influencing the workplace.

BUILDING COMMUNITY Fraternities and sororities, established at Bentley in the 1920s and 1940s, respectively, had a large influence on social life. Their fundraisers, dances and annual banquets presented opportunities for connection.

Campus-wide events have been important community builders, and none more so than Spring Day. It marks the end of classes and serves as a last hurrah before finals begin. The event started with carnival rides on the library quad before moving to the Greenspace and featuring local musicians (though one year a rainstorm relocated revelers under the Miller Hall parking deck). Spring Day now centers on a concert by well-known musicians that is held in the Dana Center. The theme of friendship and community connects all of these iterations.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 53

STUDENT LIFE >>

DEVELOPING SERVICES Bob Minetti and Kathleen Yorkis were instrumental in building the professionalism of the Student Affairs division. Their work took Bentley from a “suitcase campus” to one that operates 24/7. Accordingly, the commitment to student life stretches across the organization.

Collaborators have included faculty, according to Bob. “I’m hard-pressed to recall a time when I didn’t receive support. Faculty respected work we were doing, which was rather unique. They understood that what happened outside the classroom was important, too.”

The support came from the top, Kathleen Yorkis recalls. “President Greg Adamian often said, ‘After we’ve taught you everything there is to know about money, we’ll teach you that money isn’t everything.’

To me, that was a powerful statement about student life, as a complement to academic accomplishment.”

This approach extends to the services provided by University Police, where Kathleen believed relationships were key. “We did not just hire people who wanted to be officers. We hired people who wanted to subscribe to a community policing model in an educational setting.”

In health care, we have progressed from one nurse hired on a contract basis to today’s Center for Health, Wellness and Counseling. While we hope someday to have a stand-alone wellness center, the staff work in concert to promote students’ physical and mental well-being.

A VITAL PARTNERSHIP Working with students day in and day out as vice president for student affairs, I have plenty of experiences that speak to their active role in campus life. But there is a single story that demonstrates the spirit of partnership: the senior class trip to the Bahamas.

Commencement Week has been a long tradition — a time of fun but also practicality, by giving time to certify grades before Commencement. In the mid-1990s, it seemed like the sun and warm weather of May lasted only while students were taking finals. As soon as Commencement Week came, it would get cold and rainy. We tried to find events that would keep students entertained, for example, a field day at the Meadows in Connecticut or trips to Newport. Still, in the end, students came back to a wet, cold campus; the result was some bad behavior.

Bentley could have chosen to simply eliminate the program. In fact, many peers did. But one of the events — an overnight cruise on the Scotia Prince — showed us how much students enjoyed being away with all their friends. Attempts to arrange a five-day cruise did not pan out, but we found a resort willing to host Bentley’s senior class in 1999. The Bahamas trip was born.

Today’s trip looks very different from the early years. More than 600 students attend and activities include community service on the island. One highlight is the police escort from the Atlantis resort to the home of the island’s governor general, who welcomes Bentley students and thanks them for their commitment to service.

To me, the story underlines a central tenet of student life at Bentley — a commitment to work with students and do so in a way like no other school.

J. Andrew Shepardson is vice president for student affairs and dean of students. The narrative draws on research by university historian Cliff Putney.

Bahamas, 2016

54 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

PHOTO BY JASON COOPER/BAHAMAS VISUAL SERVICES

<< STUDENT LIFE

A Home Run Experience

BY JENNIFER SKUCE-SPIRA

1982, Fenway Park: Jim Rice, Wade Boggs and Dwight Evans lead the Red Sox, as former Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski begins his penultimate season with the team. Mark Balaban ’84, P ’20, then a Bentley sophomore, takes the “T” from Waltham to Yawkey Way more than 30 times from April to September. His seat in the sunshine costs $7.50.

More than 30 years later, Balaban keeps this Bentley tradition alive as a partial season ticket holder — paying upwards of $100 for a box seat — with a thriving law practice in Middletown, Conn., and three college-age sons. His youngest, Jordan, is a Bentley freshman.

“I tell Jordan that I learned just as much outside of class, from Bentley professors and activities I was involved in, as I did inside the classroom,” says the former Management major. “That was a huge segment of my education.”

Inspired to enroll after visiting a friend on campus, Balaban made quick work of getting involved. He joined the Academic Affairs Board, became a resident assistant and pledged the Kappa Pi Alpha (KPA) fraternity.

“They required a 3.0 GPA for membership. I’m not embarrassed to say I had to obtain a waiver my first semester in order to join,” he says with a laugh.

Long before Dunkin’ Donuts came to campus, the KPA brothers sold coffee and donuts to evening students to raise funds for local charities and their own social events. The caffeinated enterprise — a simple cart on wheels located in the former Classroom Building — brought in more than $500 per week.

Weekends were lively, he says. “I remember the campus being very active, and enjoying events every Friday night.

Organizations were always bringing in entertainment and speakers.”

Balaban’s extracurricular education included stopovers in the office of

Professor William Kimball, for lively exchanges on government, law and politics.

He also describes an impromptu lesson on the stock market, delivered by Professor of Economics Claudio Krauss — at Thackery’s Bar & Grill.

“There were paper tablecloths you could

write on,” he remembers. “Over two beers I learned all about calls and puts. It was fascinating.”

This year Balaban adds another dimension to his Bentley experience: “I’m proud to be a legacy parent. As much fun as I had, I hope my son can exceed it.”

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 55

STUDENT LIFE >>

Home Making

1969

Global Living Center, 2012

Above: Examples of student residences from the Bentley Views brochure published in 1934. Students lived primarily in rooming houses throughout Boston and Brookline at the time.

56 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

TOP RIGHT PHOTO BY BRIAN SMITH

<< STUDENT LIFE

1970s

1970s

2012

Three students in one of the newly opened Waltham dorms in 1969

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 57

STUDENT LIFE >>

Good Times

Students bring “supplies” home to their dorms to wait out the Blizzard of ’78 In 2015, the Dear World storytelling project asked students to convey a personal message

58 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY DEAR WORLD

<< STUDENT LIFE

These hats were all the rage at Reunions and Commencements through the 1970s Field Day, now known as Spring Day, was the first Bentley community activity, and commonly took place in Newton, Mass., on the day after exams ended

2002

Orientation, 2011

Far left: In the 1970s, students formed the Bentley Beautification Committee. They raked leaves, picked up trash, planted flowers and trees and more.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 59

STUDENT LIFE >>

Student Organizations: Then & Now

BY JENNIFER WRIGHT ’16

Study and work were the predominant student activities for most of Bentley’s first 40 years. The Boston campus lacked spaces to gather other than smoking lounges.

Moreover, socializing was not a priority, says university historian Cliff Putney: “Students commuted to school, often on public transportation and from some distance. After classes, most headed off to jobs, which they needed to put themselves through Bentley.”

The earliest extracurricular options included a handful of fraternities and sororities, beginning with Kappa Pi Alpha in 1922 and Delta Omega in 1940; a student council formed in 1926; and a yearbook called The Benboo, published only in 1932 and 1933.

ENTHUSIASM RISES Boom years for student organizations arrived with Bentley’s rise to collegiate status in 1961. Putney’s research notes that members of the Class of 1964 were the first to elect student officers (including George Fantini, see page 5, and Katherine O’Keefe, page 32); create a student event that endured for many years (a talent show, page 66); and precede their Commencement with special activities (Senior Week, page 54).

“New organizations reflected students’ interest in business, culture, religion, politics and academics,” Putney says of groups such as AIESEC, the Paideia Club, Newman Club, Young Republicans and Young Democrats, and Systems and Procurement Club. “Bentley’s president at the time, Thomas Morison, saw extracurricular activities as key to earning accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as in ‘producing graduates of broader education and competence.’ He urged Bentley students to create additional societies, which they did with great enthusiasm.”

Below: Brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon regularly held charitable fundraisers, including this one for St. Jude.

Right: Black United Body in 1971

60 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Students remain the driving force in establishing and running organizations. There are now more than 100 options, clustered in the general categories of academics, Greek life, student government, religion and service, social causes and politics, arts and media, culture, and recreation and athletics. Students whose interests are not represented can propose a new organization and petition the Association of Bentley Activities (ABA) — also run by students — for official recognition. The ABA also establishes policies for student organizations and hosts a campus-wide activities fair every fall and spring, among other duties.

LEADERS IN PRACTICE Each organization determines its own leadership structure, often an executive board with president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Some add web designers or marketing officers.

Staff members in Student Programming and Engagement (SP&E) work closely with these student leaders, for example, by hosting the Winter Leadership Conference. The annual event, made possible through a donation by Kurt Heinrich ’87, gathers members of all executive boards for training and tips on running their respective organizations.

“Students are very passionate about their causes,” says Doreen Floyd, associate dean of student affairs. “They know that, at Bentley, ‘I can have my major but still make a difference in all these other areas I care about.’ Organizations are a great way for students to engage with the campus community and apply their business skills outside the classroom.”

<< STUDENT LIFE

Acronym Appreciation

Some of the many organizations that run on student power and creativity:

CAB

BIG

CAMPUS ACTIVITIES BOARD

BENTLEY INVESTMENT GROUP

It takes seven student committees to orchestrate some of the biggest events on campus. These teams — Concerts, Box Office, Comedy, Event of the Month, Game Show, Sports and Recreation, and Traditions — form the CAB. Members collaborate to plan, promote and host events for fellow students throughout the year, typically, five to 10 per month.

Examples include Bubble Soccer and Color Runs, along with trips to off-campus sites such as Six Flags.

Signature events for CAB are Super Bingo and an annual concert during Spring Day. The former brings out nearly the entire student population, to compete for prizes such as flat-screen televisions. The concert has featured Ludacris, Kellie Pickler, T-Pain and other well-known musicians.

BIG started in 1997 with $250,000 provided by the Board of Trustees. Today, that investment tops $800,000, thanks to the skill and commitment of BIG members.

While all Bentley students learn about the stock market in their freshman Accounting and Finance course, those with a passion for finance — more than 200 students, both undergraduate and graduate — get to invest real money as part of BIG. Members meet weekly on campus during the academic year and virtually during the summer; they work in teams responsible for six industry sectors, performing research and pitching proposed investments to the group. Their record of success includes outperforming market expectations during the financial crisis that started in 2008.

BUB

SGA

BLACK UNITED BODY

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

Diversity, equality and inclusion. These are the tenets of the BUB, established by students in 1969 with help from John Hawkins, director of student activities at the time. BUB is one of Bentley’s oldest and largest student organizations. Events such as an annual fashion show, poetry slams and music concerts welcome all members of the campus community, regardless of race.

At the same time, BUB members take an active role in ongoing conversations about racial equality that take place on campus. In particular, student leaders from BUB participate in the new Bentley Brave program, which includes “Real Talk,” a semester-long intergroup dialogue program, as well as other events featuring key players in the racial equality movement in America.

Ranked No. 8 for Most Active Student Government by the Princeton Review in 2016, the SGA is the voice of Bentley’s student body. Elected by their peers, members provide input on policies that affect campus life — everything from dining hall changes to making the campus smoke-free — and ensure that student concerns are heard by Bentley administrators.

At one time, SGA had oversight responsibility for student organizations, including approving new clubs and maintaining constitutions. This created a potential conflict of interest given that organizations’ needs and concerns differ from those of the individual students SGA members were elected to represent. In the 1990s, the Association of Bentley Activities was formed and assumed oversight of organizations.

From top: Student Council with Sister Mary Peter (front row) in 1964; Bentley Investment Group in 2013; Delta Omega sisters in the 1960s

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 61

STUDENT LIFE >>

The intramural basketball team in 1930-1931

More Than a Game

BY RICHARD LIPE ’77

There are reports of a football game that occurred against MIT when what was then the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance was only a couple of years old.

And there’s a picture of a basketball team from the early 1930s. But for most of the first half-century in Bentley’s history, the only organized sport at the school was candlepin bowling on Wednesday afternoons.

Things began to change in the early 1960s when Al Shields was hired to serve as Bentley’s first athletics director and basketball coach.

More than 50 years later, only two people have have held the position: Shields and Bob DeFelice, who succeeded him in 1991 and has since taken Falcon athletics to another level. New fields have been constructed, the Dana Athletic Center has been expanded, and in early 2018, a multipurpose arena — the future home of Bentley’s Division I hockey team — will be completed.

“I was the sports information director at Northeastern, and I was sitting in the office with [Northeastern] coach Dick Dukeshire one 62 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

day in 1962,” Shields told The Boston Globe in a 1965 interview.

“Professor Frank Porter came in and asked ‘Duke’ if he knew of anyone who might be interested in supervising an intramural program at Bentley two afternoons a week. Duke looked at me and said, ‘There’s your man,’ and there I was, involved in coaching.”

After competing on an informal basis for a year, the basketball team — men only at that point — became one of Bentley’s first five varsity sports, joining cross country, tennis, golf and skiing. The Falcons finished their first official season, 1963-1964, with 16 wins in 21 games.

As Bentley was still located on Boylston Street, the Falcons were nomads for the first decade, playing home games at the YMCA, Brandeis University and Waltham High School.

That changed in 1973 when the Dana Athletic Center was constructed; the first game was a victory of 105-63 over Lowell Tech on December 1 of that year. Four months later, the new building was the focal point of Division II basketball in the region, as the Falcons hosted the NCAA New England regional tournament.

The Dana Center was Bentley’s second oncampus athletic facility, the first coming three years earlier when a baseball field was built at what is now the location of Fenway Hall.

Hockey debuted in the late 1960s, and more sports were added in the next few years, including track and field, soccer and football.

Football, which became a varsity program in 1988 after succeeding at the club level, has made its mark over the years. There was a New England record 30-game winning streak from 1993-1995 and NCAA Division II playoff games at home in both 2003 and 2004. Offensive lineman Mackenzy Bernadeau ’08 became the first Falcon to play a regular professional season in one of the four major sports, spending four years with the Carolina Panthers and another four with the Dallas Cowboys.

WELCOMING WOMEN’S SPORTS Coinciding with the addition of the Dana Center, women’s sports came to Bentley during the 1973-1974 academic year and made their varsity debut a year later. Basketball, field hockey and softball were the first three, with Daryl Leonard serving as head coach of each.

Leonard’s work with those early teams helped laid the groundwork for what has been a very successful women’s program at Bentley, one that has included the only two NCAA Division II national championships in the university’s history. The field hockey team won theirs at home in November 2001, dispatching East Stroudsburg by the count of 4-2.

A little more than a dozen years later, in March 2014, legendary women’s basketball coach Barbara Stevens guided her team to not only the national championship, but also to a perfect 35-0 record.

The Falcons, who captured the title with an incredible comeback against West Texas A&M down the stretch, became only the second undefeated women’s basketball champion in Division II history.

The national championship, earned under the leadership of one of the winningest coaches in NCAA women’s basketball history, was the pinnacle moment in what has been an amazing run for Falcon hoops. The men’s and women’s basketball teams have combined for 17 regional titles since 1989 and made a dozen Division II Final Four appearances during that span.

Highlights include a remarkable stretch for the men’s team that over four years featured three Elite Eight trips (2007, 2008, 2010). Coach Jay Lawson’s team won a Division II record 55 consecutive regular season games from 2006 to 2008, breaking a standard that had stood since the 1940s, and reached the Final Four in both 2008 and 2010.

CONFERENCE CHAMPS For most of the first 20 years, Bentley athletics competed as an independent with no conference title to shoot for. That all changed

Members of the bowling team, around the 1950s. The team practiced after classes and held a yearly awards banquet.

in 1980, when Shields and other Division II athletics directors created what was then the Northeast-7 Conference. Now a 15-team conference known as the Northeast-10, no NE-10 institution has won more league championships than the Falcons. There have been a total of 143, including 110 in the DeFelice era.

Eight times since 1996, Bentley has won the prestigious President’s Cup, given annually to the best overall program in the Northeast-10.

Taking that further, the Falcons have finished in second place 17 times since 1987-1988. Their 25 top-two finishes during that time is unparalleled; no other institution had more than seven.

Ice hockey became Bentley’s first Division I sport in 1999. The team competes in the Atlantic Hockey Division, along with such institutions as Air Force, Army West Point and Holy Cross. Last year’s team swept Northeastern home and away, and the Falcons have beaten a Hockey East opponent in seven of the past nine seasons following a season-opening win over New Hampshire in October.

EXCELLING IN CLASSROOMS AND FIELDS Bentley student athletes have a history of excelling in the classroom as well as on the playing fields. Over the years, 72 have earned Academic All-America recognition from the College Sports Information Directors of America, one of the most prestigious honors in collegiate athletics. Included on that list is former Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II National Player of the Year Lauren Battista ’14, who was named the Division II Academic All-America of the Year for all sports in 2014, months after leading the Falcons to the national championship.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, all of Bentley’s 21 athletic teams posted a grade point average exceeding 3.0. More than half of the university’s 500-plus student athletes earned President’s or Dean’s List recognition.

In a 2001 Boston Globe article, DeFelice commented, “The school grew and made a major commitment to athletics and hasn’t done anything to compromise its academic integrity, and so we really are a great product. Right now, Bentley is very attractive for a kid who still wants to continue in athletics and get a great education.”

Those words are still true some 15 years later.

Dick Lipe ’77 is director of sports information.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 63

STUDENT LIFE >>

Late 1970s

1964

2015

Team Spirit for All Harry Bentley loved all sports, everything from baseball to horseback riding. He was even known to do gymnastics on the Boston Common during his lunch breaks.

Years later, students also found a way to play sports wherever they could. In 1962, before the college even had access to a gym (which wouldn’t be until 1973), Bentley adopted an intercollegiate sports program.

These first sports teams were not varsity but intramural, with Bentley students competing against one another. The teams included basketball, skiing, tennis, softball, weight training, candlepin bowling and golf.

Though not all of the original sports are still offered, the dedication of students remains firmly in play.

64 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

INTRAMURAL SPORTS For many students, club and intramural sports truly define their college experience, with their common love of the sport bringing them together as family. In addition to several hours of practice a week and frequent games, many also choose to live with their teammates or hang out with them on weekends. Several members of the triathlon team even traveled to Iceland to compete during the summer.

There are more than 100 intramural teams at Bentley, including coed soccer, men’s soccer, flag football, ultimate Frisbee, men’s A-league basketball, men’s B-league basketball, women’s basketball, coed dodgeball, coed volleyball and coed softball. Teams are overseen by the Intramural Executive Board and are part of the Bentley Athletics department.

CLUB SPORTS Club sports play against other universities and are overseen by the Student Activities department. Teams include cheerleading, men’s rugby, women’s rugby, sailing, equestrian, dance, men’s ultimate, women’s ultimate and triathlon.

These clubs mean business. The men’s rugby team, for example, meets four times a week for practice and team conditioning.

The equestrian club managed to find a nearby horse stable and create a team despite the lack of horses on Bentley’s campus. And in 2014, several seniors in the Bentley Ultimate Society decided to forgo walking in their own graduation ceremony in order to compete in the DIII National Championship in Westerville, Ohio — which they won.

— Jennifer Wright ’16

<< STUDENT LIFE

FIRST PERSON

Robert DeFelice

Director of Athletics and Head Baseball Coach

“ I came to Bentley as the men’s baseball

coach in 1968. The day I arrived I thought, Oh my God, what am I doing here? I’d gone to Boston

College and played minor league baseball for the Red Sox. I was coming to my first coaching job at the college level and walked onto a campus with no fields, no facilities, and five buildings being built.

This was just a year after we joined the NCAA. We only had five teams: skiing, basketball, golf, cross country and tennis … all men’s sports at that time, of course.

I came in right as things started to change, and they changed quickly. Bentley added indoor and outdoor track, and baseball, in 1969. In 1970, we got our own baseball field, too. Our game against Tufts in April of that year was the first official athletic event to be held on campus.

In the 1974-1975 school year, we added our first women’s sports: field hockey, basketball and softball. All three were coached by Daryl Leonard. She was the best: about 5-foot-1, a former player herself, and out there to compete — but a sweetheart. The kids related to her.

The Dana Athletic Center opened in 1973. It was the cornerstone of development for school athletics: We had our own place on campus.

I came to Bentley as a part timer, and stayed that way for nearly two decades. In 1986, Al Shields, the father of athletics here, hired me full time to be the assistant athletics director. By then we had 17 teams. He turned me loose and kind of let me do my own thing. All my development and growth was directly related to him. When he stepped down in 1991, I became the athletics director. I’ve been in that role now for 25 years, and the baseball coach for 48.

I like coaching and being around people involved in athletics. Every day is a joy for me. You get an injection of life, especially after you’ve been around so long. Coaching helps me as an athletics director since I’m still involved with athletes at the school.

This fall, construction started on our new arena, which will be a home for men’s ice hockey but also give the school space for seminars, concerts and guest speakers. Much like the on-campus baseball field gave us that home base in 1970, having our own ice rink will be another step in the progression of sports at Bentley.

Of course, progress didn’t happen in a vacuum. Athletics is part of the Bentley community, and we have, in my 48 years, always put academics first. Not one team at Bentley has under a 3.0 grade point average. People ask me, what’s the greatest recruiting item you have? And I say the school.

The school is our best recruiter.

”

— As told to Jen A. Miller

PHOTO BY BRIAN SMITH BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 65

STUDENT LIFE >>

Winning Ways

2014

Below: The NCAA champion women’s basketball team in 2014

2008

2015

Right: The basketball team, with Coach Al Shields (front row, far right), in the Dana Athletic Center during the 1980s

66 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

CAKE PHOTO BY JAMIE BANG; WOMEN’S TEAM PHOTO BY BRIAN SMITH

<< STUDENT LIFE

Traditions You Can Count On

FIELD DAY/ SPRING DAY In 1918, Bentley students organized a Field Day to celebrate a year of hard work. Over the next few decades, Field Day was commonly held at a park near the Riverside MBTA station in Newton, Mass.

Students could escape the city to canoe on the Charles River, play games, hold contests and attend dances. Field Day transformed over the years to become the Spring Day we celebrate now.

SENIOR WEEK Since the 1920s, Bentley has held a banquet to send its graduating class off in style. Through the decades, a full slate of Senior Week events developed. Seniors have listened to the Boston Pops, celebrated Pub Nights, visited the Playboy Club (1973) and taken many a cruise on Boston Harbor. Ocean views have became even more expansive: In 1999, Senior Week added a trip to the Bahamas — an event that continues today.

TALENT SHOW/ BEAVER BOWL Student activities grew exponentially at Bentley in the 1960s, and one of the first to emerge was a talent show. Beginning in 1963, the show featured skits, musical performances and more.

Individuals received cash prizes. The best group performance earned a coveted silver cup known as the Beaver Bowl.

HOMECOMING In the early 1970s, a scrappy group of club football players raised money to establish a full-fledged football team on campus. By 1975, Bentley had its own gridiron — and Homecoming celebrations could begin.

Barbecues, parades, carnival games and more have been hallmarks of Homecoming throughout the years. And from the very earliest days, Flex the Falcon has been on hand to help cheer on the home team.

RAINBOW BREAKFAST/LUNCH The first Rainbow Breakfast kicked off in fall 1999 with a performance by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Organizers were from what was then known as the Sexual Orientation Action Team. The intent was to recognize the LGBTQ community and create a welcoming campus for all. Today’s Rainbow Lunch, hosted

by Bentley PRIDE, champions the same values of courage, diversity and inclusion.

Above: “No Pants Nite” was a short-lived tradition in the 1970s.

(Others included a banana-eating contest and an event where cars were smashed for charity.) Right: Snapshots from the 1932 Benboo yearbook

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 67

STUDENT LIFE >>

Moments & Memories

like the Beach Boys, who we subsequently brought to Bentley as its first large social event during the 1967-1968 year. Running student events, chairing the Student Activities and attending the conference in South Carolina were highlights of my student life while at Bentley.

Bob Boehm ’68

1970s

THE EARLY YEARS

I enjoyed the bowling league on Wednesdays. I commuted by bus and trolley to the Boylston Street campus.

I met my wife of 64 years on the bus going to school and one of our first dates was to a Bentley school dance. ­ Robert Cowie ’50 Social life was nonexistent back in the Boylston Street days, so we had to be content with the total learning experience ... which was often a challenge for me, as I was a kid from New Hampshire, never having had bookkeeping or any other business class in high school. I never studied so hard, and yet there was both the tension of doing homework and preparing for exams, and the relief of having done a good job.

Harold (Hal) Chiasson ’62 In the early 1960s, the largest percentage of students were local commuter students.

That began to change and by the mid-1960s there was a need for more social events at the college. The success of the 1966 Winter Carnival

68 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

demonstrated the need for more social events at Bentley.

While fraternities provided some social activities, and there were athletic events held out of Boston, there were no concerts or social events. The Student Council was able to convince the faculty adviser for Student Activities that we needed a separate Student Activities Committee that would organize events. I was the first president of the Student Activities Committee, and as such attended a Student Activities Planning Conference held in Columbia, S.C., in the spring of 1967. It was very exciting to learn how other colleges ran such a committee and how events were put on. While there I met some entertainment groups

On May 4, 1970, a tragic event took place at Kent State University. Four students died, which sparked a more intense round of student rallies that were happening almost on a daily basis. I was a long-haired hippy living with my roommate, Elliot Hesselson ’71, a student who wore a tie to class. Bentley was the least likely college to be involved in the student movement.

I called for a rally to discuss that tragic day as other colleges protested to close their schools in solidarity with the shootings. The rally took place in an auditorium on campus. I stood up and called for the school to close, as other schools had, to protest the shootings. Two rows behind me sat Elliot, dressed in a jacket and tie.

He stood up and seconded my motion. I turned with a tear in my eye. It was done, Bentley went on strike. Elliot has been my best friend to this day. I’m still wearing jeans; he’s still wearing ties.

Vincent Altomare ’74 During the 1969-1970 school year I was one of the four founding managers of the Rathskeller that was opened in the basement of the Tree dorms. The other managers were Chris Joyce ’72, Bill Rogers ’72 and Joe Stirrup ’72. We directed the construction and decoration phases, purchasing of secondhand tables and chairs, etc. to outfit the only on-campus place to gather in the dorm area. Additionally, we contracted with sandwich, snack, beverage and amusement vendors as well as continuously met vendors for deliveries. We held parties and had a fantastic

experience running a small business and bringing an enhancement to the dorm life!

Jimmy Disken ’72 I spent every summer between the ages of 10 and 20 attending a YMCA summer camp as a camper and staff, so any cafeteria food was fine with me! Too many people grew up on their mother’s cooking and couldn’t adjust to the dining hall menu, but I was perfectly happy with all of the options!

Joe Shapiro ’79

1980s Some memories stand out: Monte Carlo Night — the annual gala of organized fake casino-style gambling with great fun, great prizes, and all for a great cause.

Lobster and steak night each semester in the dining hall.

Thirty-eight inches of snow in the Blizzard of 1978!

Jim Hathaway ’80 The Blizzard of ’78. Coming from New Jersey, I never saw that much snow, or thunder and lightning during a snowstorm. The school shut down for the week during the storm and cleanup.

I think the cafeteria started running out of food, since no trucks could get in. We hiked down to D&L Liquors to stock up and enjoyed the time off.

There was some kind of winter festival on the upper campus with snow sculptures.

The winner did a snow sculpture of President Adamian and his wife in their car, including his cigar!

Good times.

John O’Rourke ’80 For me, it was the very first activity — Orientation! You arrive alone and apprehensive and you leave confident and connected! It was so impactful that I applied and became an Orientation leader. Fun evolved into a foundational experience that influenced how I lead today!

Gino DeSimone ’85

Being inducted to the Falcon Society at the President’s House was special. Other favorite memories include taking the shuttle to Harvard Square to spend an evening; the Bowles Performing Arts Series; stealing the pizza delivery guy’s car and hiding it in the president’s parking spot behind Morison Hall. I also remember when WBTY Radio won approval and financing to build a studio in the LaCava Campus Center!

Jay Tropea ’87 I had such an amazing experience with Bentley clubs and campus activities that I pursued a career in student affairs immediately after graduating. I loved the creative outlet Bentley’s program provided, including the resources and staff to support the clubs. I really enjoyed being part of the Campus Activities Board, where I chaired the Special Events Committee.

We were able to do anything we could dream up, including the Bentley Bloodfest (when we turned the 2nd floor of LaCava into a horror maze) and a capture the flag/water balloon fight down on the football field. A fondest memory is when the water balloon contest was over: We had so many unpopped balloons left over that the audience rushed out of stands, armed themselves and started bombing each other with screams of laughter.

Ben Alvarez ’89

1990s and 2000s My very first day on the Bentley campus, when I was just there to look the place over, I ordered a cup of coffee in the campus center. There was some sort of a delay in getting it to me, and they said, “Your coffee’s free” as a way of making it up to me. And that little thing impressed me.

Bill Hecker, MSA ’93, MST ’98 Diversity and my professors.

Elizabeth Kugell ’00

<< STUDENT LIFE

My favorite memories are attending summer courses followed by an Ultimate Frisbee pickup game, and finishing with Thai food on Moody Street.

Miguel López de Veraza ’00 Perhaps my favorite memory is being part of the 2001 women’s field hockey team that brought the school its first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship.

Bentley was chosen to host the tournament, and the chance to go after the championship on our home field was incredible. It’s a moment I will never forget and it will always encompass for me so many of the things I learned while at Bentley — namely, the value of teamwork, discipline, preparation and hard work.

Kristin (Cronin) Leighton ’03 I served on Black United Body and the Bentley Step Squad. I also sang in the gospel choir which I loved.

Rebecca (Roseme) Obounou ’06 Being an Orientation leader for the incoming Class of 2008. Not only did I get to have an impact on the Orientation group I led, but I also built a lot of new friendships with other Orientation leaders that would turn out to last through my time at Bentley and thereafter. It was one of the best decisions I made at Bentley and it motivated me to become a resident assistant on campus!

Jonathan Bazarian ’07, MSF ’08

2010s I loved going to Harry’s for late night food ... those pizza bagels and mozzarella sticks, YUM! Alexa Zozzaro ’11 Along with a fabulous platform to launch my career, Bentley gave me friends for life. I met people from all over the world; I found them so different and yet so similar in our goals and desires. I attribute part of my personal growth as a professional and as a person to the student diversity at Bentley.

Shaheel Dholakia, MBA ’12

Running the Commuter Association, and spending all day on campus. I helped start the Muslim Student Association to bridge misconceptions after 9/11.

Esel Shemmeri ’03, MSF ’06 Winning a national basketball championship was one of the greatest moments I experienced at Bentley University. The joy it brought not only to myself, but to my teammates, coaches and to the Bentley community is something that will stay with me forever. Seeing hundreds of fellow students, faculty, fans and alumni in the stands in Erie, Pennsylvania, that day was one of the strongest feelings of support imaginable Being a part of the women’s basketball program helped me grow as a person and build friendships that will last a lifetime.

Courtney Finn ’13, MBA ’15 I was lucky to attend Bentley through the Division I hockey program. The sport opened up so many doors for me, including getting to play a regular-season game under the bright lights of Fenway Park. A true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I even got to sit in David Ortiz’s stall to get ready. I thought it would bring me some good luck. We couldn’t have had a better temperature to play under and the conditions were perfect. Coach Soderquist’s message to us before the game was simple: We need to win this game to make it a perfect memory for us to have for the rest of our lives.

You better believe we did that. We beat Holy Cross 3-2 with our families and classmates cheering for us in the crisp December air. It was a memory that I will cherish forever and hold it very close to my heart. Bentley has given me so many memories and I am so thankful for all of them, but winning this game in Boston’s cathedral will always be my favorite.

Alex Grieve ’15

My favorite activity at Bentley was Alpha Psi Omega — Chi Iota Cast! It was (and still is) an incredible org. I made lifelong friends and memories I’ll never forget.

Ashley Perssico ’15

Blizzard of ’78

Dancing with CRAZE has been one of my favorite activities at Bentley. It is a group of incredibly talented and fun individuals who have become my second family!

Kendra Zdanowski ’17 One of my favorite experiences is cheering on our football and basketball teams during the intense home games. As a Bentley cheerleader, getting the fans pumped up and tossing mini footballs into the stands always makes me feel so proud of our energetic, school-spirited fans!

Karen Eaton ’19 My favorite activity is Residence Hall Association.

I met so many dedicated students and faculty members through RHA and am beyond excited to be a part of this organization!

Adina Sklar ’19

1980s

Read more stories and add your own at bentley.edu/ 100

The pasta-heavy menu in dining halls prompted students to stage a “protest,” ca. 1971

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 69

STUDENT LIFE >>

A Day in the Life: Then & Now AS TOLD TO MICHAEL LYNCH

Rich Caturano ’74, MST ’85

Gloucester, Massachusetts

National Leader of Culture, Diversity and Inclusion at RSM International; Former Chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

MORNING

AFTERNOON

EVENING

I was up at 6:00 a.m. I’d grab a quick breakfast, and be out the door around 7:00 a.m. I commuted with two other classmates from Revere (Mass.) High School — Bob Picardi ’74 and Les Vitale ’74, MST ’01, P ’10. Typically, at least one of us had to be on campus for an 8:00 a.m. class.

The commute wasn’t too bad. Usually less than an hoπur. Our soundtrack? Les wouldn’t stop talking from the minute I picked him up until we arrived on campus.

Once we got to Bentley, I’d either head to class or to the cafeteria.

As a commuter, you would spend most of your time between classes in either the library or cafeteria. Not many other options. I’d use that downtime to get my homework and studying done or just hang out.

To this day, I can vividly remember Joe from the cafeteria. He was a friendly guy — the custodian who cleaned the cafe. Each morning, I’d ask him: “How’s business, Joe?” He’d reply: “It’s picking up.” Got me every time.

I don’t remember the specific classes I took in the morning versus the afternoon, but I do recall a couple of professors who had a significant impact on me.

Professor Marion Willis [who, in 1962, became the first full-time female professor in Bentley’s history] taught English and was constantly trying to explain the benefits of being able to write and speak articulately. I’d think, “Why do I need to be an expert in English if I want to be an accountant?” I couldn’t see outside of my accounting bubble. It didn’t take long for me to realize just how right she was.

Professor Dick Cross was my freshman accounting professor.

He was a nice guy, but tough. Very disciplined. He was really the accountant’s accounting professor. He approached teaching in such a methodical manner. His approach and demeanor made the content easy to understand.

Every day, my mother made my lunch. It was usually something with eggs — like pepper and eggs. She was a good cook. The challenge for me was waiting until around noon to eat it.

The afternoon was much like the morning. Go to class, or study in the library or cafeteria. The day was pretty full. I was either studying or doing homework.

There wasn’t much time for student activities.

After our last class, usually around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., we’d head back home to Revere.

When I got home, my mother would serve the family dinner.

Most of my classwork and studying was already done. So, soon I would be either off to visit my high school sweetheart (now my wife) or off to bed — and ready to do it all again tomorrow.

During my three years at Bentley I never once went to a party on campus. The parties we had were off-campus with some of our fellow commuters.

70 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

What’s Old is New Again: Throughout my Bentley life, I drove a 1964 Chevy Impala. Recently, I bought almost an exact replica. I have it sitting in my garage now. It sure does bring back some great memories.

Happily Ever After: After my sophomore year, I got married to Bob’s sister, Bob married my sister, and years later Les and I became business partners. We’re one big Bentley family, I guess.

<< STUDENT LIFE

While Bentley’s commitment to providing a world-class business education has not wavered throughout the decades, the university’s student life experience has changed dramatically. Here is a snapshot of an average day in the life as told by students from two distinctly different eras in Bentley’s history.

Elaine Tai ’17

Cupertino, California

Major: Economics and Marketing Minor: Computer Information Systems

MORNING

AFTERNOON

EVENING

My alarm goes off at 7:30 a.m., and rings about seven times. Every two minutes I shut it off. I just can’t bear to get out of bed.

Once I finally rise and shine, I do my morning routine. I shower, brush my teeth, get dressed, etc. Then I’m off to the kitchen to make breakfast. Yogurt. Granola. Cereal. Oats. Fruit. I like to mix it up.

I live on the north campus [near Gann Academy], so I take the shuttle to the main campus each morning. You have to time it perfectly.

The shuttle consistently leaves two minutes early, and if you’re not running to try and catch it, then it’s not waiting for you. Everybody on the shuttle is scrambling, talking about how tired they are from staying up late studying. Once we’re dropped off, I run to a 9:30 a.m. class. I typically have classes from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

I’ve been fortunate to take some great courses and have some outstanding professors.

I took Intermediate Macroeconomics with Professor Aaron Jackson, who is the director of the Honors Program. It’s great. He’s also from the West Coast, so during the winter we’ll commiserate about the weather. I really enjoy his class, because he uses a lot of visuals.

Whether it’s the Smart Board or PowerPoint, he makes it easy to understand the interactive graphs. The technology really helps, and he’s a wonderful teacher.

Professor William Clarke teaches Intermediate Price Theory. He’s always injecting funny stories when he’s explaining a concept. The humor really helps, and it’s a very interactive class. He knows how to relate to his students, and I learn so much during each session.

After morning classes, I hop on the shuttle back to my apartment for a 20-minute nap. Any shorter is not enough, and any longer is too much; 20 minutes is optimal.

I wake up make a quick salad or sandwich and head off to work. I work in the Advancement Communications office in LaCava.

Great people. I work from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., and then it’s off to class, again!

My 5:00 p.m. class gets out at 6:30 p.m., and then, depending on the day of the week, I might have a meeting with the Student Alumni Leadership Council (SALC) or head outside for a quick run. Next — dinner! This meal is a bit more chill. My roommates and I generally cook together, each making our own dinner in our shared kitchen. Whatever is quick and easy, but we try to eat as healthy as possible.

After dinner, I relax for about 30 minutes, until about 8:30 p.m., then it’s off to do my school work with friends. Back to the shuttle!

Around 9:00 p.m., my friends and I go to either Smith or the library to study. We always bring snacks — not usually of the healthy variety — and coffee.

Of course, coffee! We study for about three hours or so, then it’s back home to get ready for bed and crash for the night.

Ugh, it’s a long day.

Let it Snow & Snow & Snow: My first winter here was the historic “Snowmageddon” of 2015. Growing up in California, I was never subject to extreme cold or snow. It was definitely my “welcome to New England” moment.

The City of Lights: I’m spending the fall semester [2016] in Paris. I am so excited to immerse myself in a different culture and experience all that the city has to offer.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 71

STUDENT LIFE >>

Camaraderie by Design

BY JENNIFER SKUCE-SPIRA

Putting a career on hold for graduate study can make for some anxious moments.

Frances Karandy, MBA ’04, MSHFID ’05 took the plunge in 2002, while living and working in Boston after receiving a BA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

“It was a sacrifice to stop making an income,” she says. “But what comes with that is the chance to dive deeper into something that you’re passionate about.”

For Karandy, that passion was — and is — an emerging field: user experience design. She enrolled in a Bentley program to earn both an MBA and the Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design (MSHFID). She and fellow students developed a quick camaraderie.

“Here you are with peers who have also left their jobs, who are taking this on full time with you. We were always respectful of each other. Given the group projects we often were assigned, you got to know everyone very well.”

She appreciated the depth and diversity of experience among fellow students in both programs.

“There’s such value in sharing a classroom with others who have already been working for 10 years,” says the Miami native, who completed the MBA in 2004 and the MSHFID a year later. Her classmates hailed from health care, finance, software and marketing, representing countries as far away as Uzbekistan and India.

Accessible and supportive professors are an important part of the graduate student experience.

“Mark Davis [professor of operations management] had a very down-to-earth, approachable way of connecting with students,” says Karandy, now the principal user research lead for Internet music service Pandora. “He brought a lot of color and experience to the courses. He was very personable and funny, which made a huge difference.”

72 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

She also praises Bentley’s User Experience Center. “It puts you right into the professional lab environment,” she says of the high-tech facility where graduate students work on projects for corporate clients. “You’re being taught by faculty who are pioneers in the field.”

Though more than a decade has passed since Karandy earned her degrees, Bentley remains a steady presence in her life. It was an alumni connection that helped her

land a UX job after graduation. Karandy is active in an online community of Bentley HFID grads who regularly share ideas, strategies and job opportunities with one another.

“Product design is still a niche career, so you form a very tight network,” she says. “We know and trust our professional experience. That has lived on in a very strong way, long after finishing our degrees.”

STUDENT LIFE

FALCON FACT S Early Organizations Bentley Honor Society and Falcon Society: 1964 Sigma Gamma Delta and Tau Sigma Delta: 1965 Bridge Club and Chess Club: 1966 Investment Society: 1967

2016

100+

STUDENT CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

10

Dining Options 2016

Closing the Gap

MALE : FEMALE RATIO

1917 1942 1967 2016

22 : 0 33 : 1 17 : 1 3:2 BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 73

Inspired ThÄąnking 2008

The Hughey Center for Financial Services Trading Room.

74 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 75

INNOVATION >>

Innovating Early and Often

BY KRISTEN WALSH

A

REAL APPETITE FOR RISK-TAKING. Dedication to a core set of values. Leaders who can articulate a vision and enlist others to the cause. The ability to adapt against changes in the world at large.

These qualities have marked Bentley from day one and continue to pave the way for innovation.

DEFINING BUSINESS EDUCATION Bentley’s original innovator was Harry Bentley. In establishing his school, he was out to change business education itself. Instead of learning basic tasks such as filing and bookkeeping, students would be fully immersed in a specialized field (accountancy) that recognized expertise (the certified public accountant credential).

The founder’s vision emerged from discontent with how accounting was being taught at his three prior institutions, the most recent being Boston University. He wrote about the field and his teaching philosophy in two books, The Science of Accountants and Trends in Higher Education; the former is credited with stimulating the growth of accountancy as a profession. Faculty members who joined the Bentley School were required to write their own textbooks, owing to Mr. Bentley’s firm beliefs about accounting practice and the material best suited for the school’s students.

“Mr. Bentley excelled as a chief strategist for his school,” says Associate Professor of History Cliff Putney. “He wasn’t simply teaching the subject, he was elevating accounting from a trade without any particular qualifications to a licensed profession. His school really was a pathway to success.”

PIONEERING ETHICS Mr. Bentley considered accounting an honorable profession and, through his writings, expected others to uphold high standards.

“He urged his readers to avoid the manipulation of inventory values and other sketchy bookkeeping practices,” explains Putney.

“His works on accounting are imbued with what two historians have described as a ‘moralistic tone.’”

76 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Fast-forward to the 1970s, when ethical lapses by corporations began making headlines. One early case in point is Ford Motor Company and the exploding gas tanks of its Pinto: Executives were alleged to have quashed — or at least ignored — reports that exposed the problem. Still, the term “business ethics” was largely missing from the corporate lexicon.

That did not stop W. Michael Hoffman, then chair of the Philosophy Department, from launching the Center for Business Ethics (CBE) in 1976 and weaving business ethics into courses throughout Bentley’s curriculum.

Almost immediately, the CBE held the first in a series of 10 national conferences that engaged leading thinkers to craft a vision of responsible business. In 1980, Hoffman collaborated with Thomas Donaldson of Loyola University of Chicago to establish the Society for Business Ethics, the primary academic association for the field. In 1992, Hoffman founded the Ethics Officer Association (now the Ethics & Compliance Initiative), which has become the leading organization for corporate ethics and compliance professionals.

Today, the newly named W. Michael Hoffman Center for Business Ethics is credited as a major influence in developing and advancing the business ethics movement in the U.S. and around the world.

Companies are operating with greater transparency, equity, social responsibility and environmental stewardship. But as Hoffman says: “The journey has just begun.” (Hoffman and the CBE are also featured on page 100.)

GOING GLOBAL The university has always tried to model itself to supply workers needed in the marketplace, changing along with the economy. The mission started with Mr. Bentley himself. His school answered the

<< INNOVATION

call for accounting professionals, which had risen with the passage of federal income tax law in 1913, among other factors.

Years later, the globalization of the business world would be the impetus for internationalizing the curriculum, campus community and student opportunities.

“The world of commerce has expanded,” observed then-President Joseph Cronin in 1991. He outlined a commitment to educate students toward “understanding the new world economy” with “a respect for other races and diverse ethnic groups.”

Bentley widened opportunities for students to study and work abroad, and committed to expanding international scholarships.

An important vote of confidence arrived in 2008. Bentley earned accreditation by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), an international organization that benchmarks quality in business education. Only a handful of American business universities are accredited by EQUIS and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

INDUSTRY-LEADING TECHNOLOGY Adding machines were introduced at Bentley around 1950; the 10-key portable machines were on the cutting edge of office technology at the time. The college’s first computer center opened in 1969. The late 1980s brought a host of tech changes to the business landscape: debuts of the World Wide Web, PowerPoint and tools to make processes easier, better and more accurate. Bentley moved to prepare graduates accordingly, with a first-of-its-kind requirement that students own portable computers.

There were significant changes to technology infrastructure under President Joseph Morone, who advocated for an education focused on “business, people and technology.”

In 1997, Bentley opened a Trading Room: the first of several hands-on learning labs with sophisticated hardware and software for studying a range of business disciplines. The Trading Room is now part of the Hughey Center for Financial Services, housed in the $20 million Smith Academic Technology Center. (Other high-tech facilities are highlighted on page 80.)

ACADEMICALLY CONNECTED SERVICE Civic service and education have been foundations of societies across the world. Millennials in particular hold companies to a high standard of social responsibility. Some 87 percent of employees aged 20 to 34 feel encouraged to volunteer or participate in their company’s civic work, according to the 2014 Millennial Impact Report.

In the late 1980s — long before millennials were even thinking about college — an initiative was taking shape at Bentley to bring service into education. Students in a sociology course told stories of volunteering at a Boston shelter and made connections to their studies.

The Bentley Service–Learning Center launched in 1991. Its twofold mission: enhance student learning through academically relevant service and work with local, regional and international nonprofit community partners in addressing important social issues. The key objective goes beyond volunteering: Service–learning initiatives are closely tied to students’ course work and integrated into the curriculum. The interaction with people of diverse backgrounds, including race, nationality, age and socioeconomic status widens students’ perspective and builds skills in communication and collaboration.

(Read more about service–learning on page 82.)

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 77

INNOVATION >>

Tech Over Time

Top: A group gathers in one of our early computing labs, possibly during Family Day, ca. 1979 Middle: Early photo of the Trading Room

Above: This article, from a 1958 issue of the Bentley Alumnus, shows how long weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been writing think pieces about the impact of technology Right: Computer instruction in a continuing education class, ca. 1980s

78 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< INNOVATION

Learn how high-tech labs connect students and corporate leaders.

Top left: Professor Stephen Klein demonstrates features of the DecSystem10 mainframe computer in 1975 Top right: A student DJ broadcasts on WBTY in 1990 Above: The CIS Sandbox is where students “build cool stuff, with cool people, using cool technology,” says its director, Mark Frydenberg

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 79

INNOVATION >>

Technology that Transforms

BY KRISTEN WALSH

From portable adding machines to QuickBooks On-line, advances in technology are constantly changing the way business is done. Bentley has more than kept pace.

A handful of distinctive labs give students employer-ready skills and experience with industry-leading hardware and software. Here are five examples.

Howard A. Winer Accounting Center for Electronic and Business Measurement On most days, the ACELAB is filled with undergraduate and graduate students working on fast-paced accounting tutorials or with industry-standard software such as SAP. “Our goal is to integrate technology into current and developing accounting courses,” explains Professor of Accountancy Arthur Reed, who directs the lab.

In newly renovated space, the ACELAB will feature cloud-based technology; and a breakout space with workstations for individuals and groups and a conference room.

80 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Hughey Center for Financial Services

Computer Information Systems Sandbox

The HCFS is home to the Trading Room, where sophisticated software and market data link classroom theory and real-world practice in the field of finance.

“Faculty integrate our financial software tools into their lectures, so students gain a full understanding of the multitude of roles across financial services,” says Amy Whittaker, MSF ’99, who leads a team of 20 undergraduate and graduate students in collaborating with faculty to support classroom learning.

The Trading Room is also a venue for thought leadership sessions and industry insight in areas such a financial modeling, advanced Excel training, and support and distribution of faculty research.

True to its name, the CIS Sandbox is “a place open to experimentation without impacting the rest of a system.”

So says Mark Frydenberg, designer and director of the facility and a senior lecturer in CIS. Open since 2011, the CIS Sandbox operates with a team of student assistants who tutor peers and create online resources to explore relevant topics. Students and faculty can also head there for career programs with alumni and tech talks with industry leaders.

As Frydenberg puts it: “We foster an entrepreneurial spirit among CIS students interested in building cool stuff, with cool people, using cool technology.”

User Experience Center Founded in 1999, UXC is one of the country’s most sophisticated user research facilities.

Resources include two state-of-the-art usability testing labs; special setups for testing mobile devices; and specific technologies for field research studies, eye tracking and biometrics (emotional measurement).

The tools are in expert hands: professional staff and candidates for the Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design. They work in teams on projects for hundreds of corporate and nonprofit clients.

“We help organizations set a vision for how to create great experiences for customers and create a culture of design thinking and product innovation,” says UXC Executive Director Bill Albert.

Center for Languages and International Collaboration Cultural awareness is essential for navigating a global economy. CLIC collaborates with faculty to support course work in Modern Languages and International Studies.

Technical resources such as live video and computer conferencing, a multimedia library of materials for language and cultural learning and access to international satellite broadcasting offer authentic exposure to language, countries and cultures.

“Learning a new language helps you gain respect for people’s differences and learn to better collaborate,” says CLIC Director Yuan Li. “It can even change the way you view life.”

Career Advancement Moves Ahead

BY SUSAN BRENNAN

Even though the term “job placement” has come in and out of vogue in higher education over the decades, it has always been part of the philosophy at Bentley.

The commitment to help graduates find rewarding and meaningful work goes back to our founder himself.

The recent evolution of career services is based on several factors: the economy and job market, students, faculty, alumni and technology. When I joined the college in 2003, for example, the economy was in a downturn and many big companies were experiencing layoffs. My job was to work with alumni in career transition, many of whom questioned how their career aligned with their values and interests. It sparked an idea: a holistic approach to career development for all students, beginning in the first year.

Our structured plan — HIRE Education — launched in 2008 and focuses on themes tied to each year of college: Explore, Experiment, Experience and Excel. Exploration begins with a Career Development Introduction seminar, which prepares freshmen for a lifetime of career management. Students start to discover their professional path with tools such as Gallup’s Clifton StrengthsFinder. They go on to gain experience by following their career action plan through internships, networking events and more. Ideally, all students take advantage of experiential learning and mentoring. I’m proud to say that we have adapted this program for graduate students as well.

ACE ADVISERS The growing sophistication of students’ skills and experiences has informed our direction. We hire career advisers with strong expertise and connections in various business fields, who are assigned to work with students in specific majors. Employers notice the preparation, hiring our students for higher-level positions and recruiting them into prestigious leadership development programs. Bentley graduates are taking on roles once reserved for those from Ivy League schools.

Strong relationships with corporate partners keep us on top of the kinds of skills employers look for. I sit alongside faculty on Bentley’s Undergraduate Curriculum Policy Committee to collaborate about initiatives that will better prepare graduates for the market.

The collaboration resulted in the recent launch of two majors: Creative Industries and Professional Sales.

CREATING NETWORKS Technology has been another avenue for building connections. When I first got to Bentley, there was a basic alumni database available to students. Since then, we’ve been forward-thinking in creating more interactive platforms to help students leverage relationships. Long before LinkedIn became popular, we built a Bentley network for alumni to find and post jobs: FalconNet. The list of online platforms has just kept growing. Our CareerEdge website includes resources such as event listings, career advice, and industry-insight blogs and videos. In fall 2016, we became one of the first schools nationwide to use the CampusTap platform to create our very own online Mentor Marketplace, which pairs students and alumni based on personality and career interests.

TRADEMARK CONNECTION In the early years, Harry Bentley built relationships with accounting firms and that was how graduates got their first job. He was committed to developing a curriculum that filled a need for what employers were seeking in the accounting profession, and to having the faculty and institution maintain close relationships in the industry. The marriage of education and connections remains a Bentley hallmark.

In 2015, a full 98 percent of the senior class received job offers or went on to graduate school; this placement rate has been above 90 percent since 2007.

If we’re able to place students in fulfilling jobs, it means we’re doing our job right. Helping graduates build lifelong careers is not something we’re willing to leave to chance.

Susan Brennan is associate vice president for university career services.

For more on career services, see page 90.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 81

INNOVATION >>

From Service-Learning to Civic Engagement

BY JONATHAN WHITE

It was 1989 when 20 Bentley students taking the course Values and Choices had an idea.

Wanting to take an experiential approach to course work, they began volunteering at Boston’s Pine Street Inn during the evenings, then shared their experiences and observations in class discussion of economic stereotypes.

Classroom-to-community-to-classroom learning was relatively unexplored academic territory at the time. Over the past quartercentury, Bentley has helped pioneer the movement and remains a national thought-leader in service–learning and civic engagement.

AN ETHIC TAKES HOLD A year after the initial work with Pine Street Inn, four faculty members from different academic disciplines joined what was then called the Bentley Homeless Project. The service ethic caught on: more than 250 students participated in 1990-1991.

The renamed Bentley Service–Learning Project gained its first director in 1992: Professor of English Edward Zlotkowski. At the same time, a grant by the Corporation for National and Community Service funded scholarships and work-study opportunities for students to pursue service-learning.

82 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

During the first Service–Learning Week, in 1991, students slept on the quad to raise awareness of homelessness.

DIVERSE PARTNERSHIPS Today, a service component is part of 100 courses across disciplines; there are ongoing partnerships with dozens of organizations.

Many students work with local nonprofits, applying their skills in our areas of focus: diversity, elders, poverty, sustainability and youth. Others provide consulting. For example, students testified before the U.S. Congress on environmental issues, through a course taught by Associate Professor David Szymanski. Still others volunteer in innovative community centers we helped create in low-income housing neighborhoods.

SOCIALLY ENGAGED The center marks its 25th year with a new name: the Bentley Service–Learning and Civic Engagement Center (BSLCE). The change reflects a growing number of initiatives that connect the university community with social causes. Examples are an event to promote fair trade and a fundraiser to help build a school and bring clean water to a village in Ecuador.

Looking back, we are proud of Bentley’s leadership in service–learning and our impactful work in the community. The center owes much to past directors James Ostrow (Sociology) and Franklyn Salimbene (Law).

Looking forward, we are excited by the ideas that students will bring to us in the spirit of social entrepreneurship. The mission, as ever: develop civic-minded business leaders, armed with the skills to create the necessary structural change for people and planet.

Sociologist and political economist Jonathan White has directed the BSLCE since 2013.

He is an associate professor of sociology.

SUSTAINABILITY

FALCON FACT S REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

3 2015 by 50%

2020 by 70% 2030 neutrality

Saved in 2015 through recycling, compost and trash programs

280

TONS

$170M

2016

MATERIAL RECYCLED = THE WEIGHT OF 140 CARS

15,199 lbs

2015

USABLE GOODS DONATED TO CHARITY through Bentleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Give N Go program in 2016

22,214

GALLONS DISPENSED at tap water filling stations.

Equivalent to 142,166 plastic bottles BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 83

Lasting Ties 2016

Bentley blue runs deep in legacy families like the Spencers (see page 94).

84 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 85

Alumni Weekend, 2010

Bonded for Life

BY LEIGH K. GASPAR

B

ENTLEY IS MUCH MORE THAN A SCHOOL TO ALUMNI. It is a living, breathing community with heart and purpose, pride and ambition, personality and big dreams. Every day, in their workplaces, homes and communities, alumni demonstrate what it means to hold a Bentley degree … and why that is a powerful asset in today’s world.

When the Alumni Association was founded in 1955, most Falcons lived and worked locally or regionally. Alumni activity was centered in the Boston area and, to a much lesser degree, in New York City.

Today, our community of graduates includes more than 70,000 men and women around the world.

The new reality of the Bentley experience has inspired the association to break ground in engaging alumni not just in our backyard, but across the nation, and increasingly, across the globe. Last year alone, Alumni Association chapters, in partnership with the Center for Alumni, Parents and Friends, hosted more than 2,850 alumni and guests at 93 events in 39 cities and three countries.

There is renewed commitment to provide alumni with a lifelong connection to their alma mater and a seat at the table for shared ownership of its future. Alumni now participate in everything from admissions activities, to offering jobs and internships for students at career fairs, to sharing their professional expertise as mentors and guest lecturers in Bentley courses. In these ways and more, alumni 86 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

are powerful partners in students’ education and invested in their continued success as future alumni.

What stands out about Bentley alumni is their strong desire to connect — to hear about each other and share in one another’s accomplishments. Networking comes naturally, and alumni often look to each other when they need to find an intern, new hire, mentor or business partner. Not surprisingly, events for alumni go far beyond socializing at a happy hour. They want to learn something, extend their business ties and call on each other as trusted advisers.

Pride is the emotion that dominates interactions between alumni and students. Our own proudest moments are in seeing alumni recognize themselves in today’s students. Despite the differences and decades of living that might exist between them, they are all Falcons. And that counts for a lot.

Leigh Gaspar is executive director of advancement relations at the Center for Alumni, Parents and Friends.

<< LIFE AFTER BENTLEY

Pay It Forward

BY SEAN KERRIGAN

When Shanell Mosley ’10 was young, her mother taught her the value in giving back. She’s been doing so ever since. Mosley majored in Management, but always knew she wanted to use her business education to do some good. A Bentley internship with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Boston office gave her a chance to act on the commitment.

As a development intern, Mosley helped organize UNICEF donor cultivation events, coordinated fundraising and marketing activities, and drafted press releases for newsworthy events.

The experience set her on a path of service.

“As a result of my internship, I knew that I wanted to use my business degree to help the world around me,” says Mosley.

“During my senior year, I rallied a group of like-minded peers at Bentley to raise thousands of dollars for the Haiti Relief efforts through grassroots events on campus and Spring Day. I knew that, in order to make a difference, I could not do it alone and looked to my peers, faculty and staff at Bentley to help as well.”

After graduation, Mosley followed her passion. She volunteered with AmeriCorps, earned a master’s degree in nonprofit management, and returned to UNICEF in 2015 in her current role as manager of sports partnerships.

“Internships are a fabulous opportunity to gain new skills and knowledge, while determining what you are passionate about,” she says. “My internship opened the door to incredible relationships within the organization I one day aspired to work at.”

With that in mind, Mosley has shared UNICEF internship opportunities with Bentley students through the Multicultural Center (MCC). Neither side has been disappointed.

“UNICEF is a huge fan of recruiting Bentley students, knowing they are skilled, reliable and professional.”

Mosley hasn’t forgotten her Bentley ties, and remains heavily involved with the MCC, Alumni Association events and reunions.

“Bentley helped make me into the person I am today,” she says. “Every single time someone asks me about Bentley I light up, simply because of the incredible relationships I built and experiences I gained while there.

“My mom taught me at a young age to always give back to others. I’m proud to say that Bentley has helped put me in a position to do exactly that. It is an honor and my personal duty to help other Bentley students and alumni. We are all family and family looks out for one another.”

LIFE AFTER BENTLEY >>

Moments & Memories

more than an institute of higher learning — it’s a lifetime of friendship.

Paul Grassia ’69 I graduated not knowing if accounting was going to be right for me. It took me 10 years after I graduated to realize that my career in accounting was my true path.

I am now a partner in the CPA firm and look forward to work with passion every day.

Stanley Feather ’74

1980s and 1990s I have held many positions in the last 31 years, but none so rewarding as coaching the students on the Acton Boxborough Regional High School Speech and Debate team.

Sue (Ouellette) Hennessey ’85

THE EARLY YEARS I can honestly say that the education I received on Boylston Street did assist me in getting a decent job, and the ability to work in accounting jobs most of my adult life; raise a family; purchase a house; and help people with income tax returns. Not very exciting, but I thank Bentley for the education I received.

JJ Scully ’48 I did well at Bentley, graduating with honors. After an interview with Mr. Harold Mackinnon, vice president at GE, I took a position in their Business Training Program.

I have spent over 50 years in increasingly more responsible positions in accounting, business and tax management. My wife and I have also developed two country inns, which now have national prominence. I doubt that my wife and I would have accomplished what we did without the challenge and support given by my professors and Bentley. We will always be grateful.

Karl Taylor ’57

88 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

I worked in the computer field prior to starting my own cleaning business. I have been preparing income tax returns since 1972 and I still, at 79 years old, prepare over 100 returns a year. I was selected and inducted into the Bentley College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.

Caroll McMillan ’64 After graduation, I was hired

by Price Waterhouse & Co. After about a year, I was chosen to head a team of auditors at a relatively new client: Bentley College, at their new Waltham campus.

When I walked into the office of one of my former professors, who had taken on the responsibilities of treasurer of the college, I thought he was going to faint! When he recovered his senses, he was most gracious and provided everything that we needed to issue a “clean opinion.”

Joseph Mador ’66 Every year since 1969 our old gang meets for dinner at the Chateau Restaurant in Waltham to catch up. These guys are my family and I’m grateful for them. Bentley is not just a university; it is a perfect state of grace. I always felt fortunate to call it my Bentley. It’s so much

I was in one of the last classes of CIS majors where COBOL was taught, and I’m still working with COBOL and the mainframe 31 years later, currently as principal software developer at Fidelity Investments. I have three amazing adult children (two currently still in college, my youngest at Bentley), and one pre-adoptive infant son (hopefully adoptive by the time the issue is published!).

I’m also a novelist, writing primarily in the horror suspense genre (under my real name, Daniel G. Keohane, and a pseudonym G. Daniel Gunn), with dozens of short stories and five novels currently in print. For fun, I also write film reviews for the website Cinema Knife Fight.

Dan Keohane ’85, P ’19

I married my Bentley sweetheart and we both have had very successful careers built on our Bentley education. We have stayed very connected to Bentley even though we have lived in Maryland since 1991.

Mark Semanie ’85 Bentley provided me with an outstanding education and gave me the knowledge and confidence to succeed quickly in my career, and also allowed me to retire early. For that, I am forever grateful. My heart will always belong to Bentley.

Nancy Wine ’86 I received my PhD in Aviation Operations from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University in June 2016.

Kevin O’Leary ’90, MBA ’95 After receiving my MBA, I continued my sales and marketing career but found ways to do some adjunct teaching at other local colleges. In 2002, Perry Lowe and Ian Cross asked me to teach the GB 310 Project Module. I taught as an adjunct every semester after that for 10 years, and in 2012, I had the opportunity to join the faculty on a full-time basis. I helped create the new Professional Sales major. I’ve been honored to have given a Baccalaureate address and a Convocation address.

And now, I work side-by-side with many of the faculty who helped me earn my MBA over 20 years ago!

Jim Pouliopoulos ’94, MBA ’95, Director of Professional Sales Program and Marketing Lecturer

There is no life after Bentley for me. This is my second home and I look forward to coming to work each day. I love Bentley, I always have.

I met my husband here and many, many friends.

Enza A. Rapatano-O’Connell ’80, Bentley University Library

There are four people that I met freshman year that I am very close friends with 20 years later. Three of them were in my wedding and one of them is the godmother to my eldest child. While Bentley prepared me to get an internship and full-time job with Ernst & Young in public accounting, after two years I realized I did not want to be a CPA and switched careers.

Monique (Young) Jefferson ’96 After getting my MST at Bentley, I worked in the federal tax department at Arthur Andersen, Boston and then later started a tax firm of my own. My Bentley tax instructors are a great resource for me even today.

Marietta Courtney, MST ’98

2000s I am assistant professor of business administration at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Conn. An avid mountaineer, I summited 29,029-foot Mt. Everest on May 20, 2016.

Mark Milewski, MBA ’00 After completing my degree, I stayed in the Boston area for five more years, working for companies like Mullen and Digitas. My roles were generally around advanced data analysis. The education I received at Bentley had prepped me very well for the challenges in my career. In 2007, I moved back to Istanbul and started the first analytics consulting shop in the country. We are working with top-tier banks/telecoms in TR and have grown the team to 15 consultants, including one other Bentley graduate.

Omer Nadirler, MBA ’02 After two years in the Boston area working in stores and on projects with the corporate Staples team in Framingham, I relocated to northwest Arizona. I assisted in opening six locations, doing everything from creating local marketing campaigns to product selection for merchandising to training and developing future leadership through the West region. After relocating to the Tampa, Florida, area, I continue to operate and oversee locations, and manage proj-

<< LIFE AFTER BENTLEY

ects for the Southeast region.

I am a proud father of three: sons Cayden and Demetri, and daughter Jordyn. I am supported 24/7/365 by my better half Robyn, my rock and source of motivation to do great things in life. My family drives me to succeed in life and work, to create a better future for them, and ensure our next generation has a better place to grow in. Hopefully I have future Falcons on the way!

James Litopoulos ’03 I still contact some of my Bentley friends from 15 years ago. Our paths still cross from time to time. I will cherish our memories and experiences forever.

Esel Shemmeri ’03, MSF ’06 I remember thinking senior year that post-Bentley life would never shine as bright as the years spent on campus. What I didn’t realize was that my journey at Bentley was preparing me for more than just a career, it was preparing me for life. Bentley has been more than a memory; it’s a reminder of my potential to push further, partner better and seek joy in all I do. I feel both a responsibility to and support from the faculty, staff and fellow alumni, which gives me confidence about all the good I — and we, together — can do in this world.

Eleven years, five jobs, three kids, and two houses later, I feel confident that where I am now is exactly where I was meant to be. And there is still so much more to come!

Deborah (Kerr) Lee ’05 After the financial recession, I decided to continue my education in economics so that I could better understand the environment that created the recession. I completed an MSc in International Economics at the University of Essex, and then moved to London to work. I’ve been in England for seven years now, and I am counting the months until I’m legally able to apply for citizenship. I’ve also been teaching myself technical analysis for market trading.

I have come to understand that with time, commitment, patience and persistence, you can learn anything and follow any path. Doing something you enjoy as your

Essentially, all the friends in my life are Bentley friends.

We still get together regularly, reminisce about old days and make new memories.

Bill Mortimer ’03

source of income is one of the key fundamental aspects to achieving consistent happiness in life.

Eric Dahms ’06 Since graduating I moved back home to Panama. I own part of an indoor soccer rental place, and I love interacting directly with the students in the soccer academy. I believe there’s a lot one can teach through sports. You can really notice how different personality traits show when they are doing sports and it’s easy to pinpoint strengths and flaws.

Tomás E. Galán Pérez ’06 I still remain close with my friends from college. Even my significant other is an alumnus, and I didn’t meet him till long after graduating.

A real testament to the power of the network, I think. I am who I am today because of Bentley. My career, my relationships, my future ... it all started at Bentley. I’m proud of who I’ve become and I’m proud to call myself a Falcon.

Melissa Nazar ’06 Since graduating I took a job with AB [previously AllianceBernstein] in financial operations before moving to our Strategic Relationship Group to help manage relationships in our retail channel.

My life outside of work has been pretty crazy. I got married in June 2013, was diagnosed with brain cancer in November 2013, and my wife gave birth to twin boys in August 2015. It been quite the roller coaster.

Bryan Busch ’07 In 2011 I moved to Alice Springs, Australia, still working for Raytheon, where I’ve been since graduating.

I plan on moving to Tucson, Ariz., in July 2017. I was married to an Aussie in 2014 and this year qualified for the 2016 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii,

having completed eight Ironmans and 27 marathons.

I will be joining my wife, who qualified at IM Western Australia. I’ve traveled to more than 50 countries now and life just keeps getting better! When at Bentley, I wrote for the newspaper; I’m still writing at alicesprings athlete.wordpress.com.

Kevin Coyle, MSF ’08 I was married on April 9, 2016, to Christopher Luongo in Harwichport, Mass., at the Wychmere Beach Club.

Megan (Culver) Skinner ’08 and Arden Brust ’08 were in my bridal party.

Courtney (Lynch) Luongo ’08 I met my husband, Matt ’07, at Bentley in 2005. Since then, we bought a home in Needham, Mass., in July 2014, and got married in Tuscany, Italy, in September 2014. Matt has worked at TJX as a buyer for the last 8.5 years. I’ve worked at several local tech companies doing marketing and business development. I recently expanded my marketing consulting business, Promise Consulting Group LLC, to full time. We are moving to Florence, Italy, this fall as Matt relocates for work. Bentley brought us together 11 years ago, and it has been quite the exciting story ever since!

Lisa (Promise) Colella ’09 After Bentley, I worked in corporate insurance for a few years until deciding to start my own specialty bakery in New Jersey, where I’m from.

I recently moved to Arizona, where I am starting up a new specialty bakery, and I’m thrilled to be on a new adventure.

Alexa Zozzaro ’11

Maggie (Brogan) ’08 and Joey ’08, MST ’09 Calvetti: Our pups have some fun news to share about our post-Bentley lives!

I’m a professional hockey player overseas in France.

I’ve been playing for four years now, after playing for Bentley’s DI program from 2009 to 2013. The coaches at Bentley helped me progress as a hockey player, which allows me to travel the world doing what I love.

Dan Koudys ’13 Every day I have the pleasure of working with four fellow Bentley Falcons at The Grommet. We each took distinct paths at Bentley and are living proof that a Bentley education can take your career in many different directions: CFO; communications; managing teams and accounts; discovering the next great household products. The thread that connects these different paths is providing value to a business, which is the ultimate achievement of a Bentley degree.

Mike Lovett ’13 Recently took part in a client service competition at PwC ... Enjoyed performing with fellow Bentley grads and we brought home the cup!

Lindsey Theriault ’13, MBA ’15

Since Bentley, I decided to serve with Cru [an international campus Christian ministry].

For the last two years I have been a modern missionary of sorts, serving in the Boston area. I have been so fortunate to work right here at Bentley, partnering with the Spiritual Life department. I have the privilege of helping students merge spirituality into their business training and all of life. Although it is not a common route for Bentley students, I see myself using my formal training in business management all the time.

Andrew Nilson ’14 Even though we all live in different parts of the U.S., the six Bentley University volleyball team seniors of 2015 still talk almost every single day and fly across the country to see one another!

Alex Tator ’15

Read more stories and add your own at bentley.edu/ 100

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 89

LIFE AFTER BENTLEY >>

Career Services Then & Now

BY ALLYSON MANCHESTER WITH RESEARCH FROM THE BENTLEY ARCHIVES

Placement Department, 1937

Bentley’s ranking as No. 1 in career services by the Princeton Review is the most recent national nod to our career programs. But the school has a long history of helping graduates find jobs throughout their lifetimes. A Placement Bureau was the very first service offered to Bentley students, and available free of charge.

Mr. Bentley and fellow faculty frequently appealed to friends, professional acquaintances and alumni for open opportunities at their places of business. By 1919, more than 180 students and alumni had been placed. These young graduates, who then kept an eye out for positions for the next class, built the foundations of the robust alumni career-networking program we enjoy today.

What began as an ad hoc service became an official department in the 1930s. Pamphlets and letters were published to advise graduates on common interview questions, ways to sell themselves and their skills, and how to plan for a career. For alumni who might have trouble finding placement — Mr. Bentley particularly worried about those with foreign backgrounds — the department doors were always open for “frank, impartial advice,” reads a 1941 catalogue. Sometimes, that meant changing an Old World last name to something easier to pronounce and remember.

As the decades passed and the campus moved, many alumni well remember sifting through career catalogue after career catalogue in the new office or using early computer databases. Career Fairs began in the 1970s, with about 100 employers coming to campus, as well as career-oriented workshops.

90 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

During hard times, such as the 1980s when the country was in a recession, the Bentley Observer magazine often listed open positions at the end of each issue. For a time, the Placement Department published a newsletter of employment opportunities.

After the economic crisis of 2008, many alumni found themselves out of work. “I was pretty devastated and overwhelmed,” says Phyllis (Keplin) Hodge ’79. “I had been with my firm for 27 years. I wasn’t sure where to get started.”

Bentley and Barbara Hyle, former director of alumni career services, were the solution. Elizabeth Doulbakian ’08 describes Hyle’s efforts over her 14-year tenure as “relentless.” The combination of expert guidance and alumni camaraderie was invaluable to Doulbakian’s spirit and motivation to engage in her job search.

“I met incredible people just willing to help,” says Mark Pieleski ’80.

“I was out of work for 26 very long, painful months. I’m absolutely convinced all of the preparation I did here was a major factor in successfully landing a job.”

Today, Alumni Career Services offers a wealth of programs in person and online (see A Sampling of Services Today, page 91). While the office has grown far beyond a single room filled with catalogues, the staff uphold Mr. Bentley’s legacy of helping alumni throughout their lives — and it’s still free of charge.

<< LIFE AFTER BENTLEY

Cate Waldram ’16

Raghav Tanna ’15

A Sampling of Services Today

Thanks to Bentley’s nationally recognized Nathan R. Miller Center for Career Services, 98 percent of undergraduates report employment or graduate school plans within six months of graduation. Here are some of the many offerings for students and alumni that have led and will continue to lead Falcons to successful professions: HIRE EDUCATION Career Services structures its undergraduate program according to a four-step process called HIRE Education. Each step — Explore, Experiment, Experience and Excel — corresponds with one year in school. For example, a Career Development Introduction Seminar helps freshmen articulate their personal interests and goals. Students go on to build a strong résumé, complete advanced career development programs, and interview for and (ideally) secure their dream job.

MENTOR MARKETPLACE With more than 1,800 members, this new online networking tool connects current students with alumni in their fields of interest. Students and young alumni set up a professional, LinkedIn-style profile, then are matched with alumni mentors at companies like Microsoft, J.P. Morgan and Dunkin’ Brands. Want to join? Sign up at bentley.edu/mentor.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS CONTI

Find out what gives Career Services its No. 1 ranking.

PREMIUM JOB SEARCH RESOURCES Career Services offers premium access to Vault.com (an online hub of rankings and reviews of employers and internship programs), InterviewStream (a website for practicing interviews and receiving feedback) and a variety of career skills webinars. The Career Services blog features event updates, insight on important job search topics (“How do I find an internship with no experience?”) and photos of students who have been #hired.

CAREER COMMUNITIES While cultivating an active online presence, Career Services also focuses on building in-person relationships. The Career Communities program facilitates meetings for students with faculty, alumni, parents and friends who have similar professional interests.

At the meetings, students discuss how their classroom experience fits the needs of the business community.

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 91

LIFE AFTER BENTLEY >>

Alumni Gatherings

2014

Above: Frozen Fenway, 2013 Right: The first Alumni Day, 1955

92 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

FENWAY PHOTO BY BRIAN SMITH, REUNION PHOTO FROM 2014 BY LOVE DAYS PHOTOGRAPHY

<< LIFE AFTER BENTLEY

See how alumni celebrate their Bentley ties.

2014

1989

2003

1999

2008

1970

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 93

LIFE AFTER BENTLEY >>

Walter Spencer

Robert Spencer

Jonathan Spencer

Courtney Jansson

We Are (Bentley) Family Meet the Spencers, one of many families with proud ties to Bentley that span generations: Walter ’48; his son, Robert ’77, MST ’85; and Robert’s son and daughter, Jonathan ’07 and Courtney ’09. Each is inspired by the others to make a difference in the world ­— and determined to continue their Bentley legacy.

HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON BENTLEY? Walter Spencer ’48: It was after the war (WWII). Bentley was already known as a solid accounting school, and I was interested in accounting.

Robert Spencer ’77, MST ’85: I came to Bentley because I wanted a broad-based applicability to all aspects of business with the ability to go to law school.

Jonathan Spencer ’07: My father always taught me that you can never go wrong in life with a business education. After a few campus visits and seeing what they had to offer, it was an easy decision. Bentley, here I come!

Courtney (Spencer) Jansson ’09: I knew in high school that I wanted to study business, and in particular, marketing.

My decision was made easier when I visited Jonathan on campus during his junior year and experienced the amazing campus.

WHAT DID YOU STUDY? JS: I majored in Corporate Finance and Accounting and minored in Information Design and Corporate Communication.

CJ: I knew the minute I stepped on campus that marketing was the right major for me. Marketing is constantly changing, which keeps it exciting. When I graduated, Twitter was just becoming a thing. To see how marketing has changed since graduation day is astounding.

RS: Public Administration. I also focused on every law course offered.

WS: Accounting.

FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY? WS: The college had a few common areas to study in the original Boylston Street location.

RS: In the library or Lower Café.

CJ: The library was always my favorite — early in the morning or late at night.

JS: The library was always great — but I also liked the study rooms in the Fenway dorm with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the athletic fields.

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN BENTLEY CHANGE? WS: I attended the original Boston location on Boylston Street, so in my two years, no big changes. Obviously the move to Waltham and the growth I’ve seen there has been incredible and beyond anything I could have imagined in 1948.

RS: In 1974-1977, I saw the lower campus development start and the addition of a new gym at the Dana Center.

JS: Bentley is always improving! They built a new gym when I was there, too. It was also in the process of transitioning from Bentley College to Bentley University.

I think I was in the last class to graduate from Bentley College.

CJ: That was the biggest change for me, when Bentley went from college to university. I still recall the day of the change with the new logo and T-shirts that were handed out to students on the Greenspace.

Overall, I have seen Bentley evolve along with the business world. It has been a great ride to see how far Bentley has come.

DID YOU RECEIVE FAMILY ADVICE WHEN YOU ENROLLED? JS: Our Dad would always say: There are 24 hours in a day. Even if you sleep for eight hours and have class for five, that still gives you 11 hours a day, so no excuses to not have enough time to study!

CJ: He also frequently reminded us of the Bentley chant: “Debits to the left, credits to the right, fight, fight, fight!” That may have determined my marketing direction!

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE BENTLEY. JS: Hilly. Challenging. Creative.

RS: Challenging. Comprehensive. Practical.

WS: Accounting. Discipline. Hard Work.

CJ: Unforgettable. Rewarding. Inspiring.

HOW WILL BENTLEY CONTINUE TO BE PART OF YOUR LIFE? WS: I’m in my 90s now, and I’m thankful for the time I had there.

JS: My first baby is due in October … maybe she will be Bentley Class of 2039?

CJ: I hope to stay part of the Bentley family.

Whether through alumni events, campus visits or my lifelong friends, Bentley will always have a big place in my heart.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR BENTLEY’S NEXT 100 YEARS? RS: Bentley’s first 100 years have been transformative. Bentley is a state-of-the-art institution and needs to maintain its welldeserved standing and reputation as a leading business education institution.

JS: My hope is that Bentley continues to grow its already outstanding reputation and continues to take the next step into the national fold as one of the top universities in the country. I also hope Bentley continues to offer classes that introduce the “business” side of all types of jobs and professions.

CJ: I hope Bentley continues to show the world what it means to be Bentley alumni.

We are a special crop of students who are generally looking to make an important impact in the world.

WS: Good luck and keep up the good work!

— As told to Caroline Cruise

94 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

LIFE AFTER BENTLEY

FALCON FACT S ALUMNI 73,263 WHERE ALUMNI LIVE TOP NON-U.S. COUNTRIES

China: 474 India: 360 Thailand: 123 Bahrain: 110 Spain: 107

#

2016

1,724

1

TOP STATES

Massachusetts: 32,683 New Hampshire: 2,935 Connecticut: 2,815 New York: 2,573 Florida: 2,253

In CAREER SERVICES by the Princeton Review

ALUMNI-to-ALUMNI MARRIAGES

98%

of undergraduates are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 95

How Bentley Lives On 2015

As active Bentley donors, alumni Tom Alber and Lauren Westling Fostveit share a commitment to big-picture thinking.

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 97

GIVING BACK >>

A Legacy Begins STORIES BY KRISTIN LIVINGSTON ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOEL KIMMEL

T

HE FIRST FORMAL GIFT TO BENTLEY WAS BENTLEY ITSELF. On July 1, 1948, Harry Bentley donated his entire interest in the school to a nonprofit corporation managed by a Board of Trustees. That act has benefited generations of Bentley students, and it aids a greater need that is universal today.

“Few are unaware of the need for massive support of higher education if the American way of life is to survive,” reads a 1950s Bentley booklet advocating for a new building on Boylston Street. Ten years later, a Golden Anniversary Fund was founded to support a move to the Waltham campus.

At a time when our evening commuters outnumbered our day students, and there were only 14,650 alumni worldwide, we began to unite.

And we are united still. The President’s Club members set the bar; True Blue donors give year after year; The 1917 Legacy Society members have included Bentley in their financial and estate plans.

Through scholarships and professorships, named spaces and gifts to the Annual Fund, we give back because the spirit of generosity has been with Bentley from the start.

“There have always been donors who care deeply about this school, and there always will be,” says Vice President for University Advancement William Torrey, noting that Harry Bentley himself was known to help students who couldn’t pay their full tuition. “Donors give because they know, often from personal experience, that a gift

doesn’t just help one person, it helps the entire institution — and the greater business profession.”

The pay-it-forward commitment lives on in people like Tom Alber ’82, P ’12, and Lauren Westling Fostveit ’10, MBA ’11, MSA ’16, colleagues at TA Associates in Boston. Both give back personally and encourage their fellow alumni, no matter their Bentley experience, to come together.

“So many people I knew were able to go to Bentley because of scholarships — money that was contributed by alumni,” says Alber, a Bentley trustee. “Now it’s my turn to help.” Adds Fostveit: “Reflecting on who I was before Bentley and after, I’ve grown as a person and a professional.” She says it’s important to her to show her gratitude by giving back.

In 1964, President Morison said, “On the eve of our Fiftieth Anniversary, we are making hundred-year decisions.” Decades later, we’re making the same case: to provide for the next 100 years of Bentley — to the continued evolution, the legacy and the pioneers.

“Reflecting on who I was before Bentley and after, I’ve grown as a person and as a professional.”

“I am proud to help make it possible for thousands of young people of limited means to achieve professional stature in the future.”

Solomon R. Baker ’24

98 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Lauren Westling Fostveit ’10, MBA ’11, MSA ’16

Tom Alber ’82, P ’12

<< GIVING BACK

FIRST PERSON

Ney Peralta ’10

Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

HE WAS JUST NON-STOP

“ It’s tough for a New York kid to

move to Boston. My first week on campus, I was

“ It was making sure the way Jhan Carlos lived lives on.”

walking around the activities fair and he just came up to me, this senior. “My name is Jhan Carlos de la Cruz,” he said. He shook my hand, sat me down and the questions poured in: Where you Ney Peralta ’10 from? What do you want to do? How can I help?

It’d be 9:00 in the morning, me rolling into the Student Center on the way to class and there he was, every single day. Blazer, shirt tucked in, huge smile and ready to quiz me. “Ney, what’d you read this morning?”

“I just woke up,” I’d say.

“You want to go into finance, don’t you? What’s going on in the market?”

Every day, he got me on my game, and kept me there.

This kid grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in New York City, but, to him, nothing was ever wrong in the world. There wasn’t a reason not to embrace everyone he met, to call me once a week even after he graduated in 2007 and started working for J.P. Morgan, to be like an older brother to me.

Jhan Carlos passed away suddenly at the age of 23.

He left behind his mother, a sister, two brothers, countless friends — and a legacy of enriching his peers and the university.

I was going into my senior year at the time, working two jobs, but also living on grants and scholarships. Jhan Carlos was big on scholarships, how they not only help you succeed, but also help your parents save for your brothers and sisters, help your whole family do well and position you to give back to the community.

Anthony Leroux ’06 and I worked with Bentley to set up the Jhan Carlos de la Cruz ’06 Memorial Scholarship. I made a five-year pledge that I started paying off once I graduated and got a job.

Making my own lunch or coffee meant I could give that pocket money to students who needed it.

It was making sure the way Jhan Carlos lived lives on.

I hear from the students who receive Jhan Carlos’ scholarship; they’re so grateful. Another New York City kid, Argenis Rojas ’15, said that, being born to a teenaged mother in an impoverished area, he wasn’t supposed to make it and graduate from a top business school. The scholarship was huge for him. Now, he’s a business development analyst for World Business Leaders LLC. I think in numbers, always have. I even see people in numbers: one beautiful wife and one baby girl on the way means working so many hours to retire at a young age and enjoy my remaining years.

But finance is also family. Everything is interconnected. Bentley taught me that.

Jhan Carlos de la Cruz ’07

Experience how scholarships change lives.

”

— As told to Kristin Livingston

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 99

GIVING BACK >>

OF REVOLUTIONARIES AND RENEGADES “We’ve never heard of ‘business ethics.’ ” The grant refusal by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) came swiftly and spoke volumes of the times: It was 1974 and the country under President Richard Nixon was in the thick of the Watergate scandal.

The denial didn’t dissuade W. Michael Hoffman, PhD, from flying to Washington, D.C. At age 32 and untenured, the new chair of Bentley’s Philosophy Department was far from his Kentucky roots, but rooted in his determination to bring business ethics to bear on the practice of business and in business education.

He asked to see the proposal’s evaluations. They read simply “no” or “this is an oxymoron.”

The NEH director, embarrassed by the lack of substantive feedback, asked him to reapply.

Hoffman did, and got the grant.

Forty years later, he and the W. Michael Hoffman Center for Business Ethics (CBE) — newly named in his honor — have helped transform Bentley and the business world.

Thomas White, recently retired professor and chair of business ethics at Loyola Marymount University, calls Hoffman “a revolutionary and a renegade.” His center challenged the nature of ethics research at the time, which focused on theory, not practice.

But “practice” helps people and “applied” is Hoffman’s beloved bread and butter.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was an early supporter of Hoffman’s cause. “Thirty years ago, we were one of the first big firms to begin an ethics program — the pioneers,” says Bobby Kipp, a retired partner at the company. “But we needed a pioneer to lead us.”

With help from Hoffman and the center, PwC won the American Business Ethics Award in the program’s first year.

100 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

W. Michael Hoffman and his namesake Center for Business Ethics have helped transform Bentley and the business world.

Scores of conferences, lectures, courses, awards, publications and one-on-one meetings later, businessmen and women are bringing ideas the center has championed to workplaces everywhere. And Bentley itself has incorporated ethics into its mission statement and many of its courses. They can all thank Hoffman and the CBE for influencing how business is done.

Hoffman, in turn, credits corporations like Raytheon and Verizon for establishing annual lectures and visiting professorships for the CBE. “Our Bentley campus has been enriched by the presence of these visiting scholars,” he says. The events are often standing room only.

His gratitude extends to the NEH for the initial push to establish business ethics at Bentley.

The Hieken Professor of Business and Professional Ethics and former winner of the Michael Mee Prize for faculty excellence, Hoffman is thankful for donors such as Chuck Hieken P ’93 and Michael Mee ’66. Their gifts are the kind that keep talented faculty — the renegades — on staff, and allow revolutionary thinking to thrive.

ON MERIT For so many Bentley donors, their gifts are founded on trust — and transformational goals.

“Bentley is a school that is really on the move,” says Cynthia Deysher, MSF ’87. “Our career placement numbers are phenomenal.

That speaks to the high-quality student experience, as well as the type of young men and women Bentley attracts: hardworking, enterprising and invested in their futures.”

She and husband Bryon, MSF ’85 have been proud supporters of their alma mater for many “ I go to Bentley years. Now, they’re boosting with high that investment for some expectations exceptional students. One of of myself.”

Bentley’s first merit scholarships, the Deysher Academic Hoang Nguyen ’14, Excellence Endowed Fund will MBA ’17 help applicants to the Honors Program who may not have the means to attend Bentley.

“It is a lot of money to send one child to college, let alone two or three at the same time,” says Deysher, a former scholarship recipient and a university trustee. “We cannot lose these bright students to our competitors, especially if Bentley is their number one choice.”

That was almost the case for Hoang Nguyen ’14, MBA ’17, until he received the Cynthia and Bryon Deysher Graduate Fellowship Award.

“I go to Bentley with high expectations of myself, to work hard in every class and project,” he says. “Coming from Vietnam, without this scholarship, my dream would not have come true.”

“ We cannot lose these bright students to our competitors, especially if Bentley is their number one choice.” ynthia Deysher, MSF ’87, pictured with C husband Byron, MSF ’85

<< GIVING BACK

WHO’S THERE? There’s a small room in the Rauch Administration Center papered in a riot of color.

“When you work odd hours making calls around the world, you need a way to relax on break,” says Liam Clifford ’17, a veteran caller for the Annual Fund Phonea-thon. “We like coloring books.”

“ Every dollar really counts.”

Liam Clifford ’17

The Economics-Finance and Liberal Studies double major has a smile that won’t quit and a high-energy vibe shared by his fellow callers. They keep the room humming during call hours and vie for Bentley Bucks (campus dollars) credited to the students who bring in the most gifts.

Clifford has won more than a few bucks. He’s been cheerfully calling alumni, rallying friends to donate and giving back to Bentley himself for years. As president of the Student Alumni Leadership Council, he also helps build bridges between alumni and students to encourage philanthropic support to Bentley.

“Sometimes people don’t realize that every little bit makes a difference on campus,” he says.

“I appreciate the donors because they make all the things that make Bentley such a great university possible — my friends on scholarships, my professors, extended library hours, intramural sports. Every dollar really counts.”

So, next time your phone displays a number from Waltham?

“It’s probably me,” Clifford says.

“Make a gift and I’ll win some Bentley Bucks! If not, I love to talk.”

SEEING HER POTENTIAL Her mom passed away when she was 11; her father when she was 18. And yet, when you meet Olivia Corriveau ’18, you see a quiet determination that shines as brightly as her infectious smile — and she can’t help but see her Bentley life in gains, not losses.

“I’m very close with my brother,” she says, “and I tell him all the time how much I love and appreciate what I have here.”

From kicking up dirt on the rugby field to learning the latest technology for her Computer Information Systems major, Corriveau makes the most of the rich environment around her.

“It means a lot to know that there are people out there who care and see my potential, who want to help me out,” says Corriveau, who received the J. Earl Bradley Scholarship, created by Harry Bentley Bradley and his wife, Joyce.

“As we began to get letters from our scholarship recipients and started to understand our one-onone impact, it was remarkable,” says Bradley, the grandson of Bentley’s founder. “It changed our lives. I believe with all my heart and soul that the money is going to the right students — bright and gifted and focused on their futures. When this endures, there’s hope for us all.”

Corriveau is quick to credit others for having a hand in her success: friends, teammates, professors — “and especially Mr. and Mrs. Bradley and everyone else who gives back to the school.

Words can’t express my gratitude.”

“ It means a lot to know that there are people out there who care and see my potential, who want to help me out.”

Olivia Corriveau ’18

“I believe with all my heart and soul that the money is going to the right students.”

Harry Bentley Bradley

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 101

GIVING BACK >>

FIRST PERSON

Norman Massry ’78, P ’08 ’09

Bentley trustee and principal of Massry Realty Partners/Tri City Rentals

BACK FOR GOOD

“ To be honest, I didn’t think

much about Bentley for 25 years.

After I graduated, I was busy building the family business. When my son, Murray ’08, MBA ’09, started his college search, I thought, how about Bentley? I’ve been involved ever since, and I plan to stay involved for years to come.

Why give back? It’s an emotional connection.

When you bond with a cause that’s worthy of your time and contributions, you gain incredible relationships with people who share your passion, with students and faculty who value your time and input. It reinforces the choice you made.

I’ve been fortunate in being able to support a lot of nonprofits. And I believe in Bentley. By giving to the Annual Fund, I’m supporting the fundamentals of the university: athletics, career services, the campus. It’s this perfect balance that produces such great graduates, like my son.

The career paths of the students are unbelievable. It’s a thrill to see what they’ll do: the roles they’ll take in the community, the contributions they’ll make to society and the world. When I see potential like that, I feel proud to have invested in it — and I’m glad I came back.

”

“I believe in Bentley.

By giving to the Annual Fund, I’m supporting the fundamentals of the university.”

Norman Massry ’78, P ’08 ’09

CALL OF DUTY It’s an exciting time to give to Bentley, according to Steven and Christine (Smith) Manfredi, both Class of 1973 graduates and parents to Laura ’10. Pick any weekday to walk across the quad and you’re sure to overhear Marketing majors brainstorming strategy for a major label or bump into blazer- and backpack-clad students off to internships or interviews.

“Students come here for a solid education with the goal of pursuing a career, not just a job,” says Steve. “They’re immersed in programs and taught by terrific faculty who prepare them for the real world.”

Bentley’s diverse curriculum and entrepreneurial focus allow students to explore their true potential and pursue opportunities they might never have dreamed of, says Chris. “That’s huge for personal success. It builds a confidence that carries you.”

The Manfredis have benefited greatly from their own Bentley educations. “It makes it easy to give back,” says Steve, chairman of the Board of Trustees. Adds Chris: “As alumni, it’s our responsibility to help others. We each need to ask: What does the university need and how can I help?”

The couple’s most significant — though certainly not the last — contribution was a $2 million gift to launch the Center for Women and Business (CWB). The CWB focuses on helping corporations recruit, retain and advance women in the workplace via action steps and thought leadership. Through conferences, fellowships, corporate partnerships and more, the CWB has earned national recognition as a change agent for gender balance.

If the Manfredis have a family motto, it is “lead by example.” They encourage fellow alumni to do the same — because what is more fulfilling than helping someone who truly needs it? asks Chris, noting that “a student who feels grateful for how she or he has been helped is someone who’ll pay it forward.”

Steve acknowledges that donors give according to their specific passions about the institution. “But at the heart of it all is Bentley itself: what it’s accomplishing, what it has done for your life and what it’s doing for countless others. And that’s why we give.”

“As alumni, it’s our responsibility to help others. We each need to ask: What does the university need and how can I help?”

Christine Manfredi ’73, P ’10, pictured with husband Steven ’73, P ’10

— As told to Kristin Livingston

102 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

GIVING BACK

FALCON FACT S

2016

FISCAL YEAR

MILLION

$6.6 TOTAL GIVING to Bentley University

4,464

NUMBER OF DONORS

34%

TRUE BLUE DONORS Have given annually for at least the last five years

SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE ANNUAL FUND 12:1 Student to faculty ratio 100+ clubs and organizations 75% financial aid recipients 24/7 electricity and campus security 50+ study abroad programs 7 high-tech learning labs

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 103

What’s Next

2016

Where Bentley’s future is concerned, the sky’s the limit.

104 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

PHOTO BY TASLIM SIDI

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 105

THE FUTURE >>

Hopes for 100 Years Now that we’ve explored the first 100 years of school history, it’s time to look ahead.

What are your hopes for Bentley’s future?

My hope for the future is that Bentley continues to improve, remaining focused on being a great business university but also affordable to those with limited means.

Al Bergeron ’61 My hope for Bentley in the next 100 years is that they continue to build on the foundation that was started by Harry Bentley, Rae Anderson, Greg Adamian and many others that devoted their lives to the building of this great university: from a small school of accounting to what it is today.

There are many names that I could come up with from my own experience at Bentley, and they can all be proud of what they have accomplished. I am certainly grateful to have known and learned from them. Bentley School of Accounting had a great start and will have a great future as Bentley University.

Carroll McMillan ’64

106 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

In a world that promises a continuum of challenges, it is my hope that Bentley will always be fiscally responsible and tuition affordable as it strives to maintain its status as one of our nation’s premier business universities.

It will remain true to its core founding roots of insisting on excellence, integrity and civility from teachers, students and administrators alike, thereby creating an environment that embraces cultural diversity as well as forums that encourage the expression of disparate points of view. Where respect for one another is the paradigm, true leaders will emerge!

David Kennedy ’65 I hope that Bentley can keep the tuition under control.

It is sad that most college graduates leave school with an enormous loan to pay off.

It wasn’t like that when I graduated in 1966.

Eric Johnson ’66

As the world of education becomes more online and less classroom, my vision for Bentley is that the university will be able to recreate the classroom experience through its evolving online platforms. I’d love to see that the loss of classroom intimacy will be more than offset by the “internationality” of the student body. I also confess a selfish hope. My father of blessed memory has his name residing on a plaque of Bentley graduates who earned medals for performance in the CPA exam (in his case, the Massachusetts silver medal of 1944). I’d like to see that plaque broadcast online as part of the orientation to the university for incoming students to show them the trail that was blazed for them. But best of all, due to the expansion of the curriculum and the opportunity to major in subjects beyond accounting and controllership, I imagine seeing many boards with many honors in many accrediting exams in many subjects.

Bernard Fellner ’68

I hope Bentley can be the leader in finding a way to charge a tuition that’s fair and balanced; after all, it’s a business school! Be the leader in the field, not a follower.

Scott Shoham ’78, P ’16 I hope Bentley continues to provide a warm, inviting and challenging atmosphere for students to prepare themselves for the rigors of life after Bentley.

Joseph Shapiro ’79 My hope for Bentley is that it gets the national and international recognition it deserves for being a world-class business school. This would hopefully result in a higher level of donations to Bentley’s endowment fund that I hope can make the university more affordable for middle-class students who presently do not meet the financial assistance qualifications of many programs and cannot afford to attend Bentley.

Joseph Piantedosi ’80

Seek the best, be the best, accomplish the best outcome for all — for the next 100 years.

Robena Reid, MBA ’91, MSF ’97

I would like to see Bentley become a pioneer in affordable education at both the graduate and post-graduate levels. I would like to see the perceived value of a Bentley University degree continue to appear at or near the top of such national rankings.

Bill Farrell ’71, P ’95

My hope for Bentley is that it sustains its brand and continues to develop young leaders that positively impact business and society.

I also hope that it is a secure institution that adapts to the times but doesn’t lose focus of what it is.

Tim Pauling ’83

My personal hope for Bentley University is that it maintains its relevancy in the business segments it has established, and is able to transfer this relevancy to its graduates as enhanced skill sets now and in the future.

William Caputo ’73

Over the next 100 years I hope that Bentley continues to be recognized as a tremendous source of talent for employers and gains recognition as one of the finest universities in the world.

Mark Semanie ’85

My hope for Bentley is for it to continue to be the cutting edge, forward-thinking institution that it has become. I look forward to watching Bentley change and grow and yet, stay the same in many ways so that students can have the same amazing experience that I had.

Nancy Wine ’86 Bentley Law? Shamus McBride ’89, MST ’94 I wish that Bentley continues to strive for excellence. If the first 100 years are an indication, I’m sure it will.

Onic Palandjian ’93 My wish is that Bentley continues its trend of growth and advancement. I hope that the name “Bentley” becomes known globally as the gold standard in business education.

David Schiegoleit ’93 I hope the university focuses on building an impressive track record for development of business professionals who are prepared, experienced, connected and empowered to build a business or obtain a professional career that benefits the minority communities most in need of securing a lifesaving share of the American dream and the human experience.

Sean Ebanks ’96 May the next 100 years continue to foster young bright minds and prepare them with core values of ethics, integrity and a commitment to excellence.

John S. Ioakimidis ’98 I hope Bentley will continue to offer (former) students like me the opportunity to rise from their blue-collar past to achieve great things in the white-collar professional world.

Scott Timpany, MSF ’98 In the next 100 years I hope to see Bentley grow as much as it has in its first 100 years!

I want to see Bentley’s name continue to grow across the country. Let’s do this!

Cory Coder ’99

<< THE FUTURE

I wish Bentley continued success at the forefront of business ethics. In addition, I wish Bentley the best of luck in striving to be the best business university in the world.

Michael Dubuque ’00 My hope for Bentley is to continue to get a stronger reputation for innovation and producing graduates that aren’t afraid to take on the world’s challenges and make a difference. And to gain the true respect among the top universities in this country that it deserves!

Grace Doherty, MBA ’01 My hope is that Bentley continues to recruit and foster its female students and leads the way on shattering more ceilings within the corporate world.

Stacy (Wilkinson) Hughes ’01 Wishing Bentley another 100 years of wonderful friendships and partnerships, and continued success, which is exactly what Bentley has provided to me.

Heather (Gambino) Baldassari ’02

I hope Bentley adds a pastry arts curriculum so I can come teach there! After getting my BSA and MSA at Bentley, I switched careers and have been teaching French pastry for the last seven years at a school in Maryland. It would be amazing to bring pastry to Bentley!

Kathryn Delaney ’04, MSA ’05 To expand on its merits and become the world’s most innovative and renowned business university; a university that fosters personal and professional development with its rich diversity and ethical focus.

Danielle Parsons ’05 I hope Bentley continues to develop future executives, entrepreneurs and compassionate leaders!

Elba Valerio ’05 Flex to make appearances at service–learning project sites.

It would be a good booster for the children who attend those programs.

Nahomi (St. Fort) Carlisle ’06

I wish for Bentley to continue to develop students into great leaders equipped with the knowledge, experience, creativity and confidence needed to change the world.

Jewel Cash ’11 100 years from now, I hope that Bentley continues to provide its students with the memorable, life-changing experience I had as a student from 2003 to 2007, with an increased focus on global opportunities for students and faculty alike.

Elise (Noel) Yagoda ’07 I would like Bentley to continue being part of a solution, rather than part of the problem like so many other B-schools. (And ramp up Jeff Shuman’s collaboration program; it’s the way of future business relationships.)

Justin Chase, MBA ’09 I hope the future Bentley students enjoy their college experience as much as I did and that the alumni network stays strong.

Alexa Zozzaro ’11

… My hope is that we remember students first. Their success is Bentley’s success.

Priscilla Burnaby, Professor of Accountancy I hope Bentley University becomes more internationally recognized as an academic powerhouse.

Jordana (Merkin) Lynch ’02, MSCF ’03 We become the global standard-bearer for undergraduate business education.

PJ Neal ’02 I hope that Bentley continues its commitment to business ethics and graduating the most well-rounded business and community-oriented students into the world.

Allison (Smith) Foster ’03 My hope is that Bentley keeps expanding its reach, nationally and globally, over its next 100 years. A picturesque New England campus and a prominent business school should be well-known from the U.S. to Uganda.

Bill Mortimer ’03

I hope that the world comes to recognize and respect Bentley for the special place that it is.

I hope that Bentley strives to provide the highest quality of education, other learning experiences and opportunities to students of all walks of life. I also hope that Bentley will continue to provide value for its alumni as they grow and evolve.

Rebecca (Roseme) Obouno ’06 My hope for Bentley in the next 100 years is to become a household name for business schools through the world (not just in the Northeast). Additionally, add more Division I sports and remain competitive in all our conferences.

David Castine ’07, MSA ’09

I hope that Bentley not only becomes the world’s leading authority for research in business, but also continues to educate smart, nimble and prepared business professionals the way it currently does.

Sjoerd Hoogendoorn ’13 Throughout Bentley’s next hundred years (and beyond), my hope is for the university to continue to inspire its students, faculty and local community to dream bigger dreams, take risks and share wisdom and knowledge through the teaching of kindness, while fostering an inclusive community which listens to all voices.

Amanda Miranda ’13

I hope our university develops into a nationally ranked school with a wide range of academic offerings and the ability to hold double majors in sciences, humanities and law with a business degree. However, we should still offer students the feel of small classrooms and direct attention from their professors (Bentley’s current USP).

Raghav Chand ’16 I hope that in 100 years, Bentley continues to endorse diversity, and that we become a beacon for inclusivity.

Jerry Lan ’17 For Bentley to be officially recognized as one of the top business universities in the globe, and for people to know that it is!

Jake Mekin ’17 Broaden the curriculum!

Sean Clohisy ’18 I hope that Bentley will spread its fame to the West Coast and to other countries in the world. I hope it will keep innovating and thriving.

I hope the best for Bentley.

Shidi Guo ’18 More dorm halls!

Adina Sklar ’19 I hope Bentley University becomes a global leader in delivering top-notch degree programs across the globe, with campuses in all the major business hubs and with a faculty and cohort that truly represent the best in the world.

Duke Rateau MBA Candidate I hope Bentley will expand its size and become influential even outside Massachusetts by attracting amazing professors and talented students.

Wenhua (Alexia) Wang MSA Candidate

Improve and then consistently maintain a world-class research institution that also keeps excellence in teaching.

Mohammad Abdolmohammadi, P ’09 ’10 ’12 Professor of Accountancy My wish for Bentley’s next 100 years is for the university to remember Mr. Bentley’s charge to “Teach like hell from bell to bell!” He also allowed students to take classes without paying during hard times with a promise from them to pay in the future.

A great deal of our endowment came from those individuals as they became very successful. My hope is that we remember students first. Their success is Bentley’s success.

Priscilla Burnaby Professor of Accountancy I hope that in the next 100 years the world in general and our Bentley community in particular will move from talking about diversity and inclusiveness toward being diverse and inclusive.

Hans Eijmberts Lecturer, Global Studies I hope that Bentley continues to grow in academic strength and stature, and will be known as one of the nation’s premier business universities.

Bob Minetti Vice President Emeritus My hope for Bentley is that we continue to strive for excellence, while maintaining a high standard of ethics. Each one of us, whether faculty, staff or student has something to offer and we all play a role in Bentley’s success.

Lisa Taddeo Senior Academic Coordinator, Finance

Read more hopes and add your own at bentley.edu/100 BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 107

THE FUTURE >>

Student Centennial Kickoff September 2, 2016 on campus

PHOTOS BY BRIAN SMITH 108 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< THE FUTURE

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 109

THE FUTURE >>

Centennial Kickoff Celebration September 8, 2016 at the State Room, Boston

PHOTOS BY GRETCHEN ERTL AND ROSE LINCOLN 110 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

<< THE FUTURE

BENTLEY MAGAZINE | 111

Endnote One afternoon back in July, my inbox filled with a rush of new messages.

Alumni, faculty and others had embraced our email outreach to “share your favorite academic memory.” I hit pause on other tasks to read one. OK, one more.

Then a third and before I could stop myself, Every Last One. There were shout-outs from across the decades to particular professors, courses and classmates (some of whom later became spouses). They teemed with humor and insight, warmth and affection — a perfect catalogue of what you hold dear about Bentley. And to me, at that moment, a perfect inspiration for our ambitious task: creating a tribute that would resonate across 100 years.

This issue engaged many voices. These include some 25 alumni, faculty and staff featured in profiles and first-person narratives. The good people planning the centennial celebration were willing collaborators. These committees of faculty, staff, students and alumni, noted at right, contributed ideas and served as a sounding board. Members of the Historical Subcommittee — Donna Bacchiocchi, Paul Carberry, Jaimie Fritz and Cliff Putney — were particularly deep and constant resources. Special thanks to Mike Lynch of University Advancement and Tiffany Smith of Marketing Communication who played early roles in planning.

Now, this product of many hands rests in yours. It has been reviewed and fact checked in exhaustive detail — but let us know about any errors that may have slipped through. Of course positive feedback and general questions are welcome, too. We hope the issue finds a good home on your bookshelf or coffee table. And may the “Moments & Memories” pages become your go-to reminder of what Bentley means to all of us.

Stay well and stay in touch.

WITH THANKS TO Centennial Ambassadors Centennial Steering Committee Centennial Celebration Subcommittees: Alumni Athletics Communications and Marketing Faculty Flagship Events Historical Staff Students

REACH US AT Susan Simpson Editor

112 | CENTENNIAL ISSUE

magazine.bentley.edu @bentleyu || @bentleyalumni 781.891.2775

The Flex Files MAGAZINE Centennial Issue 1917-2017 Editor Susan Simpson Managing Editor Joyce Chutchian

The falcon landed as Bentley’s mascot in 1963, with a nod to the bird’s strength, speed and keen eyesight. It gained a prominent home on campus in the form of a sculpture, a graduation gift from the Class of 1971. The first documented sighting of the mascot outfitted in a costume and sitting among fans is a photo from 1972.

The name “Flex” entered Bentley records in 2004, when the mascot was photographed in the Homecoming parade. Today, Flex is a fixture at athletic events, of course, and turns up regularly elsewhere — wherever there are spirits to raise and success to celebrate.

Writers Deblina Chakraborty Caroline Cruise Kristin Livingston Allyson Manchester Jen A. Miller Jennifer Skuce-Spira Kristen Walsh Jennifer Wright Guest Writers Susan Brennan Paul Carberry Jaimie Fritz Leigh K. Gaspar George Grattan Sean Kerrigan Richard Lipe Michael Lynch Meredith Mason Clifford Putney J. Andrew Shepardson Jonathan White Creative Director Claire S. Anderson Art Direction & Design Carol Dirga Sara Jane Kaminski Designer Matthew Dimond Assistant Director Print & Production Judy Metz Project Manager Content & Communications Diane C. Kehoe Bentley Archive Photography Chris Conti Courter Photography Gretchen Ertl Herb Gallagher Sam Kittner Rose Lincoln Craig Orsini Len Rubenstein Taslim Sidi Brian Smith Damian Strohmeyer David Yellen Executive Director Advancement Relations Leigh K. Gaspar Senior Assistant Directors Advancement Communications Caroline Cruise Kristin Livingston

Height: Minimum 5-foot-10 Personality: Outgoing, loves attention without being a distraction, uses good judgment, embraces being seen but never heard Age: A perennial 18 to 22 Arch nemesis: Rain, as feathers are slow to dry

President Gloria Cordes Larson Vice President for University Advancement William Torrey Chief Marketing Officer Valerie Fox

Bentley Magazine is published by Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts, and distributed without charge to alumni, parent students, faculty, staff and friends of the university. BENTLEY UNIVERSITY is one of the nation’s leading business school dedicated to preparing a new kind of business leader — one with the deep technical skills, broad global perspective, and hig ethical standards required to make a difference in an ever-changing world.

71.5M10/16QG.MC.410.1

#FlexinFlight

How to Play Go to bentley.edu/flexinflight to find out each monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photo theme. Post your entry to Instagram or Twitter using #FlexinFlight.

A winner will be selected at random each month, from December 2016 through May 2017.

Submit photos for all six months, and you will be eligible to win the grand prize!

Read the official rules and regulations at bentley.edu/flexinflight.

#FlexinFlight Flex has developed a case of wanderlust in our centennial year.

He wants to visit all the Bentley Falcons around the world!

Help Flex along his adventures by participating in our photo contest.

Win prizes like a year of Netflix, Ticketmaster vouchers and more.

See other side for details!

175 Forest Street Waltham, MA 02452 USA

BENTLEY MAGAZINE CENTENNIAL ISSUE 1917 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2017

bentley.edu/100