CAMPUS

Bold Moves

2016

Aerial view of the Waltham campus, minutes from Boston.

Building a Sense of Place

BY PAUL CARBERRY

THE 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 everyone — 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 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 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, 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 1975 all place-based higher education institutions 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.

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

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 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

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

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 Middle: The main campus quad under construction in the fall of 1967

Bottom: The Beaver Street footbridge marks the centennial

Check out more photos from the university’s archives.

Top: The library clocktower being installed in late 1972

Left: A hike from the Trees, ca. 1970s

Right: The bridge over Bentley’s pond, ca. 1970s

1981

Top: View from the upper floor of LaCava, ca. 1980s

Bottom: Sledding on campus, likely during the Blizzard of ’78

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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