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Office of the Provost

Leadership Team

The Provost works closely with the senior leadership team in Academic Affairs -- consisting of the Deans and Associate Provosts -- and other members of academic leadership on an array of topics. This group provides input to the Provost on key issues to inform decision-making and help drive strategy. Though not featured on this page, department chairs, center directors, and other leaders in Academic Affairs are crucial players who support the success of the division. Please refer to this organizational chart to see the full structure of the Office of the Provost.

Office of the Provost

Paul Tesluk headshot
Paul Tesluk, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Paul Tesluk is a national expert in leadership development, team design and effectiveness, and organizational change. He is an accomplished scholar who has been widely published in the most selective journals in his field, and he has served on the editorial boards of many leading academic journals in management. Before Bentley, Paul was dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management, where he also served as chair of the school’s Organization and Human Resources Department, and founded and served as academic director of the Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. Previously, Paul served as chair of the Department of Management and Organization at the University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business, Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Maryland, and assistant professor in the Psychology department at Tulane University. Paul holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations from Cornell University.

Roberta Francis Headshot
Roberta Francis
Executive Assistant, Office of the Provost
781-891-2155

Roberta provides effective administrative support to the Office of the Provost and coordinates the Provost’s activities and calendar. She joined Bentley in 2019 with many years of experience in higher education. Before joining Bentley, Roberta worked at Babson College and at UMass Medical School.

Senior Leadership Team

Mystica M. Alexander headshot
Mystica M. Alexander, J.D.
Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
Morison 280
781-891-2202

Mystica helps to develop strategy and coordinate offerings that bolster faculty research and pedagogy. She directly oversees the Office of Sponsored Programs and the Library, and she supports the efforts of faculty who serve on the Research Council and the Teaching and Learning Council. Since joining the Bentley community in 2004, Mystica has been engaged in curriculum development, program design, and a variety of institutional service activities. Prior to her appointment as Associate Provost for Research and Faculty, Mystica served as Chair of the Law, Taxation, and Financial Planning Department.  She also served as the Chair of the Curriculum Implementation Committee and was a member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee.  Mystica’s work has been recognized with several awards including two Bentley “Innovation in Teaching” awards and the Academy of Legal Studies in Business Charles M. Hewitt Master Teacher award – the most illustrious teaching award in her discipline. Mystica received her law degree from Harvard Law School.

Jane DeLeón Griffin headshot
Jane De León Griffin, Ph.D.
Associate Provost for Student Success
Morison 312
781-891-3187

Jane joined the Bentley faculty in 2010. She has served as chair of the department of Modern Languages, chair of the Faculty Senate, faculty director of the FirstGen Presidential Fellows program, associate dean of Arts and Sciences, and most recently, interim dean of Arts and Sciences. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Irvine and her research focuses on grassroots literary production in Chile. Jane is the author of The Labor of Literature: Democracy and Literary Culture in Modern Chile (University of Massachusetts Press in 2016) and has co-written two book-length translations of literary fiction by Chilean feminist writer, Pía Barros. She is the founding director of the non-profit cultural organization Inspired Masses, Inc. and lead organizer of the annual community-based writing project, “Boston in 100 Words.” When not working at Bentley University or Inspired Masses, you will find Jane enjoying the outdoors, good food and live music with her husband and daughter.

Rick Oches headshot
Rick Oches, Ph.D.
Dean of Arts and Sciences
Morison 308
781-891-2937

Rick became a member of the Bentley faculty in 2008, joining the Natural & Applied Sciences (NAS) Department after a decade as a faculty member in the Geology Department and Chair of Environmental Science & Policy at the University of South Florida. He served as NAS Department chair for seven years, and he became Dean of Arts & Sciences in 2018. His undergraduate and graduate degrees are in geology, and his teaching and research interests have focused on Earth's recent climate history and human and environmental response to past climate changes in different parts of the world. Increasingly his academic interests center on Earth and environmental science education, transdisciplinary course and curriculum development, and interdisciplinary faculty engagement to foster improved science literacy for non-STEM majors.

Sanjay Putrevu Headshot
Sanjay Putrevu, Ph.D.
Dean of Business
781-891-2081

Sanjay joined Bentley University as the dean of business in June 2022. He previously served as dean of business at Cleveland State University and the University of Wyoming. Prior to this, he served as associate dean and chair of marketing at the University at Albany, SUNY. In his various administrative roles, he successfully led capital campaigns, introduced innovative programs, secured AACSB reaccreditations, developed international partnerships and established new centers of excellence. Over the course of his academic career, he spearheaded numerous initiatives to enhance academic excellence, student success and community engagement. He has received several teaching, research and service awards. Sanjay obtained his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University at Buffalo, SUNY and his Master of Management Sciences degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India.

Leadership Team

Yaro Fong-Olivares Headshot
Yaro Fong-Olivares, M.S.
Executive Director, Gloria Cordes Larson Center for Women and Business
LaCava 298B
781-981-2874

As Executive Director, Yaro leads the CWB's mission-driven work to leverage industry expertise and academia to advance women's leadership in business from the classroom to the boardroom. She partners with the staff and CWB's stakeholder community to develop and deliver programs informed by research and best practices. She serves as a subject matter expert on leadership development for women and gender-variant folks and brings an intersectional feminist lens to the content the CWB produces. In addition, Yaro works within the Bentley community of students, faculty, administrators, and university centers to maintain and foster collaborative university-wide relationships that achieve Bentley's commitment to community partnerships, its mission, and core values. Yaro is passionate about learning and education and holds a B.A. from Barnard College, the women's college affiliated with Columbia University, an M.S. from The New School, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Leadership Psychology at William James College.

Hope Houston Headshot
Hope J. Houston, MLS
Executive Director of the Library
Bentley University Library, Room 109
781-891-2450

As Executive Director of the Library, Hope leads a dedicated library staff to deliver the services and collections needed to drive 21st century research and teaching, and to establish and maintain innovative spaces that facilitate student learning and creativity. Before coming to Bentley in 2008, Hope was Library Program Specialist with the Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services where she provided library service for people with low vision, blindness, or physical or perceptual disability. She was Manager of Reference Services and Coordinator of Library Instruction at Johnson & Wales University. Hope is a graduate of the Susan Vogt Leadership Fellows Program and the New England Library Leadership Symposium. She serves on the executive boards of the Boston Library Consortium and the Massachusetts Library System. She holds a B.A. in English and a Masters in Library Science from the University of Rhode Island.

Erin Kelley Headshot
Erin Kelley, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Assurance of Learning and Accreditation
Smith 208
781-891-2329

Erin designs, develops, and implements strategies to assess and improve the quality and effectiveness of curricular learning at Bentley University. She is also responsible for ensuring strategic alignment and compliance with our New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) accreditation and supports the Office of the Dean of Business in maintaining Bentley’s AACSB accreditation.  In her role, she supervises the learning design team, who support faculty in developing new courses and mapping curricula for new programs.  This team also supports faculty in implementing best practices in teaching across all modalities, with a strong emphasis on inclusive teaching practices.  Erin has been a member of Bentley University since 2008, previously working in the Residential Center and the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.  Erin earned her PhD in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and her Master of Education and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Erin is also a proud recipient of Bentley’s Rainbow Award. 

Christine Lyalko headshot
Christine Lyalko, M.S., CPA
Executive Director of Finance, Academic Affairs
Lindsay 21H
781-891-2709

​​​​​​Christine is responsible for the financial management for the Division of Academic Affairs and oversees the Business Service Center. She joined Bentley in 2016 as the Controller and served in that position for 3 years before transitioning to her current role in Academic Affairs. Prior to her time at Bentley, Christine was an auditor in public accounting, focusing her time on both the financial and nonprofit industries, including higher education (with Bentley as one of her clients).  She then followed her passion for the university setting, spending 5 years at Suffolk University as Associate Controller.  Christine is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the Susan Vogt Leadership Fellows Program. Christine received her master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston and bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Natalie Schlegel headshot
Natalie Schlegel, MBA ‘08
Executive Director of International Education
Adamian Academic Center 161
781-891-3474

​​​​​​Natalie leads the Cronin Office of International Education team that manages Bentley’s international partnerships and a diverse portfolio of education abroad programs that serve approximately 700 outgoing and incoming students annually. Natalie came to Bentley in 2003 as an Education Abroad Advisor. Previously, Natalie held positions at Harvard University’s LASPAU, where she supported Fulbright grantees from Latin America, and at EF Foundation for Foreign Study, where she managed a volunteer team in the placement of high school exchange students with US host families. She counts her experiences living with a host family in Argentina, attending school in Germany, and living in Scotland among the most transformative experiences of her life. Natalie earned a BA in Economics and Spanish from Vanderbilt University, and an MBA from Bentley University.  She is a member of NAFSA’s Trainer Corps and the Workshop Dean for the Managing the Education Abroad Office workshop. 

Jill Brown Headshot
Jill Brown
Hieken Professor and Executive PhD Academic Director
Adamian Academic Center 248
781-891-2407

Jill is responsible for recruiting and directing the part-time Executive PhD in Business program. Jill joined Bentley in 2013 as an Associate Professor in Management and became a full professor of management in 2018. Her scholarly interests include ethics, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and strategic leadership. Jill has published dozens of journal articles and book chapters in leading research outlets. She has a widely used textbook on corporate social responsibility, ethics, and stakeholder management (Business & Society, Cengage, 11th edition with Archie Carroll). Her research has won several research awards, including Best Paper nominations and awards from the Society of Business Ethics, the International Corporate Governance Society, and the Academy of Management. She was a co-editor for the journal, Business & Prior to becoming an academic, Jill was a commercial loan officer. She has been an active business consultant for many years, providing ethics training and strategic guidance to small and medium sized companies in the southeast and northeast.