Skip to main content

Bentley Magazine

Alison Davis-Blake, President of Bentley University

From the President

Alison Davis-Blake 

One of my favorite activities as president is seeing the impact our alumni are having around the world. Last fall, I enjoyed visits with alumni in Kuwait, the Philippines, Japan, Greece, Spain and the U.K. I’m grateful for their hospitality in making my visits memorable, and I am continually amazed at the reach and impact of a Bentley education.

Yet as student populations, jobs and career paths change, it’s important that business educators change, too. With new resources on campus like our recently launched Badavas Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, I’m proud to say that Bentley continues to evolve to meet the needs of tomorrow’s students.

In the spring issue of Bentley Magazine, you can read about entrepreneurs whose vision and courage allowed them to identify a market need and create a solution. Like any good entrepreneur, Bentley continues to adapt to keep up with — and stay ahead of — the needs of the marketplace.

With a Bentley education, our students won’t just understand the business world, they will help shape it.

Over the past year, we’ve developed a strategic plan that will make sure Bentley continues to be a leader in business education well into our second century. With valuable input from our entire community, and unanimous approval by the Board of Trustees, we’re proud to unveil Strategic Plan 2020-2025, our framework to reinvent both what we teach students and how we teach it. With a Bentley education, our students won’t just understand the business world, they will help shape it.

In today’s competitive world, it’s not enough for colleges and universities to simply have the standard set of tools to educate tomorrow’s leaders. Instead, educators need to adopt that same entrepreneurial spirit you’ll see highlighted in this issue — the ability to continuously innovate when it comes to creating and delivering academic programs and offerings.

After all, we’ve been reinventing business education for over a century. When Harry C. Bentley opened his school in 1917, he did so in the spirit of innovation, by addressing a market need for skilled accountants. Today, we’re keeping that spirit alive by identifying what tomorrow’s world will demand and preparing our students accordingly. Empowered by a Bentley education, there’s no limit to the impact they will make in the U.S. and around the world.