Ties that Bind

A Fortuitous Phone Call

Three weeks before the fall semester would begin at Bentley College in 1974, Deborah (Debbie to all who know her) Murdza — at the time the manager of systems and programming at Star Market — got a phone call from her former graduate school professor. Recently hired as chair of Bentley’s Management department, the professor had no one to teach an introductory computer course. Debbie was his first call.

The three weeks’ notice wasn’t an issue. “I always liked the idea of getting somewhere in life faster,” says Debbie, who graduated early (and with a full scholarship) from Northeastern University, where she also later earned her graduate degree. She had no qualms about preparing to teach on a short timeline but, as she read through the course curriculum, she had a different issue.

“I remember thinking that this textbook just wasn’t going to cut it,” she says. “I taught the course that fall, but when Bentley asked me to come back to teach a computer systems design course the following semester, I knew the best thing I could give the students was the opportunity to design and implement an application that would create a real-life business solution.” And current events gave Debbie just the opportunity.

An Experiment in Teaching

President Richard Nixon had recently implemented price controls to combat rising inflation across the United States.

“We needed a way to evaluate options for extra inventory when prices were temporarily lowered,” Debbie says. “Each week, hundreds of items had a temporary price reduction, and we wanted to understand the ROI by considering the cost of outside storage.”

Debbie knew that with the right computer system, Star could capitalize on the temporary policy and maximize its return on investment.

That’s when she made the bold decision to enlist her seven Bentley students to work with her to create an innovative solution for Star — long before experiential learning was a widely integrated practice. “I wanted to give my students a real experience that would address the needs of the company,” she says. “All in one semester, we designed the system, identified the programs needed and had group sessions at Star Market offices to program and implement the system for production.”

“This is the way I always thought people learn best — side by side with other people, teaching and learning together,” continues Debbie, who joined Arthur D. Little, Inc., in 1977 as a management consultant and left 20 years later as a vice president and director.

Innovation and Impact

There’s no way Debbie could have known at the time that accepting the part-time faculty position would ultimately lead to a very different role for her at Bentley — that of first lady. She and Bentley’s fourth president, the late Gregory Adamian, married in 1978. Gregory was known for his transformational, 21-year presidency, during which he significantly expanded the campus and the curriculum while also increasing the university’s endowment and enrollment. And, like Debbie, he valued the role technology could play in education: In 1985, under his leadership, Bentley became one of the first schools in the nation to provide its students with laptop computers.

Debbie remembers Gregory as a visionary leader who had a knack for telling stories, both during his time as a Bentley professor and during his tenure as president. “Greg was an incredible storyteller,” she says. “He looked beyond the textbook and used his stories as an innovative way to teach the principles of law. When he became president, his stories often inspired others to support Bentley in many ways.”

Honoring a Legacy

When Gregory retired in 1991, the Adamian Academic Center was named in his honor. Today, the Adamian Center is undergoing a transformation — a renovation that will create a state-of-the-art hub for hands-on teaching and learning that will emphasize technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary collaboration.

“Greg was so generous to Bentley over so many years, and investing in the renovation of the Adamian Center enables me to give back in an especially meaningful way because these spaces will immerse today’s students in the kinds of learning opportunities that Greg and I both believed in so strongly,” Debbie says.

As a generous supporter of the project, Debbie, along with other donors to Bentley’s Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiative, officially broke ground on the project this fall.

“It was wonderful to represent our legacy together,” she says. “I am proud that Greg and I are Great Benefactors, and that I had the opportunity to stand alongside fellow supporters of a project that will empower Bentley students to push the limits of innovation to drive change and shape the business world.”

When the renovations are complete, Gregory’s presidential portraits will again be hung on the center’s walls.

“Bentley is part of my heart because Greg loved Bentley,” Debbie says. “Knowing that his legacy will live on forever means so much to me.”