The Bentley Buzz

As university ombuds, Eliane Markoff is an important resource for our community, providing faculty and staff with an informal and impartial place to resolve conflicts and address challenging situations in a constructive manner. Beyond Bentley, Eliane has helped raise more than $2 million as co-founder of Art in Giving, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for childhood cancer research. 

Recently featured in The Boston Globe, Art in Giving was founded by Eliane and her husband, Gary, in memory of their daughter, Rachel Molly Markoff, who passed away in 1992 at the age of 9 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

“We wanted to keep Rachel’s memory alive,” said Eliane. “The foundation gave us a way to do that while giving hope to others affected by pediatric cancer.”

The foundation uses a unique fundraising approach, where businesses can purchase or rent pieces of art from Art in Giving to decorate office buildings or rental spaces. The foundation collects 50% of the proceeds; the other half goes directly to the artist.

Eliane herself began painting in the years after Rachel’s passing. Using proceeds from the sale of her artwork, she would make contributions in Rachel’s memory to pediatric cancer research. With a studio in Boston, she was no stranger to the community of local artists.

“When artists found out about Rachel’s story through my work, they would come up to me saying they’d be happy to donate their own art to also raise funds for cancer research,” said Eliane. “Gary and I put together a small business plan and began approaching companies to see if commercial spaces would be interested in purchasing art to benefit cancer research.”
 

In time, Art in Giving was created, with a logo featuring three flowers and the sun based on one of Rachel’s drawings from a visit to Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund Clinic. The organization was successful in raising funds early in its founding, but made a significant step forward when the chairman of the board at Sanofi Genzyme received a piece of art from the organization as a gift.

“The chairman of the board was so moved by Rachel’s story and the founding of Art in Giving that he bought all of the paintings that we had for Sanofi’s new building on Memorial Drive,” explained Eliane. “He bought 42 paintings from us, and they’re still in the building today.”

In addition to Sanofi Genzyme, Art in Giving has partnered with BioMed Realty and Alexandria Real Estate to decorate their properties across Greater Boston, helping to spread the word of the organization’s mission. Of special note: Bentley alumnus and senior vice president of development at BioMed Realty, Salvatore Zinno, MBA ’10, is responsible for bringing Art in Giving to his company, and has since become a member of the nonprofit’s advisory board. With Salvatore’s support, BioMed Realty has furnished three life-science office buildings in Cambridge with paintings from Art in Giving. 

With the funds raised from their art sales, Art in Giving has made significant contributions to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine and Mass General Hospital, among many others. Quoted in The Boston Globe, Eliane expressed hope that new businesses will partner with Art in Giving to continue raising funds toward its mission. “We’re glad to have this visibility and hope that it will help us to raise more money for important research.” 

With their proven, creative approach to fundraising, Eliane and Gary are doing incredible work to honor Rachel’s memory and legacy, all while helping other families find hope when faced with a pediatric cancer diagnosis.

Learn More about Art in Giving

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For Nicole Black, associate director of graduate academic advising and recipient of the 2022 Dr. Earl L. Avery MLK Leadership Award, making students feel at home comes naturally. In her 10 years advising students at Bentley, she’s helped thousands navigate the graduate experience by connecting with them on a personal level and making sure they feel heard and appreciated.

“Advising students gives you such a great opportunity to connect with so many different people of different backgrounds, and you get to know them as more than just a student,” explained Nicole. “We talk about their courses, but we also talk about their journeys and what they hope to accomplish while part of our community. They have a name, a life history and a goal. It’s important to me that I help them in any way I can on their journey.”

Each year, Nicole advises hundreds of students from different backgrounds who took different pathways to Bentley. And while each can bring new challenges, every student also arrives with new perspectives and approaches to the graduate experience. “When you interact with students, it’s so important to meet them where they are in their studies — not where you want them to be,” said Nicole.

To connect with students on an individual level, she draws on her own background. As a proud mother, a first-generation college graduate and a daughter of immigrants, she has experiences that mirror those of many graduate students on campus — particularly international students and students of color.

“Being a woman of color, I feel passionate about making students of color and international students feel welcomed, accepted and supported,” said Nicole. “I want them to know they’re in a safe space with me. When I’m open about who I am, it helps ease students and makes them feel more connected to me and to Bentley, bringing them closer the resources they need to succeed.”

A self-proclaimed “grad-vocate,” Nicole strives to bring a warm smile to her 30-minute advising sessions with students — even when they took place over Zoom during the pandemic. For example, she was fine when her own kids would walk into the camera’s view. It showed students that everyone was experiencing the same things, and that real life was happening while we worked and learned remotely.

With each advising session, Nicole makes it her goal to make her students laugh at least once in an effort to add a moment of levity to particularly busy days. “I’ve been seeing so much burnout in students and have seen an uptick in the decline in mental health,” explained Nicole. “I’ve been trying to tell students to take time for themselves and find something that gives them joy in the day. Advising is all about making sure students feel supported and heard.”

While the recent award recognized Nicole for her longtime support of graduate students, she continues to find new ways to learn from and give back to the Falcon community as a whole. By participating in Bentley Brave events and programming, joining racial justice advocacy trainings and working with the Multicultural Center and Center for International Students and Scholars, Nicole makes sure her Bentley experience reaches beyond her immediate scope.

“I never want to feel like I’m in a silo in the graduate school. We’re at a university, and we can all make personal interactions in so many ways.”

The Division of Student Affairs has launched the It's Time for Change: Gender Equity at Bentley Campaign, an initiative aimed at creating a transformational experience where Bentley students, faculty and staff can critically examine the ways we contribute to gender inequity. Sign the pledge today to receive a monthly email with educational resources that will boost your competence around gender equity advocacy, and to be invited to a monthly It’s Time for Change Huddle. 

The five-month campaign focuses on the themes of reflection, learning, action, community and vigilance in an effort to move toward a more equitable community for all people.

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Men's Basketball Captures Regular Season Championship
With a 69-56 win over Saint Anselm College, the Bentley men’s basketball team secured the NE-10 division title — the 11th in the program’s history and the first since 2016.

Women's Basketball Secures NE-10 Second Seed
Following a win in their regular season finale, the Bentley women’s basketball team secured the number two seed in the upcoming conference championships.

Bentley Softball Players Earn NE-10 Honors
Elise Pereira was named the NE-10 Softball Pitcher of the Week, while Jordan Krause earned the conference’s Rookie of the Week distinction.