Boston Globe Reports that Bentley University is ‘Prospering’
Reporter Hilary Burns, who covers colleges and universities for The Boston Globe, recently visited Bentley University’s campus in Waltham, Massachusetts, to learn how the university is thriving in a challenging time for higher education.
Burns toured the Adamian Academic Center, which is under renovation and will become a campus hub of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship when it reopens in fall 2027. She also sat down for an interview with Bentley President E. LaBrent Chrite.
“Bentley University doesn’t have much to worry about. It boasts a healthy balance sheet, steady enrollment, and demand from students and families interested in business education,” said the article, which was headlined, “This business school is prospering but isn’t satisfied.”
Here are some highlights from President Chrite’s interview with the Boston Globe:
Why Bentley University is thriving while many other colleges struggle:
“We continue to do well for a reason that is pretty basic. The market is calling for what we have always been. Where other institutions are seeking to pivot and focus on outcomes [and] to make sure that students have the right mix of adaptive technical skills — that’s what we’ve been forever.”
Why Bentley’s mix of business plus liberal arts prepares students for successful careers:
“Our business education is as good as it is because of the liberal arts. We are a university at the intersection of business and the arts and sciences ... Almost every business student, they’re going to have fluency around the keyboard. They’re going to understand how to extract data and how to analyze data; to think deeply and critically, to communicate with comfort and ease, without hubris, and to work in teams to solve problems. Those adaptive capacities that come from the liberal arts are deeply embedded in our business education. I love that about this place.”
How Bentley prepares graduates for AI and the changing marketplace:
“We’ve always pivoted. We were the first university to offer all of our students laptops .... That willingness to see what’s coming and to step out there is part of our DNA, and so the next phase is to recognize that the market is expanding, and the role of AI and the need to navigate those technologies is part of what we’re looking to build here. We expect to ensure that our students maintain their skillsets so that they remain the most sought-after professionals.”
To read President Chrite’s full interview with the Boston Globe, click the picture below:
