Built on Innovation: Bentley’s Century-Long Commitment to Teaching, Technology and Student Success

Since its founding in 1917, Bentley has stood apart for its forward-thinking approach to business education — adapting teaching methods, embracing new technologies and expanding opportunities for experiential learning. That tradition continues today, fueling creativity in curriculum design and driving the renovation of the Adamian Academic Center into a state-of-the-art hub for hands-on, collaborative learning.

The work of advancing teaching and learning at Bentley is guided by the vision and dedication of three campus leaders:

• Dave Szymanski, Associate Provost for Academic Innovation
• Liz Paushter, Executive Director of the Badavas Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
• Gaurav Shah, Senior Director of the Academic Technology Center and User Experience Design  

Together, these leaders — and the offices and initiatives they oversee — are building on Bentley’s century-long tradition of innovation, creating new ways for faculty to teach and students to learn. We recently spoke with them to learn how their collective efforts are keeping Bentley at the forefront of business education.

Dave Szymanski, a geology professor in the Natural and Applied Sciences department, joined Bentley’s faculty in 2009. As the university’s first Associate Provost for Academic Innovation, he leads initiatives that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.  

It’s a subject Szymanski knows well: In 2019, he led a team of researchers awarded a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop, implement and evaluate curricula that connect STEM and business education. The project, known as BASICS (Business and Science: Integrated Curriculum for Sustainability), gives students a new framework for understanding and addressing complex global challenges. In 2024, as one of Bentley’s Presidential Faculty Fellows, he continued working with faculty to develop new, BASICS-based courses that integrate business with the arts and sciences, including health- and AI-focused curricula.  

Here, Szymanski explains how collaboration across disciplines sparks creativity, equips students to excel beyond the classroom and fosters a stronger, more connected campus community.

“Innovation” can mean different things to different people. How do you define innovation in teaching and learning — and why is this important for Bentley?  

For me, academic innovation is about intentional disruption. As industries evolve, we need to evolve with them. That doesn’t just mean adopting new technologies or creating new programs. It means rethinking how we help students learn and apply what they know beyond the classroom. It means designing courses that are more immersive, inclusive and relevant to the world our students will lead.

That’s important for Bentley because our mission is to prepare students to use business as a force for good. Our commitment to academic innovation ensures that the experiences we provide reflect the evolving landscape of business and society. It allows us to help students become not just skilled professionals, but thoughtful, adaptable leaders ready to thrive in a constantly changing world.

In your new role, you’ll focus primarily on interdisciplinary collaboration. How does this approach benefit not only students, but also faculty, staff and alumni?  

Interdisciplinary thinking is really at the heart of Bentley’s mission. Our goal is to prepare students not only to succeed in business, but to think more broadly about the world they’re shaping. When we connect business with the arts and sciences, we bring different disciplines and perspectives together, creating learning experiences that mirror the complexity of the real world. This helps students develop what we call “transformational capacities” — qualities like creativity, resilience and empathy — that help them think critically, act ethically and lead with purpose.  

But interdisciplinary collaboration isn’t just important for students. It also energizes our faculty and staff, who learn from each other’s expertise and explore new ways to teach and engage with their students and colleagues. And it strengthens our alumni network, reminding graduates that Bentley’s greatest strength has always been its community of curious, forward-thinking problem solvers.  

Innovation happens when people work across boundaries. That’s the mindset we want to nurture not just in our classrooms but across the entire Bentley community. 

The Badavas Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, established in 2019, offers a variety of programs and resources that promote inclusive, equitable and evidence-based teaching practices. The center engages directly with faculty, staff, centers, departments and external partners to strengthen Bentley’s academic portfolio and foster a campus-wide culture of curiosity and collaboration.

Following its recent merger with the university’s Learning Design Team, the Badavas Center now serves as a unified hub for academic innovation. The expanded center brings together expertise in instructional and program design, multimedia content creation and interdisciplinary curriculum development to support both individual course design and strategic, campus-wide initiatives. The center also partners with the Academic Technology Center (ATC) to explore emerging technologies and the Bentley Learning and Teaching Council to advance faculty development.

Here, Executive Director Liz Paushter explains how the center is turning bold ideas into meaningful learning experiences — and shaping the future of education at Bentley.

How does the Badavas Center support academic innovation at Bentley? What are some examples of programs or projects the center has been involved with?  

At the Badavas Center, we see ourselves as a catalyst for transformation. We create spaces where faculty and staff can come together to exchange ideas and bring creative concepts to life. Faculty bring the spark; as thought partners, we help ignite new ideas and fuel further innovation. We also help translate ideas into action, offering strategic guidance and hands-on support every step of the way, from inspiration to implementation.

We offer multiple ways to engage, including workshops, seminars, long-term programs and one-on-one consultations. We also have cohort-based learning communities, like our Inclusive Teaching Fellows Initiative. Now in its fourth year, the program helps faculty develop more equitable and welcoming classroom experiences, which improve student learning outcomes.  

We’re also in the process of launching our new Faculty Learning Communities program, which brings together faculty and staff for discussions around a shared theme, such as teaching with AI and fostering classroom dialogue across differences. Dave, Gaurav and I will co-lead these communities, working alongside faculty with expertise in each focus area.  

The center has also been involved with new curricular offerings. We worked with the Office of Student Success to reimagine Bentley’s Falcon Discovery Seminar, a program for first-year students that balances discipline-specific learning with social and academic skill-building. We worked closely with multiple departments to launch a new undergraduate major, Artificial Intelligence for Innovation, a new cohort-based graduate program, the Professional MBA (PMBA), and customized Executive and Professional Education programs. 

We also supported the expansion of pre-college programs for high school students, faculty-led international courses built around experiential learning and course modules incorporating VR and AR technologies. And we collaborate regularly with other centers, like the Center for Women and Business and Entrepreneurship Hub (E-Hub), to help strengthen their co-curricular programs and partnerships.

These initiatives show how the Badavas Center brings people and ideas together, connecting inspiration to action in ways that best serve today’s learners and tomorrow’s leaders.

The Badavas Center is instrumental in shaping Bentley’s Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE) initiative, which reaffirms the university’s commitment to academic innovation. The reimagined Adamian Academic Center is the centerpiece of that vision. How will this new space enhance teaching and learning?

The Adamian renovation is all about creating spaces that match the way students learn best — through collaboration, experimentation and connection. Its flexible, technology-rich classrooms will allow faculty to design lessons that are immersive, while open learning areas will encourage students to share ideas and work together across disciplines.  

But our TIE initiative is more than just a building. It’s a symbol of Bentley’s commitment to preparing students for a rapidly changing world. By bringing together teaching, technology and innovation under one roof, we’re creating a living laboratory for learning — a place where students can explore ideas, apply concepts in real time and see the impact of their efforts.

The new Adamian will be a space where ideas are born, tested, scaled and supported — and where the future of teaching and learning is shaped every day. 

Bentley has a long history of technological innovation. In its earliest days, the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance featured a “machine room” where students honed their skills on then-revolutionary adding machines. In 1985, the university was among the first in the nation to provide personal computers for every student. And in 1997, Bentley launched the Hughey Center for Financial Services — better known as the Trading Room — a state-of-the-art space offering access to real-time financial data and simulation software.

The Academic Technology Center (ATC), established in 2000, continues this tradition. The center guides the integration of digital learning platforms and related technologies that deliver in-person, virtual, hybrid and asynchronous instruction. It assists with the development of digital course content, including videos, podcasts and VR/AR modules. And it supports research excellence through high-performance, cloud-based computing; AI-assisted platforms; and specialized applications for data collection, analysis and visualization. Through hands-on support and strategic guidance, the center empowers the campus community to embrace technology as a tool for transformation.  

Here, Gaurav Shah, Senior Director of the Academic Technology Center and User Experience Design, explains how Bentley is advancing its legacy of innovation through immersive, student-centered learning environments.

Can you give us a preview of some of the new technologies that will be available in the renovated Adamian Academic Center?

Our goal for Adamian is to give students more ways to explore, create and collaborate. Every space — from classrooms to labs to common areas — has been designed with flexibility and experimentation in mind, so learning can happen in whatever form best supports faculty and students’ needs.

The Futures Lab, for instance, features wraparound LED screens. Students can mirror screens from their own laptops on them, making it easier to share ideas and visualize complex data. One group might be collaborating on an Excel analysis project on one screen while a second group designs a presentation deck on another. These screens can display multiple inputs simultaneously, making it an ideal space for interdisciplinary instruction. An example might be a class that brings Finance and Experience Design students together to explore ways to design websites and financial products that help people make better financial decisions.

In the Immersion Space, we’re scaling up our existing VR and AR studios. This area features 35 dedicated VR headsets and a 180-degree curved display screen. In the future, we want to incorporate other sensory inputs — for example, scent dispensers and haptic, or tactile, technologies — to enhance immersion and foster empathy. By engaging multiple senses, we hope to create experiences that help students understand and appreciate diverse perspectives.  

Surrounding this central area are smaller VR pods. Members of the Bentley community can use these for individual exploration, small-group projects or recreational activities, like E-Sports. Nearby is an Immersion Gallery — a digital exhibition space featuring floor-to-ceiling LED screens on all four walls. Inspired by interactive museums, it’s a dedicated space for immersive storytelling.

Across the hall are the Sandbox and Build Space. These separate but adjacent areas support digital and physical prototyping — making them ideal spaces for classes, events and activities associated with Bentley’s Entrepreneurship Hub (E-Hub). The Sandbox is a scaled-up version of our existing CIS Sandbox and will facilitate digital collaboration across disciplines. The Build Space will have 3D printers, saw machines and other tools to help students create, test and refine their ideas.  

Elsewhere in Adamian, we have the Wilder Pavilion, which will feature a giant LED screen and surround sound. With a capacity of 140, it’s a more intimate space than we had previously. This space will be ideal for film-based courses and community events, like the English and Media Studies department’s annual Bentley University Film Festival (BUFFYs). We’ll also have two classrooms equipped with virtual whiteboards — touchscreens that allow students to save and resume their work from one session to the next.  

Ultimately, these academic spaces are about more than technology or design — they represent a new way of thinking about learning itself. By giving students room to explore, experiment and collaborate, Bentley is creating environments that turn curiosity into discovery and ideas into action.

Given your expertise in user experience (UX) design, how do you approach creating learning spaces that are not only high-tech but also human-centered?

When we design new academic spaces, our goal is to empower all users. That starts with listening carefully to the students, faculty and staff who will use these spaces and fully understanding their needs.

From there, we apply user experience (UX) design principles to ensure every touchpoint, whether digital or physical, feels intuitive and accessible. The redesign for Adamian reflects this approach: flexible classrooms that can transform in minutes, immersive labs where students can easily access and explore new technologies and common areas that invite spontaneous collaboration.

We aren’t just embracing technology for technology’s sake — we’re very intentional in our approach. We’re only looking to incorporate technologies that complement our existing ecosystem and enhance the teaching and learning experience. We’re also big believers in prototyping experiences and testing our design approach early, allowing us to fail fast and refine quickly.

Our ultimate goal is for members of the Bentley community to walk into a space and immediately feel inspired to experiment, create and connect. And we think the reimagined Adamian Academic Center will do that.  

Bentley’s legacy of academic innovation is both its foundation and its future. Guided by the vision of leaders like Szymanski, Paushter and Shah, the university continues to redefine what a business education can be — one that evolves with the world and empowers graduates to change it.