Introducing Provost Donna Maria Blancero

I am writing to share an important update on the search for Bentley’s next provost. As you may recall, last May I announced the creation of a working group of faculty and staff to identify how the Office of the Provost could best support academic excellence in alignment with our strategic plan. I shared the group’s recommendations with you in October and, based on those findings, appointed a search committee comprised of department chairs and key staff members to work with executive search firm Korn Ferry to conduct the search and interview process for Bentley’s next provost.

After a national search and with finalist interviews concluded, it brings me joy to announce that we have found our academic leader within our own community. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Donna Maria Blancero as Bentley’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Donna Maria is of course no stranger to Bentley or this role, having served in an interim capacity for nearly a year. In that time, she has played an integral part in rolling out our strategic plan and supporting academic growth through our four strategic assets. But as anyone who knows Donna Maria can attest, her impact goes far beyond academia. Since joining the Bentley community in 2010 as an associate professor of management, Donna Maria has been a champion for diversity and inclusion, frequently encouraging students of all backgrounds and identities to share their experiences.

Before her appointment as interim provost, Donna Maria held several important roles on campus. Always quick to step up and fill a need of the university, she has served as the interim dean of business and the McCallum Graduate School as well as the associate dean of undergraduate business education. Prior to joining Bentley, she held a faculty role at Arizona State University and was a member of the academic cabinet at Touro University International.

Both on and off campus, Donna Maria has consistently supported the educational growth of individuals and organizations. For over 20 years, she worked as a consultant to help organizations mentor Latinos and people of color. She is the founding editor of The Business Journal of Hispanic Research and recipient of several awards including the Brillante Award for Hispanic Education and the Presidential Award from the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science. Donna Maria is also a faculty member with the PhD Project and chairs their Committee on Hispanic Excellence, which was named a White House Initiative under the Obama administration. She received her PhD in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, master’s degree from New York Institute of Technology and bachelor’s degree from SUNY, College at Old Westbury.

This is an important time for Bentley and for higher education as a whole. As we shape Bentley’s future, I know you’ll join me in gratitude knowing that Donna Maria will continue to share her wisdom and leadership with our community. I’d like to thank the members of the working group and search committee for their hard work during this process. An undertaking as large as identifying a new provost is no simple charge, yet they were up to the task and our university is better off thanks to their work.

We are fortunate to have a leader like Donna Maria at the helm of our academic vision.

Please join me in congratulating her on this appointment,
President Davis-Blake