Dear Bentley community,
Welcome back – it’s wonderful to have a full campus once again. I hope you enjoyed some well-earned respite over the past few weeks. Since many of you have been gone over break, our campus has been deluged by rain and then draped in a fresh blanket of snow. We are delighted to have you back on campus and are looking with much anticipation to the energy and dynamism associated with the start of a new semester.
I’m especially excited to come together as a community for our MLK: Day of Justice, Celebration, Listening and Learning next week on Tuesday, Jan. 30. For the first time, we’ll invest a full academic day to participate in workshops, presentations, panels and conversations to learn more about and honor Dr. King’s life and legacy. All regularly scheduled classes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be canceled and I encourage students, faculty and staff to register for the amazing lineup of learning sessions and activities.
After years of historic tumult, racial violence, mass shootings, emerging nationalism, rising food and income insecurity, and wars and violence around the world, it’s imperative that we reflect on our collective stewardship of Dr. King's legacy. We need to recommit to fulfilling our nation’s highest promise: creating a society where everyone can reach their potential. It’s a high bar to set, but that’s what we aspire to do at Bentley. Our MLK celebration will be one example of our commitment to providing a transformative business education and embracing our collective power to make a positive difference in the world.
Bentley is on the move on so many fronts; and we’re facing this moment of historic change head on. We’re bringing future-oriented new majors like Financial Technology (FinTech) and Artificial Intelligence to life, preparing our students to use emerging technologies to solve tomorrow’s challenges. And we’re continuing conversations about strategic investments on our campus that will position Bentley to be a leader in infusing technology and innovation into business education for generations to come.
At the same time, we’re creating important real-world business learning opportunities. We recently announced our groundbreaking new partnership with the Boston Celtics. This semester our students will help design, market and produce the first Boston-region NBA 2K college championship for CLTX, the Celtics’ official online gaming team. And just last semester, we launched a new Deloitte Mentorship Program, which pairs first-generation sophomores with an alumni mentor from Deloitte Consulting.
As you dive into the spring semester, I wish you the best of luck in renewing the pursuit of your passions, goals and friendships. Take advantage of every opportunity that awaits you this semester. I hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Brent