From the President

Fall is a time of beginnings in the world of education. New friendships, new opportunities, new challenges, new aspirations. For me, this fall is especially meaningful as I begin my first academic year as the president of Bentley — and I couldn’t be more excited.

Bentley truly is a university on the rise. During this challenging period for higher education, Bentley has continued to thrive. Our applications are increasing, our extraordinary placement rate demonstrates graduates’ success in finding rewarding careers, and our reputation has never been stronger.

At a time when students and their families deserve the strongest possible return on their college investment, Bentley’s core business curriculum combined with an emphasis on the arts and sciences and the integration of technology, along with our many close partnerships with the business community, are exactly what higher education needs in 2018.

In recent months, I’ve loved beginning to meet and get to know faculty, staff, students, trustees and alumni, listening and learning about the many factors that have helped Bentley climb from its founding a century ago as a local accounting school to become one of the top business schools in the country today. I know I speak for the entire Bentley community in thanking Gloria Cordes Larson for her impressive leadership as president for the past 11 years. Bentley today is a stronger, more vibrant university because of Gloria’s dynamic and visionary guidance and direction.

“I believe strongly in the transformative power of higher education to improve people's lives and change the world.”

Bentley’s mission of preparing students for successful careers and lives that make a positive difference in the world is at the heart of why I became an educator. My father was a college professor and I grew up in the world of education. Over the course of my own academic career, I’ve seen that in helping students learn, grow and reach their full potential, we change the course of history for them, their families and their communities. I believe strongly in the transformative power of higher education to improve people’s lives and change the world.

I look forward to keeping in touch and sharing updates, including through these messages in each upcoming issue of Bentley Magazine. The talented and dedicated people who make up our community, including alumni, students, parents, faculty and staff, are so important in helping Bentley continue to flourish and grow.

It is an honor to join you as together we lead Bentley into its second century of success.

Yours,

Alison Davis-Blake