Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

After a very busy summer of preparation, the academic year is off and running. While we all continue to adjust to our new environment, the strong commitment to our community’s collective health and safety has made the start of this trimester a success.

There is no greater responsibility of the Board of Trustees than the selection of a president who can best advance the university’s mission and strategic plan. To get this selection right, that process must be informed by the thousands of students, faculty and staff who make up this vibrant and compassionate community and supported by the alumni who make this university proud each day.

After careful deliberation, I am pleased to announce the members of the search committee for Bentley University’s ninth president. I believe this search committee will capably fulfill its responsibility of representing our many Bentley stakeholders and identify multiple qualified presidential candidates for the Board of Trustees to consider for final evaluation and selection. The search committee includes trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. I was most impressed by the number of highly qualified members of our community who expressed interest in being part of the search committee, and I thank all for their desire to serve.

The search committee will be chaired by Trustee Nick Stavropoulos ’79. Nick has been a member of the board since 2009 and has served on a variety of board committees. He is a seasoned executive with over 40 years of experience in the U.S. and international natural gas industry with a special focus on utility safety. We are all grateful to Nick for taking on this vitally important leadership role over the months ahead.

The additional members of the search committee include:

• Rob Alan ’91, Trustee and Chair, University Advancement Committee
• Nancy Antunes ’87, MBA ’98, Associate Vice President for Finance
• Andy Aylesworth, PhD, Faculty Senate Chair and Associate Professor, Marketing
• Estefania Barnuevo, ’21 MBA Graduate Student
• Chuck Coppa ’85, Chair, Global Alumni Board
• Joyce Elam, PhD, Trustee and Chair, Academic Affairs Committee
• Fred Ledley, MD, Professor, Natural and Applied Sciences and Management
• Asimina Morris ’21, Undergraduate Student
• Lebone Moses ’02, Trustee
• Sue O'Connell ’90, Trustee and Chair, Student Affairs Committee
• Melanie Otero ’91, MBA ’92, Trustee
• Kiana Pierre-Louis ’99, JD, Senior Lecturer, Law and Taxation
• Christian Rubio, PhD, Associate Professor, Modern Languages, Honors Program Director
• Antonio Willis-Berry, Associate Director of Housing & Residential Services**

Maureen Flores, vice president for university advancement, will serve as executive coordinator of the search committee and Amanda King, chief of staff in the president’s office, will assist her.

The search committee will soon announce structured listening opportunities for members of our community to participate in the process of preparing the presidential position profile. These listening sessions will be facilitated by our search consultants, Vivian Brocard and Kate Barry of Isaacson, Miller. But, based on the many individual conversations I have conducted thus far, there appears to be strong alignment between the board and community about the experiences, capabilities and characteristics we desire in our next president. 

As I shared in June, given Bentley’s strong reputation and distinct positioning, we expect to receive interest from many qualified candidates with experience in business-focused education. I look forward, like all of you, to the results of the search committee’s work in the months ahead. To keep you apprised of the progress of the search, we will be establishing a presidential search committee page on our website. 

As you are aware, since mid-June I have been working full-time as the acting president, meeting daily with the Cabinet to keep the business of the university moving forward. We have been deeply focused on prudently managing the return to campus to ensure the health and safety of our community, initiating important racial justice reforms on our campus and diligently executing on the strategic plan. Although the initial plan was to hire an interim president, preferably a retired university president, we have found it difficult to accomplish this amid a pandemic. As such, I will continue to serve as the acting president until Bentley’s ninth president is elected by the Board of Trustees.

While working as a full-time university president was not on my personal bucket list, it has been a pleasure to work with the Cabinet, faculty and staff more directly and regularly than ever before, and I look forward to meeting more students over the next several months.

Please stay healthy and safe.

Sincerely,

Paul Condrin ’83, P’19, P’22

Chair of the Board and Acting President

**Antonio Willis-Berry left Bentley University in October 2020 for a new career opportunity. Paul Condrin named Christine Lookner, Associate Dean and Director of the Center for International Students and Scholars, to the open seat on the committee.