Dear students,
Welcome to a new academic year at Bentley University.
Whether you're arriving on campus for the first time or entering your final year before graduating, I’m sure you’re already thinking about what comes next: your first college classes, which clubs you’ll join this year, choosing a major or preparing for your post-Bentley career.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news this summer, it’s no secret that the higher education landscape is changing fast. But despite the headwinds facing all colleges and universities, I’m proud that Bentley continues to attract students of your caliber who challenge and inspire one another, as well as faculty who bring deep expertise and real-world perspective to the classroom, and staff who support every dimension of academic achievement, personal growth and well-being. Each of you represents an important thread in the fabric of this community, and together we make this institution stronger every day.
I tell my faculty and staff colleagues this often: there are few universities better prepared than Bentley for the changing world ahead and far fewer who enter this academic year from our position of strength. That is neither an accident nor inevitable. Bentley has thrived for a century precisely because we do not sit still and wait for the environment to change around us. It is woven into our DNA to not only meet the moment, but to peer around the corner and leapfrog to what’s next.
This is my sixth year as president, and I know this is a special place. It’s rewarding to hear others say we’re getting it right — including earlier this month being named #1 in the U.S. for Best Career Services by The Princeton Review for the fourth straight year and once again landing in the top 30 of LinkedIn’s Top Colleges list.
But what means the most to me — why I believe that all of our faculty and staff are here — are the transformative experiences that you will enjoy during your time at Bentley, the lasting personal connections that you will create, and the wide-ranging knowledge that you will obtain that sets you on a path of lifelong intellectual interest and discovery.
This fall, let that journey of exploration, connection and discovery begin anew. I hope your own curiosity leads you across our beautiful campus — into conversations, classrooms and collaborative relationships — so you can make the most of the opportunities that await you here.
Sincerely,
President Chrite