Academic Fusion

Most colleges reserve the term “market demand” for business courses. Here the phrase takes a different turn, informing two new majors — Professional Sales and Creative Industries — that answer employers’ call for skilled professionals.

The move marks Bentley as the only major university in the northeastern U.S. with an undergraduate major in Professional Sales. An unusual collaboration gives both programs a distinctive edge. In developing the majors, which launched this fall, faculty had significant input from Career Services and corporate partners.

When faculty, students and corporate partners come together, great things can happen on campus — and off. A case in point is a $250,000 grant to the Honors Program from United Technologies Corporation. Through a UTC-supported honors fellowship, research is underway to help local communities save the environment and developing countries create economic stability.

The funding takes Honors Program capstone projects to a new level, according to inaugural UTC Fellows Olivia Locke ’14 and Gerard Fischetti ’14 (above).

A team of undergraduates from Bentley and Northeastern universities took first place in a faceoff with seriously tech-savvy contenders at the Supercomputing Conference, held in Colorado last November. The win clinched a coveted seat at the 2014 International Supercomputing Conference.   

We all know the rush of a conversation that leads you to make unexpected connections between different subjects — a fluidity of mind all too rare but always exciting.

Four first-of-their-kind “fusion” courses at Bentley University aim to make that synergy happen a lot. And according to early participants: mission accomplished.

What do you want to be when you grow up? The answer to the age-old question — often asked as early as preschool — likely changes with life experiences. But when it comes time for college applications, most students feel the pressure to have a definitive answer. Not so, says Jane Ellis, associate dean of academic services at Bentley University. In fact, not knowing may be just what you need to set you up for success.   

When I left Illinois State University for a post at Bentley University three years ago, it raised a few eyebrows among the liberal-arts colleagues I was leaving behind and at the business university where I would become their dean of arts and sciences.

Bentley University’s preparedness research documents a desire by employers for millennial graduates who can make an immediate impact with their professional and technical qualifications while also demonstrating creativity, problem solving, and interpersonal skills, all of which are required in senior level leaders.

Easier said than done, some believe.

What’s the benefit of a specialized university?

For a young person drawn toward a particular field of study, such as engineering, or music, or business, a specialized university offers more advantages than you might think.

Once dismissed as vocational, top professional schools nowadays operate on the premise that the best career preparation includes a deep embrace of the liberal arts.