A Homegrown World Champion

Born in Dorchester and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Joe Cronin was a lifelong educator who spent much of his career in the Bay State.

But his vision extended well past his own backyard. As Bentley’s fifth president, from 1991 to 1997, he raised the school’s profile on an international stage.

“President Cronin knew that if the business sector was going global, so must Bentley, and he pushed the institution to move quickly in expanding its international reach,” says Paul Condrin ’83, P ’19 ’22, chair of the board and acting president. “This led to a new strategic plan, a revised curriculum and new opportunities to send students around the world and to bring students from overseas to our campus in Waltham.”

The population of international students on campus doubled during the Cronin administration, as did the number of Bentley students studying abroad. Today, 50% of undergraduates study outside the United States, many for a semester or longer.

“President Cronin was the first true champion who set Bentley’s sights broader than New England,” says Natalie Schlegel, MBA ’08, who directs what, in 1997, would be named the Joseph M. Cronin Office of International Education. “The vision he laid out spurred internationalization and diversification that permanently strengthened our institution. He set the foundation for the community we have today, where students, alumni, faculty and staff call many different places home and speak many different languages — yet we all share a home in Bentley.”

Cronin’s presidency also saw the creation of the International Cultures and Economy major (now International Affairs) and a campus chapter of the Model U.N.

The former president embraced diversity in all its forms. A steering committee that he established in 1993 developed workshops and action teams to address issues across the institution.

“Attracting and retaining students of color, international students and women depends on an environment that welcomes, supports and truly educates these students,” Cronin wrote in a memo to the Bentley community.

Tiffany R. Warren ’97, now a Bentley trustee, experienced that philosophy firsthand. “Throughout my career at Bentley, Dr. Cronin was a mentor to me and a group of students — most of them were multicultural — and he would regularly check in to make sure we were doing well. He looked out for me.”

Warren vividly recalls a point when she was struggling to balance academics and her roles as a resident assistant and president of the Black United Body.

“Dr. Cronin told me that our purpose sometimes overshadows those day-to-day priorities, and I had to think hard about how to manage both. Those were some of the conversations we had that led me to make some really strong decisions in my life both professionally and personally.

“He was one of my first allies. It was such a big gift, because I’ve been able to recognize that kind of behavior in other people throughout my career.”

It was in the late 1980s that faculty member Edward Zlotkowski was planting the seeds of experiential service opportunities for Bentley students.

“Joe thought that developing some kind of community outreach was morally and civically the right thing for Bentley to do. He backed it to the hilt,” recalls Zlotkowski. “I had his assurance that this commitment to civic engagement would become part of the institution. He believed that it was something that could add a dimension to our curriculum.”

Zlotkowski went on to launch the Bentley Service-Learning Project. Today, the Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center continues to help students make a positive impact on the Waltham community.

“We teach productivity and profitability, yes; but we also teach that the world is more than a marketplace,” Cronin said at his inauguration. “Bentley College will be a business school that prepares students for a long career of personal and corporate social responsibility. We seek to promote those civic values that will improve the world we live in.”

Educator at Heart

In Massachusetts, Cronin served as the state’s first secretary of education, professor in the history of higher education at Boston University, and associate professor of educational administration and associate dean at Harvard. In addition to holding many roles in the Massachusetts educational sector, he served as Illinois state superintendent of education.

He was a consultant at Edvisors, which provides information about college planning and financial aid; more recently, he served as a senior fellow for Eduventures, which advises colleges and universities on shaping strategic plans.

A determination to provide equal access to education led Cronin to found the nonprofit New England Education Loan Marketing Association, a secondary market for student loans. Now known as the Nellie Mae Foundation Corporation, it is New England’s largest philanthropic organization focused solely on education.

Cronin was also a founding member of Access, the college scholarship program for Boston public schools, and served on the board for the Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools, among others.

The lifelong academic earned a master’s degree from Harvard University and a doctorate in education from Stanford University. He published widely on school finance, student aid, cultural diversity and other topics with far-reaching impact on higher education. Reading, writing poetry and painting were his creative outlets; paintings reflect his love for both international travel and education. Among his works: a rendering of the President’s House on campus that became a gift for his predecessor, the late chancellor Gregory H. Adamian.

Writing in the former president’s memory to students, faculty and other supporters of the Cronin Office of International Education, Schlegel spoke for many.

“Thank you, President Cronin, for lifting our sights to horizons beyond our borders. We remember you as a force for building bridges between nations and across differences. We remember you as our friend Joe, who inspired us to make Bentley, and the world, better and stronger together.”