Bentley First Person: A Giving Story
My annual gift to Bentley is to honor a special time in my life that led to a long and productive career — a short stint in public accounting, a longer and more rewarding stretch at the helm of the financial operations of two hospitals, and eventually moving into the regulatory side of health care. But it is also a story of love and connection.
I met the delightful Tova during our sophomore year, on the first day of cost accounting class. A diligent and reserved student, I arrived early and chose a seat in the front row. Tova, equally diligent, but always bustling from one engagement to the next, arrived later and took the only remaining seat — next to me. I soon discovered she was extremely sociable, quite the opposite of me. Eventually, I shyly, but tactfully, suggested that we save our chats for outside of class. It was a bold move, but worked out beautifully, both personally and academically.
That serendipitous meeting has played a pivotal role in my life. Tova and I have been married for 55 wonderful years.
I also have another very profound connection to Bentley that I honor every time I make my annual gift. As a young man, my father fled Vienna and the tumult of the 1930s, coming to the United States and settling in Massachusetts. He studied, of course, at Bentley. He even took classes with the legendary Harry Bentley. He used to repeat Bentley’s saying, “I can teach you everything about accounting, but accounting isn’t everything.” Words to live by!
My father introduced me to the accounting profession early on. I remember being by his side as a boy when he was working in his study on Sundays. He would let me push the crank on the hand-operated machine accountants used back then. I still recall the feel of the crank turning and the sound of the numbers whizzing into place. Friends say I have been cranky ever since!
My father was a model student. When he sat for the CPA exam, he placed second in Massachusetts, earning a silver medal. This prestigious achievement was commemorated among the impressive wall of wood plaques displayed in Bentley’s reception area in downtown Boston. I passed my father’s plaque — and thought of him — almost every day. (It seems the plaques are long gone from the Bentley campus, but if someone has them please send me a note!)
There is one other special person I think of every time I make a gift to Bentley. While studying, I met and became friends with my remarkable classmate Darryl Poole ’68. A business leader, educator, writer and adviser, Darryl became among Bentley's first Black trustees in the ’90s, a role he held for more than two decades. Darryl saw the potential in me before I saw it in myself. He remains a dear friend to this day.
If a student asks me for advice, I say this: I surround myself with people with strong and complementary skills to the ones I have. And I have always found that if I approach projects as if I know nothing, that is when others deem me to be the most competent. I have also learned that knowledge comes from the most unexpected places. Be open to it. Everyone has something to teach you.