Redmond Allman

In addition to being an important member of the teaching faculty, Red Allman was known for being the first secretary of the Faculty Executive Council. The Council was founded in 1969, and was the fourth of several faculty organizations. The Faculty Executive Council was the first of these organizations to have both faculty-nominated members, and to be independent of the administration. As secretary, Allman was responsible for supporting the organization of the faculty and successfully stewarding the Faculty Executive Council, which eventually evolved into Bentley’s current Faculty Senate.

 

 

 

James Boudreau

 

 

James Boudreau joined the faculty in 1957 as a part-time professor of English and steward of Bentley’s then fledgling library. At the time of his arrival, the library was comprised of around 1,000 volumes cramped in a small room at 921 Boylston Street. The school knew that in order to achieve collegiate status they would need a robust library, and they were confident that Boudreau would prove up to the task.

 

The library facilities were soon expanded to two floors of the 867 Boylston Street building and, by 1960, Boudreau had expanded the holdings to over 15,000 volumes. He also founded the periodicals collection, started official reference services, and hired the first full-time professional librarians at Bentley. He kept the campus abreast of his work by regularly contributing to the alumni magazine and student newspaper, where he publicized library holdings and services.

 

Frances Crowley

 

In 1948, Frances Crowley became the first female instructor at the Bentley School. Although many women were in the school’s employ, none had official teaching responsibilities. Harry Bentley had been worried that his students might leave the school without a solid foundation of manners, social customs, and presentation, so he hired Crowley to teach a series of lectures on Etiquette and Social Ethics, focusing on the social “obligations and privileges” that came from being a professional in the business world.

 

 

 

 

Olanrewaju J. Fapohunda

Olanrewaju J. Fapohunda was an Economics professor from Nigeria who came to Bentley in 1970.  He was the school’s first black professor, and opened the door for other professors of color to help build a more diverse culture at Bentley through the following years. Fapohunda stayed at Bentley only a short while, before returning to Nigeria where he researched and published extensively on issues of economic development and employment in Lagos.

Earle & Harold Haskins

 

 

 

 

Earle and Harold Haskins taught accounting for decades at Bentley when the school was in Boston.  In 1942, the Haskins brothers organized Bentley’s 25th anniversary party, and they held an anniversary fundraiser (the school’s first fundraising event) to buy a portrait of Harry Bentley.  Like nearly everyone at Bentley in its early years, the Haskins brothers wore suits and ties, and their professionalism impressed John Cole, a longtime professor of accounting at the school, who stated that they were “well-spoken, always courteous, always immaculately dressed, always conducting themselves with quiet dignity.”

 

 

 

 

 

James Kiely

 

 

James Kiely taught English at Bentley from 1948 to 1990. He founded the school’s English Department in 1948 (although English had been taught at the institution since 1920), and he chaired the department for many years.  Throughout his time at Bentley, Kiely helped students improve their ability to speak and write.

 

H. Forrest Kimball

H. Forrest Kimball was among the first professors of accounting at Bentley.  He was hired on the same day as Maurice Lindsay in 1920.  Kimball never missed a day of class, and he got along very well with his students.  He also founded a Bentley dynasty, which included his son and grandson, Kermit Kimball, Sr. (Class of 1939), and Kermit Kimball, Jr. (Class of 1964).  The elder Kermit taught accounting at Bentley after World War II, and the younger Kermit is a successful stockbroker.

 

 

 

Mary Lou Leary

Mary Lou Leary was hired as the Bentley School’s first nurse in 1959. With an eye on expansion and comprehensive care for its students and staff, the school administrators opened an infirmary on the third floor of the 867 Boylston Street building. Before her employment at Bentley, Leary had worked as a nurse at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, now part of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her skills as a nurse were highly praised by many, and as the first practitioner of on-site health services at Bentley, Leary played a role in the school’s capacity for growth.

John Lesko

 

 

John Lesko was a member of the Management faculty in the early 1980’s. In 1982, the traditional “April Fool’s” issue of the Bentley student newspaper ran a parody column that made disparaging, insensitive comments towards homosexuals. It was after the release of this issue that Professor Lesko publicly came out, becoming the first openly gay member of the Bentley faculty and bravely starting a conversation about bias and tolerance on campus. In a letter to the editor, Lesko wrote that “We all have someone in our family who is gay or lesbian… although often unknown to us because many fear ridicule like the Inferno article in question.”

 

John “Jack” Nichol

John “Jack” T. Nichol played a pivotal role in the development of Bentley’s academic programs and curriculum and provided crucial input to institutional decisions during the presidency of Gregory Adamian.  He dedicated 32 years of service to Bentley, beginning in 1961 as a Professor of English and History and retiring in 1993 as the Vice President for Academic Affairs.  His contributions were immense, from his dedication to his students as a professor to his leadership as Dean of Liberal Arts to his unmatched capabilities as Dean of the College, and, finally, to his management of the academic programs as the Vice President for Academic Affairs.  During his tenure, he helped to implement new undergraduate degrees and establish the Graduate School and the offering of Master’s degrees.  Additionally, his drive and leadership permitted Bentley’s enrollment and faculty positions to grow exponentially.

 

 

 

Edward Pendergast, Sr.

 

 

Edward Pendergast, Sr., was a Bentley leader when the school was in Boston.  He had many previous jobs, including positions at Jordan Marsh and Lord & [Tailors] and practiced law while teaching it at three schools, including Bentley.  He transitioned entirely over to Bentley when the school tapped him to be a dean.  Pendergast loved his students and took great pride in advising them and following up with them after they graduated.  When he retired from Bentley in 1967, he became treasurer of a trade publication and a wholesale appliance company.

 

W. Ross Peterson

W. Ross Peterson was a pioneer in the field of history at Bentley, teaching the school’s first humanities course, Western Civilization, in the fall of 1960. He remained on the faculty for 23 years, during which time he helped to grow the liberal arts curriculum and the Humanities Department after Bentley received degree-granting authority. Like many of the first liberal arts professors at Bentley, Peterson was a minister. He was recruited to the Bentley faculty after meeting Rae Anderson’s wife Louise. She had volunteered to read to Peterson, who was blind, as he studied for his PhD.

 

 

 

Henry Porter

 

 

Few people did as much for Bentley as Henry Y. Porter, who graduated from the school in 1927.  For the next four decades, Porter devoted much of his life to Bentley, where he oversaw many student activities.  Porter also served as the school’s Secretary-Treasurer in the 1950s and 1960s, and he co-wrote a semi-centennial history of the school in 1967.

 

John Sinclair

Although John Sinclair was a professor of accounting, he was described by a fellow faculty member as someone whose chief goal was to ensure that Bentley students “became more than accountants.” He joined the faculty in 1943, and was one of the first to exhibit Bentley’s now-ubiquitous commitment to producing well-rounded, engaged graduates. Despite the fact that Bentley did not yet have a computer, Sinclair taught the school’s first computer science course in 1957 — preparing students for a technologically-oriented future. He also served as the faculty advisor to the school’s first regular newspaper, The Bentley Journal, which debuted in 1960.

 

 

 

Bertha Stratton

 

 

Bertha Stratton was a devoted employee of Bentley from its establishment.  She started as an administrator for founder Harry Bentley beginning in 1918 and retired as secretary of the college corporation in 1948.  She worked tirelessly and passionately in her positions and continued her connections with Bentley faculty, employees, and alumni long after her retirement.

 

Pompee Valente

Pompee P. Valente was Bentley’s first full-time Chief of Security.  He came to the institution in December 1968, after retiring from his job as an officer in the Massachusetts State Police.  Valente greatly expanded Bentley’s security service, which had been started by a student, Roland (Ron) Hadley, Jr. (Class of 1969) in the summer of 1968.

 

 

 

Alint (Raj) Varughese

 

 

Alint (Raj) Varughese was Bentley’s first professor of color, and he was the first professor of color to receive tenure at the school.  He started teaching English at Bentley in 1969 and was tenured in the early 1970s.  A decade later, Varughese moved to India (his country of origin), because its prime minister wanted him to serve the University of Kerala as its chancellor and vice-president.

 

Richard Walker

Richard M. Walker was the first African-American member of the Board of Trustees. He was elected in 1974 and served until 1980. A graduate of the University of Kansas and MIT, he was an engineer who held 32 patents and founded a company called Microwave Associates.

Robert J. Weafer, Sr.

Robert (Bob) J. Weafer, Sr., joined Bentley as a professor of accountancy in 1954 and was a full-time professor and mentor of students until 1964, when he became Chief Financial Officer of the college (1964-1983).  He worked tirelessly with a core group of administrators and trustees to transition Bentley from a college located in two main buildings on Boylston Street to a beautiful suburban campus in Waltham.  Bob was passionate about obtaining the lowest possible financing to maintain affordable tuition for students.  Bob and his wife Mary were very active on campus, attending sporting events and interacting with students, and they established a scholarship in 1982 for undergraduates majoring in accounting.  The Professor Robert J. Weafer Award for Undergraduate Academic Excellence was established also, and is annually awarded at the undergraduate commencement, continuing Bob Weafer’s legacy and desire to help students.

 

 

  

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