Around Campus

Sobering statistics on the effects of alcohol consumption on health, grade point average and finances informed Bentley University’s “Choose OneLess” initiative, which was named as the 2014 Grand Gold winner of the NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) Excellence Awards. The campaign encourages students to take one less alcoholic drink per social occasion.

Bentley University’s Ron Ardizzone appointed to Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth. He will focus on community outreach and relationship building with educators to help make schools safer for LGBT youth.

A combination of technical skills and business acumen propelled a team of undergraduate students from Bentley University and Northeastern University to first place in a competition against seriously tech-savvy contenders from across the U.S. at the Supercomputing Conference in Colorado.

Bentley University is proud to now have a reverse vending machine on campus. The Greenbean Machine’s unique technology has caught the interest of students who have been actively using it since it was installed on campus in October 2013. In its initial months, Bentley students have already used the Greenbean more than any other college with a similar machine.

As part of Bentley’s Annual Culture Fest, Qais Akbar Omar, 30, a Boston University graduate student and author of “A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story,” addressed the community about how he came to write a memoir recounting his coming of age among unimaginable violence.

“Afghanistan will see peace but it will take time,” said Robert McNulty, director of Programs at the Center for Business Ethics and founder of Applied Ethics and the Pax Populi initiative, who introduced Omar. “It is not just about ending war, it is about finding a way to create peace.”

It may have been 8 a.m., but Diversity Trainer Maura Cullen captured the attention of more than 250 students from 26 universities at this year’s Diversity Student Summit hosted by Bentley University in October. The one-day, high-energy conference is designed to mobilize students and staff to be innovative in creating and sustaining more inclusive campus communities.

Speaking to a record crowd at Bentley’s Rainbow Luncheon celebrating diversity, on October 23, keynote speaker Zach Wahls tackled the question “What makes a family?” and included his own experience as the son of two lesbian mothers whose ability to marry was dependent on legislative decisions.

On Thursday, October 10th, FOX25 Morning News broadcast live from the Bentley campus from 6:00 a.m – 10:00 a.m. This event is part of a new, 6-week “College Tour” series the station is launching this fall. Every Thursday through November 7th, FOX25 will broadcast live from a different New England College campus.

When the Bentley Microfinance Group (BMG) was launched in 2008, artisan Frank Burns was the group’s second microloan recipient. Five years later, a lot has changed for both sides. Burns is selling handmade pieces in the woodworking studio. The $800 loan he took allowed him to purchase materials to produce more pieces. The 40-member student-run organization has made a total of five microloans, and recently published one of the first student-edited, student-run, microfinance journal.

In the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of America’s Best Colleges 2014, Bentley University is ranked #4 among “Best Regional Universities - North.” Bentley is also ranked #47 among the Top 50 “Best Business Programs” in the country.