The Bentley Buzz

With commencement less than a month away, preparations are well underway to ensure that this year's graduates and their families enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime weekend of memorable celebrations. Adding to the excitement, this year's commencement speakers were recently announced, with NCAA President and Former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaking at the 104th undergraduate commencement ceremony and Tripadvisor Co-Founder and Former CEO Stephen Kaufer delivering the address at the 48th graduate commencement ceremony.

Both speakers bring with them remarkable careers and noteworthy experiences that are sure to make for keynote addresses that will leave graduates inspired to begin their next chapters. During his two terms as governor, Charlie Baker brought bipartisan leadership to the state and became the most popular governor in the country. In that role, he invested significantly in Massachusetts' K-12 education system, eliminated the state's budget deficit while cutting taxes and led the nation in pursuing renewable energy to combat climate change.

Since becoming NCAA president last month, Charlie says his priority will be developing protections for college athletes and clarifying rules around sponsorship deals that allow them to be paid for the use of their name, image and likeness.

Stephen Kaufer started the acclaimed travel site Tripadvisor above a pizza shop in Needham after experiencing difficulties while scheduling a family vacation to Mexico. Stephen stepped down as CEO last year, but under his leadership, the company grew into the largest travel site in the world, providing guidance to hundreds of millions of travelers per month in 22 languages. Like Bentley, Stephen believes that business should have a positive impact on society.

As CEO, he condemned the U.S. ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries and invited donations from Tripadvisor members to help refugees fleeing humanitarian crises, which the company’s charitable foundation then matched. He also spoke out in support of Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia and again leveraged the Tripadvisor community to raise money for the World Central Kitchen Ukraine relief efforts. 

Interested in hearing this year's speakers? Use the form below to volunteer to make commencement a success and for a chance to hear Charlie's and Stephen's commencement addresses!    

‘Me too’ Movement Founder Tarana Burke and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley stopped by campus for an inspiring conversation in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The powerful speakers discussed a range of topics — including allyship, the role of Black women in the ‘me too’ movement and Tarana’s journey as told in her bestselling memoir “Unbound” in front — of a packed Koumantzelis audience of students, faculty, staff and friends.

Part of Bentley’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month programming, the conversation played an important role in providing the community with an opportunity to learn about the challenges that survivors of sexual assault face, as well as a chance to explore ways that they can be allies both on and off campus.

“We wanted to have a really impactful speaker for Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” said Associate Dean of Student Affairs for Health, Counseling and Wellness Michelle Bowdler. “Tarana Burke seemed like the perfect choice.” To find a co-panelist for the conversation, Program Director of Sexual Assault Resources and Advocacy Jessica Teperow reached out to Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, whom she has worked with in the past, and she gladly accepted.

“It turns out Tarana and Ayanna know and respect one another deeply and were thrilled to be together for this event,” explained Michelle. Michelle and Jessica then worked closely with Director of Student Programs and Engagement Michelle Dabenigno to ensure the event was well attended and a success.  

Throughout their conversation, Tarana and Ayanna engaged with the audience and shared personal stories of the impact that sexual assault has had on their lives and the effective ways they've learned to support survivors. The event represented an important step toward talking more openly against sexual violence and is sure to inspire the community to continue this important work.

“As someone who has had the honor of supporting many survivors of sexual violence at Bentley, this event felt transformative for me personally and for our community,” said Jessica Teperow. “I heard a lot of people share that they were surprised we were able to bring these two speakers to campus, saying ‘this isn’t the kind of event you expect Bentley to have.’ But sexual violence impacts every one of us and it’s a topic we need to talk about not just one night or one month of the year, but all year long.”

Following their conversation, Tarana and Ayanna took questions from the engaged audience and stayed after to meet with community members and sign copies of Tarana’s book, which were given to the first 150 attendees to register.  

“It was inspiring and moving to have these two leaders in the sexual violence movement share their stories and experiences as well as their visions for the prevention of future violence,” said Jessica. “I have heard so many of the attendees talk about how inspired they felt — and still feel. It’s now on us to continue this conversation here at Bentley and with our friends and families.”

Nearly 100 students, faculty and staff came together to close out Sexual Assault Awareness Month by walking a loop around campus as one in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. The event, building on last year’s walk, was a collaborative effort by the Offices of Institutional Equity, Community Wellbeing and Health Promotion, University Police and Sexual Assault Resources and Advocacy. The walk kicked off on the Green Space with a brief welcome from Chief of Police Frank Bourgeois and Director of Community Wellbeing and Health Promotion Jessica Greher Traue, who thanked participants for their efforts to both support survivors and continue the conversation about preventing sexual assault on campus and beyond.

Participants were encouraged to wear jeans in recognition of Denim Day and teal in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. At the conclusion of the loop, walkers were treated to a shaved ice from the Kona Ice Truck and got to spend some quality time with Bentley’s favorite comfort dog Blue.
 

Congratulations to the One Loop, One Bentley organizers on a successful event! 

The English and Media Studies Department is proud to invite the Bentley community to the 18th Annual BUFFYs, the film festival where students showcase their creative media projects! This year’s event will take place on Tuesday, May 2 at 2:00 p.m. in Koumantzelis, with the awards ceremony and a tribute to graduating students beginning at 3:30 p.m. This marks the first year that the film festival will be hosted in Koumantzelis, and the English and Media Studies department anticipates it will be the largest to date. 

“Students taking production courses in the Media Lab throughout the year produce highly creative works that include photography, animation, narrative film, documentary and podcasting,” said Assistant Professor of English and Media Studies Liz LeDoux. “The annual festival screens and awards this amazing student media, including an Audience Award for Best Film. Students look forward to this culminating showcase at the end of the spring that shows what a truly collaborative process media making can be.”

Faculty and staff are invited to stop by on May 2 for refreshments and to check out the impressive creative projects of the students!

Stop by the Library quad on Tuesday, May 2 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. to join students on Reading Day for a street art workshop led by Boston-based artist Percy Fortini Wright! Learn how to express your creativity with spray paint as participants explore a range of techniques and skills that are possible with the medium under Percy’s guidance.

The workshop, which is part of the Library's Reading Day study break, is free for all community members. Materials including masks, gloves and spray paint provided, and registration is required at the link below.

RSVP for the Workshop

Faculty nominations are open for the 2023 Mee Family Prize and the Dr. Gregory H. Adamian Award for Lifetime Teaching Excellence, both of which celebrate outstanding contributions to research and pedagogy at Bentley. The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, May 19.

The Mee Family Prize was endowed by Michael ’66 and Judy Mee to highlight and reward a lifetime of scholarly work demonstrated by one of Bentley’s most distinguished faculty. Awarded each year, the $25,000 prize recognizes a full-time faculty member who holds full professor status at Bentley whose exceptional research contributions have enhanced the scholarly standing and reputation of the academic community.

Nominations can be sent to OfficeOfTheProvost@bentley.edu and must include a statement that outlines and supports an individual’s lifetime of exceptional research contributions.

The Dr. Gregory H. Adamian Award for Lifetime Teaching Excellence was endowed in 1979 by Bentley’s former chancellor and president emeritus to provide perpetual funding for awards to honor outstanding faculty members. The $10,000 annual recognition honors a long-serving faculty member whose academic contributions, including outstanding classroom teaching and the development of teaching-related materials, have clearly enhanced Bentley’s reputation and the development of our students.

Nominations can be sent to OfficeOfTheProvost@bentley.edu and must include a statement describing why those nominating believe the full-time faculty member or a faculty member who has been granted emeritus status is worthy of the award.

Last year, the Mee Family Prize was presented to Professor of Economics Dhaval Dave, and the Adamian Award for Lifetime Teaching Excellence was presented to Professor of Information Design and Corporate Communications Bill Gribbons.

The Cronin Office of International Education was selected by the Institute of International Education to receive an IIE American Passport Project grant, which will enable up to 25 Bentley students to obtain a U.S. passport in order to study abroad. The project, an initiative of the IIE’s newly developed Center for Access and Equity, aims to provide a chance to study abroad to college students who otherwise may not have the opportunity. 

First-year students who may experience financial obstacles when obtaining a passport are prioritized by the program. Now in its third year, the American Passport Project aims to provide 10,000 students across the country with a passport by 2030 in an effort to bolster equity and inclusion efforts and diversify the pool of students studying abroad.

Congratulations to the Cronin Office of International Education on their efforts to support Bentley students looking to study abroad!

Softball Extends Record, Earns Double Bye in NE-10 Championships
The Falcons swept the University of New Haven to secured a double-bye in next week’s NE-10 championship tournament, extending their record for wins in a season with a 27-12-1 overall record.

Four Falcons Selected for Academic All-NE-10 Men’s Swimming and Diving Team
The four Falcons represented a conference high for the 2022-23 honor.

Men’s Lacrosse Tops SNHU to Clinch First-Round Bye
The No. 10 ranked Falcons defeated Southern New Hampshire to clinch a first-round bye in the upcoming NE-10 Men's Lacrosse Championship.