The Bentley Buzz

On Friday, March 3, the Spiritual Life Center will host Bentley's Fifth Annual Interfaith Day of Service to raise funds and package meals for those facing food insecurity in Waltham and beyond. Since its inception, the Interfaith Day of Service has helped to package and donate 50,000 nutritious, nonperishable meals to food pantries across Waltham, helping to expand Bentley's positive reputation among our neighbors.

For the fifth annual event, the Spiritual Life Center has set a goal to raise funds for 15,000 meals to be packaged by volunteers across campus. In addition to continuing to donate these important meals to the local community, this year, meals will also be sent directly to Ukraine to provide crucial resources for those impacted by the tragic war in the region. In total, 7,500 meals will be sent to Ukraine, with another 7,500 donated to the Waltham Salvation Army’s food pantry.

While the dedicated staff in the Spiritual Life Center play an important role in bringing this event to life, student leaders have been instrumental in planning and coordinating the day of service. “The students plan for this all year,” said Spiritual Life Center Director Rev. Dr. Robin Olson. “They made the logo, stickers and t-shirts for 2023 right after last year’s event because they were so excited for the day of service.”

In addition to working closely with the Spiritual Life Center on planning the day of service, different faith groups from across campus go above and beyond to help coordinate volunteers and raise funds. “Each faith group — Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim — commits to raising money and staffing the event,” explained Robin. “On the day of the event, it is entirely run by student event managers. Though all Spiritual Life staff are on hand, we tend to be observers of all the student leaders!”

Just a few short days after the call for volunteers was sent out to the community, almost all volunteer slots had been filled by students, faculty and staff from groups and offices across campus. While only a few volunteer slots remain open, community members can still make an impact by donating to the Spiritual Life Center’s fund through University Advancement. Gift sizes of all amounts can have a lasting impact — a gift of just $5 can help make 14 full non-perishable meals. 

Congratulations to the Spiritual Life Center for bringing such an important day of service to the Bentley community! 

Volunteer for a Remaining Slot               Donate to the Spiritual Life Center

University Police is committed to keeping campus safe while fostering community engagement by connecting with students, faculty and staff in a number of ways throughout the academic year. In keeping with their commitment to support all initiatives within the Bentley community, the department has taken measurable steps toward helping reduce Bentley’s carbon footprint and promote sustainability. Recently, the department received their first hybrid police cruiser and placed an order for a second one to be delivered in the coming months. 

“Transitioning to a fleet of hybrid electric vehicles will help us to save more than 1,000 gallons of fuel per vehicle each year,” said Chief Frank Bourgeois. “It’s especially important that we make the switch to hybrid, because the manner of our vehicle usage has us idling about 60% of the time as officers fill out police reports or keep an eye on vehicle/pedestrian traffic. With the new hybrid electric vehicles, all of our idling time will now be fully electric.”

In addition to making the switch to hybrid cruisers, University Police is well represented in Bentley’s sustainability efforts in other ways. Chief Bourgeois served as a co-chair for the Transportation and Mobility Committee of Bentley's Sustainability and Climate Action Planning process, ensuring that his department was involved with exploring ways to promote sustainability across campus.

The deadline to submit a proposal for a Force for Good Faculty Grant is tomorrow, Feb. 17. This new fund was established to support a wide array of projects based on the Bentley-Gallup Force for Good data and survey results, with up to five projects of $5,000 each funded this semester.

To submit a proposal by tomorrow’s deadline, email GallupGrants@Bentley.edu with a description of your project, including a statement of how it will use the Force for Good Survey Report, a sketch of the project timeline, planned outcomes and potential impacts, budget details and whether you have other funding sources to support your work.

Read the Call for Proposals

The Disability Services team is proud to host a panel discussion as a part of Disability Awareness Week on Wednesday, March 1 from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. in LaCava 340. Register for the panel discussion to learn more about disability accommodations and changes that Bentley has implemented over the years to create a more inclusive, accessible campus.

The panel will be moderated by Assistant Director of Housing Operations Jeff Funk and panelists include Director of Disability Services Stephanie Segalini, Associate Director of Disability Services Steph Bohler, Vice President and General Counsel Judy Malone and Counseling Center Director Peter Forkner. Make sure to sign up and stop by for some light refreshments and to learn more about disability services at Bentley!

Register for the Panel 

NESN+ to Air Bentley Hockey Games this Weekend
NESN+ will air live broadcasts of the Bentley hockey team's games at RIT this weekend. Friday's game gets underway at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday's game begins at 5:00 p.m.

Basketball Regular Seasons Come to a Close
The NE-10 men’s and women’s basketball regular seasons wind down this week with two final games. The men’s basketball team is in a two-way tie for first place and the women’s team is in fourth place.

Swimmers Capture Gold and Major Awards
Junior Emma Hapkiewicz earned her third gold medal of the meet and senior Anthony Vizental twice broke the school record while placing first in the 200-yard butterfly at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Emma was recognized as the NE-10 Female Swimmer of the Meet and senior Mary Huminski was tabbed as the NE-10 Female Diver of the Meet for the third time.