Bentley University announces the appointment of three faculty members to the position of associate deans: Dorothy Feldmann, associate dean of business programs; Juliet Gainsborough, associate dean of arts and sciences; and Vicki LaFarge, associate dean of academic affairs.

Dorothy Feldmann, associate dean of business programs

Feldmann joined Bentley in 1992 and served as chair of the accountancy department from 2000 to 2005. She currently serves as associate professor of accountancy.

As chair, Feldmann was responsible for overseeing the undergraduate majors in accountancy and corporate finance and accounting, the masters in accounting program, and the accounting concentration in the MBA programs. She also played an integral role in the early stage planning of the doctoral program in accountancy and prepared the accounting maintenance report for a 2005 review from AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). 

Feldmann's recent research focuses on corporate governance, not-for-profits, and pedagogy. In the classroom, her teaching focuses on financial accounting and performance measurement. Her work developing the course "The Role of Community Service in a For-Profit Organization" with Bentley Accountancy faculty Karen Osterheld, Jay Thibodeau, and Rob Koulish earned her an Innovation in Teaching Award from Bentley and a Joint AICPA/AAA Collaboration Award from the American Institute of CPAs and the American Accounting Association in 2001. For her role, she also received a Curricular Service-Learning Faculty Award at Bentley in 2002.

"As chair, Dorothy conducted herself with a demonstrated concern for the best interests of the institution, as well as her department," says Roy (Chip) Wiggins, newly appointed Dean of Business and the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley. "Her responsibilities managing one of the largest departments and program menus on campus provide her with an insight that will be helpful as we take on the academic and program challenges ahead." 

Feldmann holds a BA from the University of Virginia; an MSA from Northeastern University; and a DBA from Boston University.

Juliet Gainsborough, associate dean of arts and sciences

Juliet Gainsborough joined Bentley in 2004 and currently serves as associate professor of political science in the global studies department. She teaches courses on state and local politics, urban political economy, and social policy, and was the 2010 recipient of the Bentley University Award for Excellence in Scholarship. While teaching at the University of Miami, she received the School of Business' Excellence in Research Award.

"I am thrilled that Juliet has accepted the position," says Dean of Arts and Sciences Daniel Everett. "She brings energy and enthusiasm to her new position, committed to constant improvement in the educational experience for Bentley students."

Gainsborough's current research explores the way in which fast-growth metropolitan areas respond to regional challenges, with a particular focus on transportation planning. Her book on the politics of child welfare policy, Scandalous Politics: Child Welfare Policy in the States (Georgetown University Press 2010), explores the way scandals affect child welfare policymaking at the state and national level. This research was made possible in part by a 2008 fellowship from the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences at Bentley. Her first book, Fenced off: The Suburbanization of American Politics (Georgetown University Press 2001), looks at the way population movement to the suburbs has shaped national politics. 

At Bentley, Gainsborough has served on the faculty senate since 2009. She was also coordinator for the politics minor, and a faculty adviser for the American studies concentration within the liberal studies major. From 2006 to 2009, she served as a member of the Bentley Institutional Review Board. Gainsborough completed her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and received a PhD from Harvard University.

Vicki LaFarge, associate dean of academic affairs

Vicki LaFarge joined Bentley in 1988. She has served as chair of the management department  since 2001 and is an associate professor of management.

As chair, LaFarge created a facilitating environment for the faculty and students. Using her background in organizational behavior and managing teams in complex environments, she successfully brought together the various threads of a diverse department. 

"In her tenure at Bentley, Vicki has worked energetically to strengthen ties across arts and sciences and business, always working for the good of Bentley as a whole and not simply for a single department or subset of the institution," says Dean Everett.

LaFarge also served as facilitator for the Joint Chairs Group and faculty coordinator for the first-year Day MBA. She introduced a core course in team effectiveness and skills for the Day MBA program and has taught the course since the inception of the program. She also co-taught the first required global business experience for the Day MBA's, in which students traveled to Hungary and Turkey in January 2011. 

As part of the university's new general business core, LaFarge taught a section of the human behavior in organizations course. Her research and consulting interests include work team dynamics and effectiveness, interpersonal dynamics, organizational transitions and work place diversity. She contributed a book chapter to New Frontiers in Team Management and is published in the Academy of Management Learning and Education, Journal of Management Inquiry, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, and Journal of Management Education.

LaFarge is commended by colleagues for her trust and respectful presence as a leader. At Bentley, she received the Martin Luther King Diversity Award (2010); Academic Adviser of the Year (1996); and the Adamian Award for Teaching Excellence (1995). She holds a BA from Wellesley College; master's degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Yale University; and a PhD from Yale University.

BENTLEY UNIVERSITY is one of the nation’s leading business schools, dedicated to preparing a new kind of business leader – one with the deep technical skills, broad global perspective, and high ethical standards required to make a difference in an ever-changing world. Our rich, diverse arts and sciences program, combined with an advanced business curriculum, prepares informed professionals who make an impact in their chosen fields. Located on a classic New England campus minutes from Boston, Bentley is a dynamic community of leaders, scholars and creative thinkers. The McCallum Graduate School emphasizes the impact of technology on business practice, in offerings that include MBA and Master of Science programs, PhD programs in accountancy and in business, and customized executive education programs. The university enrolls approximately 4,100 full-time undergraduate, 140 adult part-time undergraduate, 1,430 graduate, and 34 doctoral students. Bentley is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; and the European Quality Improvement System, which benchmarks quality in management and business education.