Dear students,
Fall is my favorite time of year, and it’s not just because the weather is lovely, and our campus looks so beautiful (though both are true). With the fall comes renewal for Bentley as our students return and some arrive for the first time. Inevitably, you bring an energy to Bentley that makes this the most exciting time of year to be on campus. Welcome, everyone, to the 2024 – 2025 academic year.
The next few days will be filled with activity as classes begin and you get back into the swing of life at Bentley. I encourage you to embrace this time to connect with your peers, with Bentley’s outstanding faculty and with the hundreds of staff members on campus who are here to assist you on your Bentley journey.
As invigorating as fall will be, we live in a time when it seems more and more difficult to find common ground both nationally and around the world. We see it on the news, read it in our social media feeds and even encounter it with colleagues, friends and neighbors.
Each fall we come together to learn in community with one another. That does not mean we will always agree – far from it. In fact, I hope you experience classroom conversations that elicit respectful disagreement and debate and demand your careful consideration and an original argument to the contrary point of view. In our community, we welcome and expect opinions and ideas that challenge our own because this is what higher education is all about. I believe sustained exposure to different points of view in a supportive and respectful environment is essential for a top-notch business education. Just as in the professional world you will enter, you will come to accept, and I hope, celebrate, the myriad perspectives and backgrounds of our human community.
In addition to embracing diverse perspectives, participating in constructive dialogue and honing critical thinking skills are the cornerstones of a thriving academic community. Let us commit to approaching our conversations and classes with open minds, genuine curiosity and a willingness to learn from one another. Together, we will continue to create a campus community that upholds our Bentley values.
So again, welcome and welcome back. I look forward to seeing you on campus and to another year of learning together.
Sincerely,
President Chrite