Tag: centennial

Now Showing: The Bentley Student Experience, a Bentley Centennial Exhibit

Jaimie

Now on view in the RSM Art Gallery is The Bentley Student Experience, the third and final Centennial year exhibit detailing the history of Bentley University. Please join us at the opening reception for this exhibit, which will include remarks by Vice President Andrew Shepardson, at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26.

The Bentley Student Experience
Bentley Centennial Exhibit
April 25 – June 7, 2017 June 11, 2017

Opening Reception
Wednesday, April 26, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Remarks by Vice President Andrew Shepardson

Bentley Homecoming, 1975
Bentley Homecoming, 1975

Bentley was founded in response to a demand for more highly educated business professionals –especially accountants – in the first decades of the twentieth century. At this same point in the development of American higher education, what we now know as Student Affairs (a set of co-curricular offerings created and managed by educational specialists) began to emerge.

Student Affairs at Bentley evolved as they did at colleges and universities across the country, though perhaps a bit more slowly as a result of Bentley’s status as an urban, “street-car school” that offered the basics to students. Once Bentley relocated to its spacious Waltham campus, the student experience steadily began to resemble that of a traditional residential college.

The student experience at Bentley also reflects the distinctive philosophy that characterizes this institution in so many ways – a philosophy that embraces founder Harry Bentley’s belief in a real-world education. In the 21st century we talk about engagement, and Bentley prepares students to have full lives and careers by engaging them in innovative ways now, in the life of the campus and beyond.

The Bentley Student Experience exhibit is not limited to student life narrowly defined as activities and clubs; but is intended to showcase all aspects of what has contributed to being a student at Bentley for the past century – in the classroom, in the residence halls, commuting by streetcar or on Route 128, playing a sport, serving the community, meeting someone with a drastically different background, and more.

Today, fostering an engaged student experience is a key element of the university’s strategic direction, one that recognizes the educational value of comprehensive growth in and out of the classroom. Please enjoy this look at the way students have experienced Bentley for 100 years.

Also available for online viewing is the Bentley Student Experience online exhibit and a selection of videos from the Bentley archives dating back to the 1950s.

You’re Invited! Reception for Centennial Exhibit, Wed. 1/18 at 12:30pm

Lisa

Please join us at the opening reception for the second Bentley centennial exhibit – The Bentley Campus: From Boston to Waltham – on Wednesday, January 18, at 12:30 p.m. Trustee emeritus and Centennial Committee chairman, George Fantini ‘64, will offer brief remarks.  Light refreshments will be served. We hope to see you there!

Library clock tower arrives
“The Growth of the Bentley Campus: From Boston to Waltham”
On view in the RSM Art Gallery, January 17 – March 5, 2017

About the exhibit:

The Bentley Campus: From Boston to Waltham traces the university’s history from a small room in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood to the sprawling suburban campus we know today. Find out what life was like for Bentley students in the early decades of the 20th century, discover how Bentley’s leaders made the bold decision to move to Waltham, and get a glimpse of “Cedar Hill” before our now iconic buildings were constructed.  A wealth of new video content from the Bentley Archives will premiere with this exhibit. Gallery visitors can use the new interactive viewing tablet to watch founder Harry C. Bentley give a speech, see construction workers lay foundation for the Waltham campus, and view what the dormitories looked like in the 1980’s.

Now Showing: “The Bentley Campus: From Boston to Waltham”

Jaimie

The Bentley Campus: From Boston to Waltham
Bentley University Centennial Exhibit
January 17 – March 5,  March 2, 2017 [Note new closing date]

Opening Reception
Wednesday, January 18 at 12:30 p.m.
Remarks by trustee emeritus and Centennial Committee chairman George Fantini ‘64

The Historical Subcommittee is proud to present the second in a series of three Centennial exhibits in the RSM Art Gallery. The Bentley Campus: From Boston to Waltham traces the university’s history from a small room in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood to the sprawling suburban campus we know today.

Find out more about what life was like for Bentley students in the early decades of the 20th century – the classrooms on Boylston Street, early dormitories on Commonwealth Avenue, and the ever-present sound of the Prudential Center being built! Discover how Bentley’s leaders made the bold decision to move to Waltham, and get a glimpse of “Cedar Hill” before our now iconic buildings were constructed.

This exhibit is now interactive, thanks to the addition of a video viewing tablet located in the gallery. Come see historic footage of our founder Harry C. Bentley and hear him give a speech! Watch as construction workers lay foundation for the Waltham campus, or see what dormitories looked like in the 1980’s. A wealth of new footage from the Bentley Archives will premiere with this exhibit.

George Fantini ’64, trustee emeritus and chairman of the Centennial Celebration, will offer brief remarks at an opening reception for the exhibit on Wednesday, January 18 at 12:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. We hope you can join us!

To view an online version of this exhibit, please visit the Bentley Archives website.

You’re Invited! “Bentley Leaders” Reception with Gloria Larson, 9/14 @ 4pm

Lisa

Please join President Gloria Cordes Larson for the opening reception of Bentley Leaders, the first of three centennial year exhibits chronicling the history of Bentley University. The reception will begin at 4:00 p.m. in The RSM Art Gallery. Light refreshments will be served.

Bentley Leaders exhibit case
The Bentley Leaders exhibit is on view in the RSM Art Gallery through October 26, 2016.

While this exhibit offers an introduction to many important individuals, there are countless more that are worthy of note. An additional group of Bentley Leaders have been profiled in a companion exhibit that is available online through the Bentley Archives website. Please visit the two online exhibits, Bentley Leaders and Bentley Leaders: Firsts. 

Now Showing: Bentley Centennial Exhibit, “Bentley Leaders”

Jaimie

The Bentley Library is proud to host Bentley Leaders, the first of three Centennial year exhibits profiling the history of Bentley University. The exhibit is on view in the RSM Art Gallery through October 26, 2016. An opening reception with President Gloria Cordes Larson will be held on Wednesday, September 14, at 4:00 p.m.

Bentley University Centennial Exhibit – Bentley Leaders
August 22 – October 26, 2016 October 24, 2016

Opening Reception with President Gloria Cordes Larson
Wednesday, September 14
4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Bentley's first three presidents
Bentley’s first three presidents (from left):
Thomas L. Morison, Harry C. Bentley, Maurice M. Lindsay

Our 100th anniversary is a momentous occasion, and provides an unprecedented opportunity for our community to join together in celebration. Over this year, we hope that members of the Bentley community will learn about how we have grown as an institution, and use that knowledge to develop our hopes for Bentley’s future. Many know that our school began with a single individual – Mr. Harry C. Bentley, who started the Bentley School in a small rented classroom. He was buoyed in his ambitions by a natural entrepreneurial spirit and the enthusiasm of his students, who wanted a modern, comprehensive education in Accountancy. While his hard work and vision built our foundations, Mr. Bentley knew that he would need equally dedicated, innovative partners and successors to help his school realize its fullest potential.

Over the last 100 years, generations of leaders have devoted themselves to that very cause. For our innovative curriculum, our beautiful campus, and our wealth of educational opportunity, we have so many to thank. This exhibit profiles a selection of those leaders who helped the “Bentley School of Accounting and Finance” become Bentley University. We hope that learning about these individuals will inspire gratitude for their contributions, and ideas for how to help Bentley grow in our next 100 years.

While this exhibit offers an introduction to many important individuals, there are countless more that are worthy of note. An additional group of Bentley Leaders have been profiled in a companion exhibit that is available online through the Bentley Archives website. Please visit the two online exhibits, Bentley Leaders and Bentley Leaders: Firsts. 

Centennial Celebration

Online Archives Exhibit: Bentley Through the Years

Jaimie

As you prepare to take part in all of Bentley’s amazing Homecoming activities, we thought you might be interested in becoming more “In the Know” about Bentley’s history! For example, did you know that the original class consisted of just 30 students who used to meet not far from what is now the Hynes Convention Center? Or that tuition was $120? Do you know when Bentley became co-educational (for the first time), or what the original buildings on the Waltham campus were? Over nearly 100 years, we’ve evolved from the “Bentley School of Accounting and Finance” to “Bentley University” through a series of impressive developments that were the work of many dedicated people.

Our new exhibit, Bentley Through the Years, will introduce you to these changes as you look at photos and documents from every decade of Bentley’s history. You’ll learn how the school navigated through two World Wars, how Bentley students lived & worked, and how the campus developed, along with many other fun facts. You – students, faculty, staff, alumni, family & friends – are all a part of Bentley’s rich history! We hope this exhibit will connect you to your campus community and inspire you to keep making Bentley a place of innovation and collaborative spirit.

A group of male students, seated at desks in a classroom, presumably in one of the Boylston Street buildings on the Boston campus.
A group of male students, seated at desks in a classroom, presumably in one of the Boylston Street buildings on the Boston campus. Click to view a larger image.

Please contact our Archivist, Jaimie Fritz, at archives@bentley.edu if you have questions about the exhibit, or if there is another part of Bentley history that you want to learn more about!