Celebrating Service
At Bentley, students’ involvement with issues and organizations outside the classroom contributes significantly to their academic study and professional development. The Bentley Service–Learning Center (BSLC) formalizes and supports our work to prepare socially responsible business leaders. U.S.News & World Report has named Bentley among the top service–learning programs in the country.
Established in 1990, BSLC promotes learning through volunteer assignments at schools, social service agencies, and other organizations in Waltham, Greater Boston, and beyond. Our students tutor children in computer skills, create marketing materials for area museums, help local residents prepare income tax returns, and much more. International partnerships include a collaboration with University College Dublin that enables Bentley students to pursue service–learning as part of their business studies in Ireland. These and other opportunities help students gain valuable skills and experience for their future career and, moreover, foster a lifelong commitment to civic engagement.
With wide-ranging contributions to public life through government and community organizations, Bentley President Gloria Cordes Larson exemplifies the values of service and leadership. Her inauguration is the capstone for a series of events that began on Wednesday, March 26.
Highlights of the daylong “Celebration of Service” included:
Service Showcase. Displays and presentations in the Smith Academic Technology Center highlighted outreach to local and global communities by individuals and student organizations.
“Bentley Serves” T-shirt. The sale of specially designed T-shirts funded the purchase and distribution of educational supplies for students in countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Niger and Ukraine, as well as those in the Waltham area.
Logo T-shirt Drive. Greek organizations at Bentley collected T-shirts with the school’s logo for donation to local and regional nonprofit organizations.
Advancing Education. Members of the campus community gathered to fill 1,000 book bags with pencils, paper, scissors, composition books, and other school supplies. The packets went to students in the U.S. and abroad.
Collaboration in Ghana, Africa. Through an ongoing partnership, Bentley students have been developing a marketing plan for kiln-fired beads made by children at the Mmofra Trom Center in Ghana, Africa. The project surged ahead on Service Day, as students and others strung the signature beads into sample bracelets to share with jewelry shops and other potential vendors.
Insights from Tunisian Women. Four remarkable women from Tunisia spoke on the challenges facing women in North Africa and described their own work to promote basic human rights for Arab-Muslim women. Bentley Professor of Modern Languages Jane Tchaïcha, who has studied feminist movements in the U.S. and Tunisia, brought the inspiring group to campus.
Bentley Sponsors for the Tunisian Women’s Panel
The Valente Center for the Arts and Sciences; the Alliance for Ethics and Social Responsibility; the Women’s Leadership Institute; the Modern Languages Department; the International Studies Department; the Cronin International Center; the Center for Languages and International Collaboration; the Presidential Inauguration Committee.
Other Sponsors for the Tunisian Women’s Panel
State Street Bank; the Women’s Studies Department at Wellesley College, Nitsch Engineering, anonymous
