Bentley University Alumni Conference: A Deep Dive into Learning, Networking, and Growth

The Bentley University Alumni Conference is an annual event designed for faculty, staff, and alumni to reflect, connect, and grow professionally. It offers a diverse range of sessions, keynote speeches, and networking opportunities centered around key themes such as business ethics, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), entrepreneurship, health industries, innovation, and sustainability.

A Day of Reflection and Growth: The Bentley Learning and Teaching Colloquium

The annual Bentley Learning and Teaching Colloquium, an internal conference, provides a platform for faculty to reflect on their teaching experiences and enhance their professional skills. All full-time and part-time faculty, as well as staff members interested in teaching, are encouraged to attend this free event.

Concurrent Sessions: Exploring Key Educational Themes

The colloquium features concurrent sessions that cover a variety of topics relevant to modern education. These sessions include discussions on student belonging, insights from alumni on the impact of teaching practices, and advice from teaching award winners.

Student Belonging: Belonging is critical for student success and differs based on social identities. Dr. Strayhorn discusses how belonging develops and offers a model for fostering it. David Stamps and Dr. Have delve into advancing equity and addressing systemic injustices.
Alumni Panel: Bentley alumni share how classroom experiences have shaped their personal and professional lives, providing firsthand feedback on impactful teaching methods.
Teaching Award Winners: Recipients of the Adamian Award for Teaching Excellence and the Cronin Award for Excellence in Academic Advising and Mentoring share their strategies and insights on topics such as preventing academic integrity violations and supporting students through crises.

Fostering Faculty Support and Collaboration

Several sessions focus on building a stronger sense of community and support among faculty members.

Faculty Peer Support Group Ideation Session: Led by Andy Aylesworth and Wiley Davi, this session aims to create a new faculty peer-to-peer support system to address challenges such as the impact of the political climate on teaching.
Students as Colleagues: This session explores how conceiving of students as colleagues can foster community-building, trust, and pedagogical innovation.

Experiential Learning and the Classroom Without Borders

The closing plenary, "The Classroom Without Borders: The Practice and Spectrum of Experiential Learning in Higher Education," encourages faculty to incorporate meaningful experiential learning into their teaching while maintaining academic rigor.

Experiential Learning: This session explores how faculty can integrate experiential learning into their courses, enhancing student engagement through adult learning theoretical concepts.

Alumni Conference: A Hub for Networking and Upskilling

The Bentley Alumni Conference goes beyond traditional lectures, offering practical workshops and networking opportunities.

Upskilling Workshops: Enhancing Skills for the Future

The conference includes upskilling workshops designed to provide attendees with practical skills in areas such as data transformation and virtual reality.

Alteryx Essentials: This hands-on training program teaches participants how to cleanse, integrate, and analyze data using Alteryx Designer.
Field Experiences: Using Virtual Reality: This workshop explores how virtual reality can be used to immerse users in hard-to-reach environments, such as coastal marine ecosystems and wind turbine farms.

Breakout Sessions: Exploring Diverse Themes

The conference features breakout sessions covering a wide range of topics, from wealth transfer and digital services to ethical decision-making and entrepreneurial success.

The Great Wealth Transfer: This session focuses on preparing families for the transfer of wealth from baby boomers to younger generations.
Leading the State with Next-Generation Digital Services: Discover how Massachusetts is setting benchmarks in AI-led digital services for citizens.
The Life Leadership Curve and Entrepreneurial Mindset: Frank Reiman and Kristy Litchfield share strategies for helping individuals become better leaders.
The Power of the First Follower: This session highlights the value of co-founders in entrepreneurial enterprises.
Unleashing the Power of Mindfulness: Alicia shares insights on integrating mindfulness practices into entrepreneurial endeavors.
Bringing Your Authentic Self to Work: Dominique Wilburn moderates a roundtable discussion on intersectionality and authenticity in the workplace.
Building Alumni Communities and Networking for Success: Joshua delves into effective networking strategies for Bentley alumni.
Harnessing Employee Ideas for Rapid Growth: This session explores how companies can leverage employee expertise to drive growth.
Living Your Values: Lessons from Hard Ethical Decisions in Business: A conversation about ethical decision-making in the business world.
Why I Keep Pushing: The Fresh Start Contracting Story: Two friends share their journey of growing a painting business into a $16 million construction company.
Building and Running a Successful Private Business: Brian Kelleher leads a roundtable discussion with CEOs of successful private businesses.
Healthcare Consolidation: Examining Trends and Strategies in Ownership Models: This session explores the evolving landscape of healthcare consolidation.
Spark Innovation and Creativity Through Design Thinking: Learn how design thinking can help solve complex problems and enhance products and services.
Women Winning in Technology Sales: This session highlights the role of emotional intelligence in technology sales.
Building Companies that Do Good: This session explores creating profitable companies with a mission to make a positive impact.
Building A Unicorn: The Road Less Traveled: Debbie Millin shares her experiences in growing Globalization Partners/G-P into a $4.2 billion company.
Beyond the Surface: Reimagining Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a World of Challenges: Theresa Medina, Lakeya (Graves) Newton, Drake Peabody, and Phillip Spencer discuss reimagining diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Special Events and Activities

Beyond the formal sessions, the conference offers a variety of special events and activities designed to foster community and celebrate achievements.

Receptions and Networking Opportunities

The conference includes receptions and industry-based networking opportunities, providing attendees with the chance to connect with fellow alumni, faculty, and industry professionals.

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Alumnae and Alumni Weekend

The Alumnae and Alumni Weekend features special receptions for the School of Pharmacy, Athletic Alumni, Damozel’s 100th Anniversary, and the Morrissy Honors Program.

Library Events

The Bentley Library hosts various events, including crafting drop-in sessions and welcome tables for new students.

MLK Day of Social Justice

The annual MLK Breakfast and MLK Day of Social Justice, Celebration, Listening, and Learning promote inclusivity and opportunity for all identities.

Showcasing Alumni Success

The conference also serves as a platform to highlight the achievements and contributions of Bentley alumni.

Alumni Spotlights

The conference features stories of alumni who have made significant contributions in their fields, such as Nafissatou “Nafi” Diene, who built a school in Senegal, and Dr. Nephthalee Edmond Tefera, who serves as a pharmacy operations supervisor.

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Faculty Engagement with Alumni

The Faculty Engagement with Alumni Academy fosters mutually beneficial relationships between faculty and alumni, encouraging them to give to the school’s philanthropic efforts.

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