Bentley University - History

History

Bentley University was founded in 1917 as the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance by Harry C. Bentley who served as the school’s president until 1953. In 1961, the college was accredited to confer four-year Bachelor of Science degrees under President Morison, who moved the college from its Boylston Street address in Boston to its current day location in Waltham, Massachusetts. Gregory H. Adamian, a major driving force in the college's development, became the fourth president in 1970. Under his guidance, the college became accredited to confer four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1971 and graduate degrees in 1973. During this time, the school also changed its name to Bentley College. In the late 1990s, Bentley College became a pioneer of incorporating information technology into its core business curriculum. In 2002, Bentley College opened up a campus in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain in partnership with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance. The college was accredited to confer its first doctoral degrees in the fields of business and accountancy in 2005. A main fixture of the campus, The Bentley Library, underwent a sweeping renovation in 2006 during which time the school's logo was changed to showcase the clock tower that sits atop the building. One year later, Gloria Cordes Larson, a former state and federal government official and Boston-based lawyer became the first female president of Bentley College. In 2008, the school changed its name to Bentley University after being authorized by the state board of higher education to do so.