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Bentley Honors Gregory H. Adamian for 50 Years of Dedication

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  • Bentley Honors Gregory H. Adamian for 50 Years of Dedication

    AScribe Newswire
    May 26, 2005 Thursday 11:06 AM Eastern Time


    Bentley Honors Gregory H. Adamian for 50 Years of
    Unparalleled Leadership, Achievement and Dedication,
    Thursday, June 2, LaCava Center, Bentley


    WALTHAM, Mass., May 27 [AScribe Newswire] -- The Trustees and
    Officers of Bentley will host an Anniversary Gala honoring Gregory H.
    Adamian for an unprecedented 50 year relationship with the
    institution on Thursday, June 2 at the LaCava Center on the Bentley
    campus. Over the last half century, as professor, president, trustee
    and chancellor, Gregory H. Adamian has played an extraordinary role
    in the growth and success of Bentley as a business university.

    A Somerville, Mass., native, with a BA and a Master's degree in
    Public Administration from Harvard and a law degree from Boston
    University, Adamian joined the Bentley faculty in 1955 as a part-time
    professor of law and economics. He proved a dynamic and popular
    lecturer and widely respected member of the faculty, and soon became
    chairman of the law department.

    In 1968, the college made its dramatic move from cramped quarters in
    Boston's Back Bay to a brand new campus on more than 100 acres in
    Waltham. Less than two years later, then-President Thomas L. Morison
    announced his resignation because of ill health. The Board of
    Trustees appointed a presidential search committee, with Adamian as a
    faculty representative. On May 7, 1970, the trustees elected him
    president pro tem and, true to his penchant for getting things done,
    Adamian immediately appointed a task force to "define the college's
    precise direction and the most expeditious means of attaining it."

    Sept. 16, 1970 proved to be a memorable day in Bentley history. The
    Board of Trustees took two momentous actions; one was to petition the
    state to dramatically expand the college's degree granting authority,
    the second was to elect Gregory H. Adamian to be Bentley's fourth
    president, a move whose impact could not be foreseen then, and cannot
    be overstated today.

    Under President Adamian's leadership, Bentley was transformed.
    Previously a single degree-granting institution, Bentley's
    undergraduate degree programs expanded dramatically, a graduate
    school of business was established and national accreditation was
    secured.

    Bentley launched a first of its kind program to integrate computers
    into the curriculum and to require all students to have portable
    computers. The college established one of America's first centers for
    business ethics. The student population grew, clubs, organizations
    and athletic programs blossomed, 27 new buildings were erected, and
    Bentley changed from a commuter school to a residential college.
    Moreover, Bentley's financial security was hugely bolstered as the
    endowment grew from $385,000 in 1970 to $60 million in 1991. Today,
    the endowment totals nearly $185 million.

    The design, construction and furnishing of the President's House on
    the Bentley campus added a new dimension to the college community and
    was a labor of love for Adamian and his wife, Debbie.

    Adamian also lent his legal and leadership skills to the business and
    nonprofit communities, serving on the boards of Liberty Mutual, Joan
    Fabrics Corporation, UNICCO, the Massachusetts Higher Education
    Assistance Corporation, INROADS and many others, as well as chairing
    the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of
    Massachusetts.

    Deeply committed to the Armenian community, Adamian has been a member
    of the Central Board of the International Armenian General Benevolent
    Union, an associate trustee of the Armenian Assembly, a director of
    the National Association of Armenian Studies and Research, and helped
    established America's first endowed chair in Armenian Studies at
    Harvard.

    Throughout his career, Adamian has received numerous honors and
    awards, including the medal of St. Sahag and St. Mesrob from Karekin
    I, Catholicos of All Armenians, for outstanding service to education
    and the Armenian-American community; and the Humanity Award from
    Facing History and Ourselves. He was named a "Significant Sig" by his
    national fraternity, Sigma Chi, for accomplishments in the field of
    education, and received a Silver Shingle Award from the Boston
    University School of Law for distinguished service to the legal
    profession. When Boston University awarded Adamian an honorary doctor
    of laws degree in 1991, BU President John Silber wrote: "You have
    been Bentley's second founder. Unsparing of energy and wisdom for the
    good of Bentley College, you have devoted your abundant surplus of
    these virtues to the larger world."

    In 1991, Adamian stepped down as Bentley president after 21 years of
    service and was elected the college's first chancellor, a position he
    holds today. As chancellor, he has remained a trusted adviser, a
    leading fund-raiser, and the consummate ambassador for the college.

    Upon retiring in 2002 as an active member of the Bentley Board of
    Trustees, he was presented a resolution hailing his unparalleled role
    in the history of the college. It read, in part:

    "Brilliant professor, visionary president, pioneering chancellor, and
    esteemed trustee, you have contributed enormously to all aspects of
    Bentley College. Your extraordinary devotion and tireless efforts,
    spanning six decades, established a foundation upon which your
    successors have built, and will continue to build far into the
    future. This board, and indeed the entire Bentley community, has
    benefited in countless ways from your professional wisdom, personal
    philanthropy, abiding love for the college, and true concern for the
    people who study, teach and work here. Be assured that our
    admiration, appreciation and affection for you are equally abiding
    and true."
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